Avenue’s 2019 Impact Sneak Preview

In 2017, Avenue was proud to become a Certified B Corporation® and part of a global movement of people using business as a force for good. Now, two years later we continue to believe that B Corps are redefining success in business and inspiring businesses to not only be the best in the world, but to be the best for the world. Avenue’s commitment to progressive business practices has enabled the company to live the purpose-driven principles that align with our mission, purpose and values and inform Avenue’s work with clients, partners, team members and the community on a daily basis.

As a growing company, it has not only been important to continue to deliver great work for our clients, but to do what we can to ensure we are living our values every day and creating a supportive environment for our team members where personal and professional learning and growth are embedded in the culture. I believe this enables our people (and Avenue’s greatest asset) to thrive in all areas of their lives and bring their best and whole selves to work. As a result, this past year our dedicated and talented team worked together to help Avenue meet and exceed all of our company’s annual targets set back in early January 2019 at our Annual Strategic Planning Retreat.

What we accomplished as a team

This past year was one of meaningful learning and growth across all facets of our business. And in reflection, we did a lot of cool s**t! In an attempt to wrap our impact and learnings up into a digestible format, we will be publishing our 2019 B Corp Impact Report in February of this year. Below are just a few highlights from our 2019 Impact findings:

Growth and sustainability

• Longevity: 3.5 years in business and counting

• Impact: Second full year as a Certified B Corporation®

• Growth: 202% year-over-year (YoY)

• Profitability: 31.59% profit margin (and as the wise Greg Crabtree, Portland EO Accelerator trainer puts it so eloquently, “At 5% profit you are on life support, at 10% you are a “good” business, and at 15% or better is a “great” business.” We understand that results are a culmination of dedicated work and intentional, accountable actions over a sustained period of time. This metric will always be a core focus of ours.)

• Sustainability: 86% of clients are ongoing partners of ours (building around our recurring revenue model)

• Purpose-driven clients: 60% (of our clients are B Corp, purpose-driven, impact or non-profit organizations. This is no accident. At Avenue, we intentionally seek out client partners who align with our values as a company and as a Certified B Corporation®. We place an emphasis on working with purpose-driven organizations, women and minority owned businesses and B Corps, among many others.)

• Leadership: CEO is a minority (and serves on the Board of Directors for SMART Reading, Business for a Better Portland, SEMpdx and EO Accelerator, and Avenue is a woman-owned business.)

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI): 100% women and minority owned/operated (As a certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), Women Business Enterprise (WBE), Emerging Small Business (ESB) and Certified B Corporation®, Avenue is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion across all facets of our business. We believe a diverse workforce facilitates conversation and learning, produces personal and professional growth for all of our team members and ultimately allows us to produce better and more holistic outcomes for our clients and community partners. As part of this commitment, we intentionally seek team members, clients and partners whose diverse backgrounds and unique perspectives align with Avenue and our work with purpose-driven, progressive organizations and Certified B Corps who serve diverse customer bases and communities. And we use programs like the Emerging Leaders internship program to grow our diverse talent base.)

• Team growth: Added 1 new full-time hire in 2019 to our growing team

Employee engagement and culture

• Annual and quarterly strategic planning: Four 1-2 day company retreats (where we engage our entire team across the strategy, goal-setting and decision-making process for Avenue)

• Benefits: 100% employer paid medical, dental, vision plan, short and long-term disability, life insurance and SIMPLE IRA with employer match for all full-time employees (Benefits support our team members fully, and we invest in the health, wellness and growth of our employees.)

• Culture of gratitude and growth: Daily huddle where we share 1 thing we’re grateful for, kudos for the team and touch base on our key priorities for the day (I’m grateful for… 🙏🏽 And culture is built around our core values.)

• Gallup Q12: 4.6 (out of 5. Gallup has studied survey results from more than 35 million employees around the world. Gallup's Q12 survey is the most effective measure of employee engagement and its impact on the outcomes that matter most to a business.)

• 15Five: 4.2 (out of 5)

• Personal wellness: ClassPass membership utilized by 100% of the team supports outside wellness activity (in addition to supporting team/group wellness activities.)

Community engagement

• Pro bono $ in support of non-profit work in the community: $25,000 in pro bono services given to non-profits as part of our quarterly Charity of Choice program (to organizations such as Oregon Humane Society, Street Roots, B Local PDX and more.)

• Actual $ support of non-profit work in the community: 1.7% of annual net profit donated in cash to non-profits (Since our inception, Avenue has invested in worthy causes as part of our community impact program which donates 1% or more of annual profits to local nonprofits to amplify their good work and impact.)

• # of volunteer hours contributed by the team: 72 (our team members are encouraged to seek out and volunteer individually with organizations they are passionate about – and they are given work hours to do so. Avenue team members have dedicated their time to support organizations such as SMART (Start Making A Reader Today), Boys & Girls Aid, MercyCorps NW, Oregon Humane Society, the Oregon Zoo and more.)

• # of hours of board service contributed by the team: 250

And, we’re just getting started! If you like what you see and want to learn more about becoming a B Corp or impact and purpose-driven organization, you can contact us here or look for our full 2019 Impact Report on our website next month.