PILLAR AWARD FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE
Alexander Cutler
Chairman and CEO
Eaton Corp.
www.eaton.com
Eaton Corp. takes a different approach to corporate giving than many companies — they let employees determine where the company donates a large share of its contributions, based on the needs in the communities and interests of local employees. These donations go to hundreds of community organizations every year.
Eaton’s yearly contributions are based on a rolling average of its annual profits, so as the company grows, so do its contributions to the communities in which Eaton employees live and work. In 2012, that total exceeded $8.7 million.
There is no better example of this than in the Cleveland area, where Eaton has been located for 100 years. Founder Joseph Eaton was one of the local leaders who helped create the Community Chest, a precursor to the United Way. Eaton’s culture of giving back continues with Alexander Cutler, the company’s chairman and CEO.
Eaton has about 1,800 employees at eight Cleveland-area locations serving its global customers in the electrical, aerospace, hydraulics and vehicle businesses. In Ohio, Eaton has about 3,500 employees. The company’s employee-driven model means that Eaton works with a wide range of organizations in addressing a broad spectrum of needs in local communities, from education to arts and culture, to health and human services.
Eaton is represented on more than 90 boards in the Cleveland area, holding leadership positions with ideastream, University Hospitals Health System, the Salvation Army of Greater Cleveland, the Greater Cleveland Partnership, the United Way of Greater Cleveland, the Musical Arts Association, the Playhouse Square Foundation and the Cleveland Museum of Art. ●
