Alliant is Building Community Through Philanthropy and Volunteering

Alliant is a civil engineering and design firm driven by their mission to build better communities with excellence and passion. While it’s easy to see this applying to their infrastructure and development projects, the Alliant team takes their mission even further by building community through giving time and funds to hunger relief.

"Second Harvest Heartland does incredible work in our community, and Alliant wants to be a part of that," says Sean O'Brien, Alliant’s chief financial officer. "We focus on raising money because Second Harvest Heartland uses financial resources so efficiently. We host events, raffles, and auctions throughout November to keep employee-owners engaged in the fundraising process.” 

Alliant employees pose with their donation to Second Harvest Heartland.

This year, Alliant’s employee and company donations were able to provide more than 150,000 meals to neighbors in need!  

“Our employee-owners donate very generously, which is matched by our CEO John Dillingham, and his wife, Mitzi,” explains Sean. “After that, the company matches the entire amount. The extreme generosity of our employee-owners and the subsequent double match is how we’re able to generate such a large amount financially with less than 200 employees.”  

Along with contributing financially to Second Harvest Heartland, the Alliant Team also gives of their time by participating in volunteer food packing shifts in our Volunteer Center.

"Volunteering at Second Harvest is just really fun," says Sean. "They do a great job of creating a collaborative environment where we're still all together doing something awesome. We’re a competitive bunch though, so we’re always trying to pack faster than our coworkers at the station next to us.”  

Alliant employees packing pasta in the Volunteer Center.

Another way Alliant connects with the community is through their STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) initiative, Trailblazers. They partner with schools, after-school time programs, and nonprofits to bring engineering curricula to youth and inspire the next generation of civil engineers, surveyors, and environmentalists.  

How does that connect to Second Harvest Heartland’s mission? Beth Winter, Alliant’s marketing content specialist, explains, “We know that food is needed for brain development and for helping with concentration. Working with Second Harvest to help feed Minnesota’s youth goes hand in hand with building a culture where kids can thrive while learning.”   

We are so grateful to Alliant for their donations of time and money to help us build a stronger, food secure community for all.