Our approach to community engagement

Jordan’s grandfather was a minister, and his father devoted his career to education. It came naturally to him to become a social worker, first with a Head Start program promoting school readiness for preschoolers and later in the nonprofit and corporate sectors focusing on areas such as public education, government relations, and health care.

Social work “is a profession, but it’s also a calling,” he said. “It’s an orientation to the work of putting people and communities at the center of change.”

At Vanguard, Jordan leads company efforts that combine impact-driven philanthropy with a range of employee engagement initiatives including community service days, skills-based volunteerism, a generous employee matching gift program, and annual workplace giving campaigns led by our employees, whom we call crew members. Our signature philanthropic initiative, Vanguard Strong Start for Kids™, supports early childhood development and aims to improve school readiness for pre-K children, particularly those growing up in poverty. Through company and crew donations, Vanguard has contributed more than $64 million to the program since its inception in 2016.

Our other philanthropic efforts include the Hometown Grants Program, a place-based initiative that provides general operating funds to nonprofits in locations where Vanguard has a strong crew presence, and a social equity grant portfolio designed to improve access to culturally competent financial literacy programs for students and caregivers. Vanguard also offers two financial literacy education programs, My Classroom Economy and My Home Economy, that are powered by company volunteers.

“Our team—and Vanguard leaders—are committed to making sure we’re driving toward real community impact and being good stewards of our resources,” Jordan said. “But also doing it in a way that’s thoughtful, that’s truly aligned with the best interests of the individuals we’re trying to serve.”

Jordan and his team of 15 are excited about the path forward for community stewardship, including developing a long-term vision aligned with Vanguard’s diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy that integrates philanthropic resources, volunteer activities, business expertise, and strategic partnerships to create deeper impact in local communities.​

One example is Vanguard’s role as a convener of agencies and organizations seeking to drive positive outcomes through early childhood interventions. Earlier this year, the Community Stewardship team hosted a symposium at our Pennsylvania headquarters that brought together policymakers, educators, and advocates to discuss the important connection between investing more in early childhood education and growing our future workforce and economy.

Another initiative is My Classroom Economy’s transition from a paper-based to a digital-based program this year, which is “very exciting,” Jordan said. “However, for certain populations, a standalone curriculum, even digitized, without additional support and resources is not going to have the impact you want.”

Therefore, his team and a committed group of other Vanguard business leaders are working to make the digital version more accessible to wider audiences and to develop strategic partnerships that will include targeted philanthropy and volunteer crew support in partnership with school and community organizations, with the goal of 3 million students by 2026.

“Can we do that in every school?” he asked. “Not realistically. But in places where we make a very intentional decision to engage with certain communities and neighborhood schools, having the curriculum, having volunteers, having targeted partnerships that we support through philanthropy, we can work collectively to drive and measure impact and then scale in our key business geographies.”

Jordan is excited about what he has seen and heard in his first six months at Vanguard. “Rather than come in with ideas from the past, I’ve done a lot of listening and learning—at all levels of the organization—trying to get different perspectives,” he said. “I’ve found a lot of pride in the work we’re doing in the community but a lot of humility in the culture. It’s a very thoughtful, community-centered approach.”

Later this year, Vanguard will introduce a new community brand called Vanguard Community 365, which will be aimed at showcasing the year-round community involvement of our crew. Many crew members participate in the company’s large programs, such as the annual giving campaign, food drive, and holiday gift drive.

“All of these events shine a spotlight, but what gets lost is great work that happens in between those programs,” Jordan said. “There are some incredible stories in which crew are rolling up their sleeves, volunteering at food banks, serving in nonprofit organizations, and participating in a wide range of community activities. We want our community brand to celebrate that spirit, inspire crew to do more, and recognize how the crew is showing up and having measurable impact each and every day.”

• Vanguard Strong Start for Kids (annual report, issued March 2023)
• 2022 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Report (annual report, issued October 2022)
• Feeding the year-round need for healthy food (article, issued May 2022)
• Our approach to philanthropy and volunteerism