DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION

Wow! What a year of gratitude, change, belonging and grace 2022 turned out to be. With more and more team members coming into the office, yet many others still choosing to work from remote locations, it challenged us to rally and deepen our commitment to teamwork – one of our core values. Working together to ensure every team member felt included, whatever their location, was critical. We held several in-person events, reminding us all how lovely it is to be in the same space, working on our clients’ behalf.

Since inception, Greenleaf Trust has had a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Our core values embody the spirit of working together and valuing everyone for the talents they bring to work each day.

In 2022, we announced several strategic initiatives and put plans in place to achieve these goals. Nearly 40% of our team members raised their hands to volunteer their time and passion to serve on seven sub-committees. Meeting on a regular basis has allowed team members to learn from one another and strengthen their trusting relationships as they form a common language and shared understanding of each individual’s personal journey.

Below are just some of the DEI team’s accomplishments in 2022.

• Virtual book readings and discussions were facilitated for large and small groups of interested team members; featured books included “So You Want to Talk About Race” by Ijeoma Oluo and “Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do” by Jennifer L. Eberhardt, Ph.D.

• Informative emails celebrating diversity-honored months and activities were shared with team members in each of our business locations.

• Several team members participated in classes with ERACCE (Eliminating Racism & Creating/Celebrating Equity) to obtain additional knowledge and awareness.

• Our subcommittees were involved in a variety of initiatives, including:

– Reading relevant books, articles and publications

– Updating our Team Policy Manual to incorporate more inclusive language and an Inclusivity Statement

– Support for written award submissions

– Development of questions to be presented to vendors and prospective vendors

– Ongoing gathering of benchmark information

– Creating and piloting an Inclusion Program for all new hires, to roll out in 2023

– Hosting a virtual DEI trivia event

– Development of a DEI Overview at Greenleaf Trust for all new hires

– Reviewing policies and creating a schedule for future reviews

• Together with our marketing team, we prepared social media posts on racial justice, Black History Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month, Juneteenth, as well as the many successes of our Greenleaf Trust Scholars.

• Greenleaf Trust entered into a partnership with a consulting company to focus on inclusion in the workplace, and we are excited for the impact this will have.

• Lisa Luebke, senior talent acquisition specialist, completed and obtained her Certified Diversity and Inclusion Recruiter (CDR) certification through AIRS.

The Greenleaf Trust Scholarship Program has continued to grow and now awards 18 full scholarships annually to underrepresented minority business students studying finance or personal financial planning at Western Michigan University. Scholars receive $12,400 annually for tuition until graduation. Over $2 million have been awarded since the program’s inception in 1999. Further, the program has produced over 100 graduates who have been recruited and placed at many of the top financial companies in our state and country, including Greenleaf Trust.

Greenleaf Trust has a long history of community volunteering and giving, which we plan to continue. In 2022, our team volunteered more than 2,000 hours for local community nonprofits in our communities.

In addition to our regular community volunteering and giving, in 2021, Greenleaf Trust developed a new program to expand financial education opportunities for students of color. With only a year from idea to design, development and implementation, Greenleaf Wealth Development Club for Student Investors was launched in the fall of 2021. Having proven success through the concept phase with students from three Kalamazoo Public High Schools (KPS), we expanded the program into Portage Public Schools in 2022 and plan to add additional schools in 2023. Additionally, Greenleaf Trust hired Carlos Clay, Jr., a prior Kalamazoo Public School employee, to help lead the initiative with Amari Smith, our current wealth developer. The monthly club sessions include four learning and engagement modules. Each session is presented by Greenleaf Trust professionals alongside many current and previous Greenleaf Trust scholars and interns. Upon successful completion of the program, students have the opportunity to earn an investment account with up to $500 that will allow their investment journey to continue. Ultimately, we desire to place this program in school systems across the state with additional wealth developers throughout the markets we serve.

KEY STATISTICS (interns not counted in percentages)

Full Organization – 172 Team Members

• Five generations:

– 1% Silent Generation

– 17% Baby Boomer

– 38% Gen X

– 37% Millennial

– 7% Gen Z

• 63% Female

• 13% Persons of Color

GREENLEAF TRUST’S GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOCUS ON FIVE DIFFERENT AREAS

Respect, Transparency, Democracy, Advocacy and Confidentiality

VISION/MISSION/PRACTICES STATEMENT

Vision – We are actively working to become an anti-racist organization that fully supports diversity, equity and inclusivity at all levels.

Mission – We seek to cultivate a culture of diversity, equity and inclusivity through hiring, awareness, education and training opportunities for our team members, clients and communities.

Practices – We continually examine all areas of our organization, including employment practices, policies and procedures, training and education, communication and workplace culture to ensure we are upholding anti-racist, diverse, equitable and inclusive values. It is important our team members feel empowered to bring their authentic selves to work every day.

Greenleaf Trust Dei Council

Karen Baldwin, T’Ausia Bronson, Bethany Cwalina, Asa Davis, Kim Dudley, Lisa Hojnacki, Kevin Jawahir, Jermaine Johnson, Albert Little, Lisa Luebke, Kristen Tidd

Greenleaf Trust subcommittees and leads:

• Employment Practices – Lyndsay Deery and Jackie Sperling

• Policies & Procedures – Quinn McCormick and Andrea Stidmon

• Mentoring – Jacob Barker and Allison Birmingham

• Vendor Management – Tom Drews

• Training & Education – Beverly Whaley

• Workplace Culture Accountability – Natasha Tamminga

• Communication – Christie Dando and Lexi Willner

Moving into 2023, we will be focusing on the following main initiatives: team member training and education, inclusion training, continued benchmarking and surveys of team, our vendor selection process and partnering with our inclusion consultant at all levels within the company.

We look forward to sharing our journey as we continue to seek opportunities to increase our knowledge and create equity. We are confident as our team becomes more inclusive, so will our diversity, equity, thoughts and ideas. This will directly affect the success of our organization and benefit our clients, teammates and communities we serve.