National housing company releases its first Corporate Social Responsibility Report

Boston, MA (December 12, 2016)  WinnCompanies, an award-winning national multifamily housing development and management company, announced today that its 3,000 employees will receive a paid day of service to use for volunteer activities on behalf of non-profit civic or charitable organizations starting in 2017.

The announcement of the new 1,000 Days of Service Program highlighted the release of WinnCompanies' first-ever Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report, which details the recent citizenship and philanthropic work of the company's ownership, its affiliates and its team members.

Throughout our 45-year history, we have been mindful that the way we conduct ourselves and our company has an effect on others. We respect our obligation to act responsibly and to make positive contributions to important charitable causes as a business and as citizens, said WinnCompanies CEO Gilbert Winn, who announced the benefit in a letter to employees.""

Each of our employees will have eight paid hours to use as they wish to support causes and communities where live and work. Collectively, this initiative could generate 1,000 days of charitable works, Winn added. We are excited to mark our 45th anniversary by providing our team members with this new benefit, and by reinforcing our belief in the power of good citizenship.

WinnCompanies team member will help guide the company's corporate social responsibility efforts. As part of the 1,000 Days of Service Program, annual companywide surveys will be conducted starting in 2017 so that team members working in 22 states and the District of Columbia can help prioritize some of the causes that WinnCompanies supports each year.

Several recent employee volunteering efforts are featured in the company's 2016 CSR Report, which is now available here.

Among the highlights of the report:

• Collectively, the Winn Family Charitable Foundation, WinnCompanies Founder and Principal Arthur Winn, WinnResidential and WinnDevelopment have donated $14.5 million to dozens of charitable and non-profit civic organizations from coast to coast since the year 2000.
• WinnResidential, the company's property management arm, has injected more than $149 million into Massachusetts economy through strong relationships with minority and women-owned businesses (MWBEs) since the year 2000. For 16 consecutive years, WinnResidential has been recognized as the leading partner with MWBEs by MassHousing, the agency that finances affordable housing in Massachusetts.
• Since 2012, WinnCompanies has committed more than $210,000 to nearly 200 residents who are pursuing a better quality of life for themselves and their families. Through the WinningEdge Scholarship program, residents in Winn-managed properties apply for awards to support their post-secondary education at a college, university or professional trade school.
• In the past decade, the company has invested more than $50 million in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, combatting climate change while saving money for residents and property owners. WinnCompanies has pioneered community solar projects to provide clean energy benefit to affordable rental communities, with 10 MW of solar projects online or under construction. 

This report represents a first step toward capturing the story of our company's civic-minded activities the good works that are a choice we make, not a requirement of our business, Winn said. WinnCompanies is a private, family-owned company, but, in many ways, we also hold ourselves as a mission-driven organization.

Through its companies WinnDevelopment, WinnResidential and WinnMilitary, WinnCompanies acquires, develops and manages affordable, senior, mixed-income, market rate, military and mixed use residential properties. It is the fifth largest multi-family housing manager in the United States, and the nation's largest manager of affordable housing.

In addition to the charitable and civic activities on a corporate and individual level, the company's day-to-day business inherently strengthens communities by creating and managing a spectrum of high quality housing and mixed-use properties; preserving and re-purposing historic structures; increasing tax revenues; and, creating jobs and other direct and indirect economic impacts.