How does an entrepreneur do that while running a company? Wheeler manages by devoting two of his employees almost full-time to the philanthropic cause; by enlisting everyone who's willing to donate time, materials, or money; and by combining his hobbies (motorcycles, fishing, and music) with philanthropy.
Indulging in his love for music, Wheeler started an annual 12-week, not-for-profit folk-concert series. And then there's his passion for salmon fishing. When his 34-foot boat, No Limits, hit the waters of Lake Michigan a few summers ago, he donated a day on the boat to a church auction. Bids for more than $900 came in, and Wheeler got the idea to turn such junkets into philanthropic events. Today he and his sons run about 30 charters a summer, at around $800 a day, with all the proceeds going to charity. And he claims that the approach actually did wonders for the fishing, too. "I think whenever you actually fish for charity, you catch more fish," says Wheeler, laughing. "We caught 190 fish this summer. We got a halo over our boat."
His assistant, Brenda Wallin, insists that the employees love the charitable work. But it wouldn't be hard to ask too much -- a line that Wheeler walks daily. He recently relieved project manager Bill Meconis of his for-profit duties and now pays him to build houses full-time for the Inner City Christian Federation, a nonprofit housing corporation that Wheeler describes as a local Habitat for Humanity. Wheeler says he tells other Rockford Construction employees: "'You tell us if you're too busy. Don't sacrifice your family time, your personal time.' We don't force them, ever. I tell them, 'You're not going to get a raise for doing nonprofit work.' " But then his tone becomes stern and his passion for his causes shows through. "But, hey -- we need help."
Wheeler isn't shy about using both carrot and stick to get what he wants. In 2002, to get the materials and labor he needed to build a $350,000 house that was sold to benefit God's Kitchen's "Hammer Out Hunger" project, he held a dinner for subcontractors, suppliers, and clients. "When you're getting people to spend money, you have to do something for them," says Wallin, who organizes the details. "We had a nice dinner, opened up the bar for them, and then said, 'OK, open up your wallets."
Wheeler sells his vision to employees just as deliberately. A devoted tai chi practitioner and student of Tao, Wheeler holds monthly meditation and guided-imagery sessions for employees. He's not above using those sessions to remind his staff of their good fortune. "'Just 20 minutes from here there are people who won't have supper and probably not lunch," he'll say. "And then we're off to the races."
So if it's this easy -- and this much fun -- why don't more CEOs devote themselves to nonprofit causes? Wheeler modestly assumes they do. "I just think that some companies aren't as vocal about it," he says. He pauses. "I would hope that everybody's doing something. If they're not, oh, man, are they missing the boat."
Rebecca Dorr contributed to the reporting for this story.
Rules for Giving
Charity in volume takes time -- and organization. Before John Wheeler and his assistant, Brenda Wallin, refined their systems, the work was overwhelming. Says Wheeler: "Brenda said to me, 'This is nuts. You keep saying yes to everything. Why don't you let me run through all the requests?" So Wheeler put Wallin in charge, and together they came up with a handful of rules for taming the chaos.
1. Choose a cause that everyone cares about.
Otherwise, deciding which charitable requests to fulfill is tough. How do you choose a cause that your employees can get behind? One of Rockford Construction's pet causes is juvenile diabetes because an employee has the disease. Wallin says, "When you have more than 100 employees, you're likely to run into a cause that affects a person's life."
2. Appoint managers and pay them for their nonprofit efforts.
Wallin spends about 10 hours of her 40-hour week sifting through the 470 charitable requests that Rockford gets, on average, each year. She organizes the events, from Henry Paideia Academy's Christmas party, to donor dinners, to the flight schedules for contractors and carpenters who traveled back and forth to Guatemala last year. Bill Meconis's 40-hour job is devoted entirely to volunteer work; he's the project manager for the Inner City Christian Federation homes.
3. Know whom to call for help.
Wheeler does almost nothing alone. Depending on the needs of the project, he persuades employees, subcontractors, suppliers, and customers to join him. To build a $350,000 house last year, Wheeler and five of his development partners donated a $75,000 piece of land. Then he asked Rockford's subcontractors to do some of the work but reached out to specialists -- electricians and even a mural painter -- for extra labor. He turned to clients and Rockford employees for cash.
4. Meet the press.
"We're not looking for recognition," says Wallin. "But we're looking for a little bit of public awareness for certain situations, like the Henry Paideia school. If we can do something, we think other people can do something."
5. Sell your vision to your employees.
Wheeler and Wallin E-mail employees information about projects, invite them to fish fries, and ask them to wrap presents for the Henry Paideia students. Wheeler also appoints a charitable board of six employees who help determine which requests to fulfill. "We're able to select [projects] and give to people who are in such need. It's a wonderful feeling," says Wallin.
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