For the second time in three years, Maumee-based Savage and Associates has been named as a Charitable Champion by Invest in Others, a national association dedicated to philanthropy and volunteerism in the financial services industry.
Savage’s president and CEO, JR Toland, was highly gratified by the award.
“We have a long-term culture of giving back,” he said. “And that’s not just measured in dollar amounts but in the number of people we have involved in the community.”
The company’s signature charitable event is the Savage Foundation Golf Classic, an annual tournament held in June that has raised more than $1.6 million for charities since 2003.
“In 2024, the event grossed about $120,000,” said Kelly Savage, the daughter of the company’s founder, John Savage.
After expenses were paid, 75 percent of the remaining funds were donated to five local charities: the Open Door Ministry, Love & Luggage, Connecting Kids to Meals, Genacross Lutheran Services, and the Program Inc.
The remaining monies were given to other charities or used to fund matching gifts.
Next year’s golf event will be held on June 9 at Stone Oak Country Club.
Another one of Savage’s recent major charitable projects was the Greater Toledo Home Giveaway, in which a new home in Sylvania was raffled off. The ProMedica Russell J. Ebeid Children’s Hospital received $325,000 from the raffle.
The company’s charitable endeavors also include smaller donations and service projects.
In partnership with Habitat for Humanity and other businesses and organizations, Savage sponsored a “blitz build” that constructed six children’s playhouses in the company’s parking lot. They were donated to lower-income families with young children.
“We do an Alzheimer’s walk and a suicide prevention walk,” Mr. Toland said. “One year, we worked with the Red Cross going door to door and offering people free smoke detectors. We try to do one or two things like that every year.”
The firm has a donation committee that accepts requests for funds.
“We rarely turn down anybody,” Mr. Toland said. “We try to keep the funds local. It’s on us to give back to the community.”
The company’s charitable ethos began years ago with John Savage.
“It was in his DNA to say that if you were in a position to give something back, then it’s your obligation to do so,” Ms. Savage said. “Our job is not to screw up what he started. Many of our employees have personally supported the company’s charitable work by donating time, talent, or treasure.”
Ms. Savage also recalled that one of her late father’s favorite sayings, which comes from the Book of Deuteronomy, was “We all drink from wells we did not dig.”
Invest in Others was founded in 2006 by LPL Financial, a broker-dealer and investment adviser that provides services to financial advisers and investors. Its mission is to channel the charitable giving and volunteerism of the financial services industry to make a difference where it’s needed most.
In evaluating financial services companies for the Charitable Champion award, Invest in Others considers their leadership and culture, their events and activities, the incentives that are offered to employees to participate in corporate giving, the companies’ contributions of time and money, and the impact and inspiration that result.
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