C.F. Martin & Co. 2022 Impact Report

MISSION our

C. F. Martin & Co. remains forever committed to being a socially responsible organization, and we want to share that commitment with the world. To that end, we have developed this annual impact report, which details some of our efforts to care for our employees, our community, and the environment. This report serves as a framework to advance these efforts and provide an update of annual progress.

a letter from

THOMAS RIPSAM

Dear Martin Community,

I am so pleased to share Martin’s second annual impact report highlighting some of our new and ongoing efforts to support local and global communities, our colleagues, and the environment. Here at Martin, we are very proud of the work we do, and we take every possible opportunity to reduce, reuse, and recycle throughout our facilities and our product line. Every year we strive to do more, to provide artists like you with the best instruments and strings that you can feel good using to make music for the world.

Sincerely,

Thomas Ripsam President and CEO

For nearly two centuries, the one constant that has made C. F. Martin & Co special is its people. Without the dedicated employees who show up every day and take pride in making the best acoustic guitars and strings in the world, we would not be thriving today. And we know this will be true for centuries to come. So, it is no surprise that nurturing our valued employees is at the top of our priority list. Here, we will share a few programs in place to ensure our co-workers’ well-being.

EMPLOYEE WELLNESS PROGRAM

Martin’s wellness program incentivizes employees to participate in wellness activities by reducing their healthcare premiums by 27–78% for an average annual premium reduction of $480.

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM

In 2022, greater than 20% of our Continuous Improvement Project efforts had sustainability benefits. On top of saving hundreds of thousands of dollars for the company, these projects also helped our employees, communities and the environment.

$480

AVERAGE ANNUAL HEALTH CARE PREMIUM SAVINGS

WORKER COMPENSATION

In 2022 we conducted a nationwide salary study and increased wages across the organization to stay competitive in the marketplace and adjust for resent cost-of-living increases.

PLAYER BENEFITS

GUITAR LESSONS

Martin encourages employees to learn to play the guitar by reimbursing them for guitar lessons.

ARTIST SUPPORT

We support our artist employees by actively promoting their gigs to the rest of the company.

At C. F. Martin & Co., we know that we would not be successful without the tremendous support of our customers and the many organizations we partner with to produce our instruments and strings. We are also incredibly grateful to all the musicians across the globe who put their trust in our instruments to bring joy to the world through their music. With this gratitude, we feel a deep sense of commitment to giving back to our local community and the greater music community. Here, we share a few organizations that we supported in 2022.

MARTIN CHARITABLE FOUNDATION

Established in 1996, the Foundation supports Martin Guitar’s engagement with nonprofit music, arts, education, environmental action, and human service organizations.

72 TOTAL GRANTS

$471,000

TOTAL GRANT MONEY

27%

31%

42%

FOUNDATION CONTRIBUTIONS

EDUCATION & ENVIRONMENT COMMUNITY SERVICES ARTS, CULTURE & HUMANITIES

FEATURED CHARITIES

THE ASHOKAN CENTER

The Ashokan Center is an independent music & nature nonprofit established in 2008. We welcome school groups for Educational Field Trips, host public community events including festivals and Music & Dance Camps, and rent our facility for private retreats, conferences, and weddings. Our site has been declared an Historic District on the National and State Registers of Historic Places. This land was a favored hunting and fishing ground for the Munsee Indians for generations, and became home to Americans of European descent in the 1730s. The first mill and blacksmith shop in Ulster County were built here by Lemuel Winchell who later constructed Winchell’s Inn, Ashokan’s historic centerpiece. ashokancenter.org

COMMUNITY MUSIC SCHOOL

Community Music School Lehigh Valley & Berks is a non-profit charitable education organization. Our mission is to successfully provide the inspiration and opportunity for anyone in our diverse community to achieve excellence in music education and appreciate the transformative power of music.

cmslv.org

GUITARS IN THE CLASSROOM

For 21 years, GITC faculty members have been training teachers in public schools from coast to coast to sing, play, write lyrics for learning and lead hands-on music with public school elementary students. Because over 15,000 teachers have trained with GITC — and about 1500 more train each year — our work is reaching about a million students each school year with integrated music-making for literacy, math and all other subjects. GITC's efforts focus on serving students during their most formative years when foundational skills in speaking, reading, writing and thinking as well as interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence, can grow quickly.

