What 50 Years of Giving Back Taught Me About Community

What half a century of service taught me about responsibility, gratitude, and the communities that make a company worth building.

Fifty years in business gives you plenty to remember: accounts won, milestones reached, and recessions weathered.

I’m proud of those moments. But what surfaces first are the quieter mornings that happen every year. Teammates gathered around tables filling back backpacks for children they’ll never meet and food packs for kids who come to school on Monday mornings with empty stomachs. Others prepping and serving food in a soup kitchen. No client on the line, no agenda, just people who want to show up for people who need help.

I’ve come to believe those mornings say more about the strength of this company than the wins do.

Why a Business Owes its Community 

That belief started early and hasn’t changed.

A business owes its community more than revenue because no organization succeeds alone. Ours grew through talented people, strong relationships, and patience during lean years. Success that never leaves the building is a small kind of success.

What I didn't expect, in the beginning, was how much the giving would do for us.

Service collapses hierarchy. Working side by side with no commercial stake, titles fall away and departments matter less. A team that spends a morning packing donations comes back having helped others, and knowing one another better. After fifty years, I’ve seen how reliably service brings people together.

From a Value to a Tradition 

This is why Service to Our Community is as important as Service to Our Clients in our CARES values. Long before it had a letter attached, it was simply what we believed was right. 

A value on a wall accomplishes little by itself; it needs a place on the calendar. Inspired by the New York Yankees’ Helping Others Persevere and Excel initiative, HOPE Week became our time to step out of routine and put our energy and resources to work for others.

I've never thought of it as an obligation, and never as a public relations exercise. It's how we say thank you, once a year, out loud.

This Year's HOPE Week 

For our fiftieth anniversary, we extended that spirit into 50 Days of Giving Back. Teammates were encouraged to take time out of their busy schedules to serve in their own communities, and support causes personally meaningful to them.

From food pantries and mentoring programs to shelters, conservation efforts, and neighborhood nonprofits. What mattered was giving each person the opportunity to make a difference where it meant the most to them.

During HOPE Week, our team assembled school-supply backpacks for children supported by The Valerie Fund, made weekend snack packs for the Center for Food Action, and joined Elijah’s Promise for meal preparation and hunger-relief projects.

We also recognized five charitable organizations founded in 1976, the year we opened our doors: The Valerie Fund, Center for Food Action, Center for Hope & Safety, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Habitat for Humanity. Their longevity is a reminder that purpose gives endurance its meaning. 

By week’s end, our team had presented $25,000 to nonprofits and completed hands-on projects for people facing hardship. I’ll remember less about the number than the sight of people giving their energy and treating it as a privilege. 

That has always been the heart of HOPE Week. After fifty years, it's still one of the things that makes me proudest of this place. 

The Legacy I Want to Leave 

Watching that week unfold clarified something for me. 

People often define a company’s legacy by growth and longevity. I’m proud of both, but if our team is remembered for one thing, I hope it is simpler: 

We cared. About our clients, about our teammates, about the communities we work in. 

Over the years, we’ve supported food banks, hospitals, schools, shelters, and organizations that change lives. None of it appears on a balance sheet, but it remains the clearest record of who we’ve been. A golden anniversary is a marker, not a finish line. 

Markets will keep changing and businesses will keep coming and going. What holds are the relationships we build and the lives our work touches on the way through. 

That's what fifty years of giving back has taught me. It's also the part I most want us carrying into the next fifty.

—Jim Dittman, Founder & Chairman of Next Level Performance

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Jim Dittman is the Chairman and Founder of NXL Performance, a full-service incentive, recognition, and engagement company celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2026.

Read more of Jim's most recent insights:
What 50 Years of Building Incentive Programs Taught Me About Knowing Your Audience
What 50 Years of Incentive Travel Taught Me About Creativity
What 50 Years of Leadership Taught Me About Building a Company That Lasts