La Plata, Maryland-based, family-owned company, The Wills Group released its seventh annual Community Engagement Report, announcing more than $1 million in total grants and investments to local nonprofits and organizations across the Mid-Atlantic region during the 2023 fiscal year.
The philanthropic dollars, according to the announcement, total more than $6 million donated by the Wills Group since 2006 and include hundreds of employee volunteer hours invested. The investments have furthered the company’s two key signature programs: Nourishing Children and Families and Reimagining Outdoor Spaces.
The Wills Group said that it and its family of businesses, including Dash In, Splash In ECO Car Wash and SMO Motor Fuels, are committed to helping people move forward toward their goals and dreams by providing long-term solutions to food insecurity and revitalizing outdoor spaces that bring people together—a promise the Wills Group refers to as keeping “Lives in Motion.”
The Wills Group also shared in this year’s report that it was recognized for its 2023 community engagement work by the Washington Business Journal for the third consecutive year. Dash In, owned and operated by Wills Group, also received recognition from the nonprofit Keep Virginia Beautiful for its support to further its mission of improving outdoor spaces in Virginia. The Wills Group invested over $150,000 in local communities throughout Virginia in 2023.
“The theme of this year’s report is ‘cultivating relationships, sustaining lives,’ which speaks to how we dug deeper in 2023 to spread our roots, and plant new seeds,” said Blackie Wills, president and CEO of The Wills Group. “Our success moving forward is continuing to strengthen these enduring partnerships with local nonprofits and community organizations as we can continue to evolve and grow over time, together. We’ve established relationships where there is an open dialogue about how we can help move their missions forward, and I think that’s really positive.”
Other Wills Group 2023 community engagement achievements celebrated include:
- 53 grants distributed
- 45 nonprofits supported
- 88% employee participation in the Wills Group Match Campaign
- $374,000+ raised at the Blackie Wills Golf Classic