guitarsintheclassroom.org

NAZARETH AREA FOOD BANK

The Nazareth Area Food Bank has been providing food for families in the Nazareth, Pa., area for about 35 years. Currently, approximately 240 families and individuals – a total numbering well over 400 people, including more than 200 children – are served monthly. Food for the Nazareth Area Food Bank comes from donations of non-perishable food items from individuals, area churches, schools, businesses, and Scouting organizations, with the remainder bought with monetary donations from individuals, members of many churches in the Nazareth Area, local businesses, service clubs, and other organizations.

nazarethareafoodbank.org

PHILADELPHIA OUTWARD BOUND SCHOOL

The Philadelphia Outward Bound School is deeply embedded in the community, working with young people and adults; students, educators and school administrators; and business, corporate and community leaders. Since its founding in 1992, the Philadelphia Outward Bound School has focused on creating leadership capacity within the region by providing opportunities to develop a better understanding of each individual’s capabilities and value to their community.

outwardbound.org/about-us/schools/philadelphiaoutward-bound-school

MUSEUM OF MAKING MUSIC

Founded in 1998 and opened to the public in March 2000, the Museum of Making Music celebrates the accomplishments and impact of the people who make, sell, and use musical instruments and products. It does this through unique exhibitions, vibrant and varied live music performances, and innovative educational programs. The Museum is a program division of the NAMM Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization and receives operational support from NAMM.

museumofmakingmusic.org

GUITAR DONATIONS REVERB

Uniting around the music we love, tackling the environmental and social issues we face, REVERB is a 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to empowering millions of individuals to take action toward a better future for people and the planet.

reverb.org

Martin supported this environmental organization by donating guitars to be signed and auctioned off at concerts to RAISE AWARENESS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES.

LX1 guitars and a monetary donation were given to the Save the Music Foundation (formerly known as VH1 Save the Music)

22

LX1 guitars were donated to GAMA for its Teaching Guitar Workshops

UNITED WAY'S

Martin employees participated in United Way’s Day of Caring on June 23, 2022. The project was to paint units and spruce up the landscaping for a 125-year-old RoofOver transitional housing facility. RoofOver is The Easton Area Neighborhood Center's transitional housing program, meaning families can stay for up to a year while they address the issues that led to their homelessness, and save money for their first month's rent and security deposit. With the age of the building and families moving in and out, the units are heavily used and in need of a fresh coat of paint. It was a great experience to share with fellow coworkers and greatly appreciated by the residents and leadership team at RoofOver.

Protecting the environment is of utmost importance to C. F. Martin & Co. Whether it is supporting reforestation projects, using alternative tonewoods, minimizing waste, or saving energy throughout our facilities, we keep sustainability at the forefront of every decision we make. We were the first guitar manufacturer to implement an environmental policy in 1990, achieving Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) Chain-of-Custody certification (License Code FSC-C008304). Ever since, we have collaborated with numerous environmental organizations because we strive to be good stewards of the planet and because, at Martin, every day is Earth Day.

REFORESTATION support

We provided financial support to a Republic of Congo Hospital that serves the indigenous population where we source FSC-certified ebony, sipo, and sapele wood.

We also supported reforestation efforts in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Pennsylvania.

CONSERVATION

We implemented four-piece tops into our product line. This reduces the number of old-growth trees needed to make guitars because we can use smaller trees to make these tops.

We also started using reclaimed and salvaged spruce which reduces the number of harvested spruce trees.

• Salvaged: From trees lying on the forest floor.

• Reclaimed: From disassembling barges and bridges constructed from spruce logs.

REDUCE RECYCLE

WE STARTED USING:

• recycled cardboard for our shipping cartons

• biodegradable air pillows for packaging

BETTER BATTERY COMPANY PARTNERSHIP

We partnered with the Better Battery Company, which developed the first ever certified carbon-neutral batteries with a seamless recycling program that not only makes the process of receiving and disposing of batteries easy for you but also makes a big difference for the planet we share.

www.betterbattery.co

SHAWN MENDES guitar

We partnered with Shawn Mendes to produce an FSC 100% certified custom artist model that includes a striking blue gig bag made from recycled plastic.

T1 UKE

We launched the T1 Uke which is FSC 100% certified and includes a striking blue gig bag made from recycled plastic.