When it comes to philanthropic companies, Reno-Tahoe boasts brands worth watching. Through their efforts, these businesses generate value and cultivate employee engagement. Their generosity has a ripple effect, breeding positivity and enhancing community relationships. As employees attest, charitable companies also encourage positive, meaningful, and inspiring work environments.

Here’s everything you need to know about some of Reno-Tahoe’s giving enterprises and the inspiring stories behind their efforts.

NOW Health Group

NOW Health Group (a.k.a. NOW Foods) in Sparks, Nevada, is a family-owned brand specializing in products that support healthy living. The company remains committed to giving back to communities close to home and around the world through generous monetary contributions, material donations to charitable organizations, and employee volunteer hours. 

The brand’s munificence is founded in the adage, “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.” In other words, NOW places a premium on supporting organizations that are “self-enabling,” teaching their recipients valuable, sustainable life skills. Local charities supported by NOW Foods include the Children’s Cabinet, the Food Bank of Northern Nevada, and Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful.

NOW also supports various organizations in Illinois. Worldwide charities that have received contributions from NOW Foods include the Autism Research Institute, Compassion International, and Habitat for Humanity International. The organization is a founding member of Vitamin Angels. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. See the complete list of groups NOW has donated to over the years and learn more about the company.

The Orthopaedic Implant Company

The Orthopaedic Implant Company (OIC) is on a mission to provide surgical orthopedic care to people in the Dominican Republic and Honduras. As a manufacturer of high-value orthopedic implants, OIC occupies a unique role in making much-needed medical care available and equitable for all.

The company works in partnership with One World Surgery, which connects surgeons from Europe and North America with some of the globe’s most impoverished communities. These surgeons perform many different operations, including revisions and first-time procedures. While One World Surgery welcomes donations from medical device companies worldwide, this creates problems. Mixing and matching instrumentation and implants from different vendors rarely works. So, the OIC has donated $300,000 in complete implant systems to One World Surgery over the past three years to fill this gap.

It provides re-orders at cost, guaranteeing surgical suites remain fully stocked with reliable, consistent implant sets. To ensure the proper organization of these devices on-site, OIC has sponsored three employee trips to surgery centers in Honduras. During these visits, OIC also trained staff and attended cases. The result? More surgeries performed in a shorter timeframe and with better outcomes.

The Whittier Trust

As the oldest and largest multi-family office on the West Coast, the Whittier Trust has made giving back to the community an integral part of its activities for the past quarter century. The Trust provides private wealth management services and works with ultra-high-net-worth clients. Whittier’s success over the decades has fueled impressive openhandedness.

Examples of the Whittier Trust’s contributions to the community include philanthropic donations to Incline Village’s Classical Tahoe. This annual two-week event brings the best artists in the world to the area for performances. The company has also donated to the Nevada Museum of Art and the University of Nevada, Reno’s renowned College of Business.

In addition to giving back to the community through the arts and education, Whittier Trust has supported the Renown Foundation, the Tahoe Fund, the Boys and Girls Club, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada.

Helix Electric of Nevada, LLC

Helix Electric has supported Northern Nevada in many ways over the years. Through the “Helix Helping Hands” outreach initiative, the company organizes donation drives and events that benefit local charitable organizations. It has long-standing partnerships with Toys for Tots, the Boys and Girls Club, the Food Bank of Northern Nevada, the Humane Society, Reno Ice, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada, and more.

Each holiday season, the company gives hundreds of bicycles to Toys for Tots to ensure a bright and merry season for community kids in need. And Helix delivers truckloads of donations to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada. Besides resources for children in vulnerable communities, Helix has worked hard to address food insecurity in Reno-Tahoe in recent years. In 2022, they donated more than 1,000 pounds of food to the Food Bank of Northern Nevada.

Annually, Helix Electric raises benevolence funds through golf events. Committed to outperforming its charitable footprint from the previous year, Helix continues to forge meaningful relationships with organizations benefiting Nevadans.

The Dolan Group

Over the past four decades, the Dolan Auto Group has become a fixture of the Northern Nevada auto scene because of the company’s dedication to family, service, and excellence. They also take relationships with the community seriously, sponsoring local events and charitable giving.

Organizations and institutions they support include the University of Nevada, Reno’s Wolf Pack Athletics and Toys for Tots, an annual holiday toy drive. Education remains a vital part of their leadership in the community, exemplified by the Dolan Class Project. In 2022, area schools submitted 47 Classroom Projects and 20 School Projects. Dolan posted details about each of these projects online inviting the community to get involved in voting for their top picks. This year’s winners included Pau Wa Lu Middle School, Little Flower Catholic School, and Katherine Dunn Elementary School, which received tens of thousands of dollars for their efforts.

During the holiday season, Dolan Auto Group collaborates with Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada for the Gathering Together. During this Thanksgiving Food Basket distribution event, pre-registered clients are invited to pick up baskets filled with all the fixings for a traditional meal. This holiday season, they gave away 1,500 complete baskets.

Renown Health

Renown Health remains committed to meeting regional healthcare needs. As a not-for-profit health system, they rely on the community’s generosity to support many excellent programs via fundraising efforts. Through the Renown Foundation, they participate in various philanthropic programs that give back to the community.

The foundation collaborates with the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) to raise funds for children’s hospitals across North America. Moreover, they help the community’s under-served and vulnerable patient populations through their efforts with the Spirit of Giving.

Renown’s main campus hosts a healing garden inspired by the generosity of Fianna Dickson Combs. Known as Fianna’s Healing Garden, its esthetic harmony was designed to replace medical concerns and pain with tranquility and an appreciation of nature. Moreover, the Miracles Montreux Golf Tournament has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Renown Children’s Hospital Endowment Fund.

Reno-Tahoe’s Philanthropic Companies 2022

Northern Nevada companies pride themselves on assisting local and global communities through charitable giving. While the examples above represent just a handful of the generous ways businesses support a better planet, they epitomize a warm and friendly community that uses its influence and affluence to make everyone’s life better.

Are you inspired by the bountiful giving going on in Reno-Tahoe? Or perhaps you’d like to get in on a piece of the action by working for one of the many philanthropic companies in our region? From a career perspective, few things in life prove more satisfying than working for a company that aligns with your personal values. So, what are you waiting for? Upload your resume to the Work, Live, Play website to connect directly with our Community Liaison, Lindsey.

Work Live Play Reno Tahoe is a community-wide initiative powered by EDAWN to recruit skilled workers with all levels of expertise to join the Northern Nevada workforce. Get started by submitting your resume, browse hiring companies, and connect directly with Lindsey, our Community Liaison who will help lead your quest for employment. Working Remotely? Check out our extensive list of Remote Worker Resources. Students can also participate! Visit our new Student Portal to start making connections for your future.