Welcome to the latest episode of At the Forefront: Fintech Conversations!
To learn more about this podcast and explore our episode archive, click here.
In today’s episode, Forefront VP and Head of Content Sam Belden sits down with Account Manager Lindsey Patterson to discuss Forefront’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) program and our long-term involvement with Wall Street Rides FAR and the wider Rides FAR organization.
Rides FAR (For Autism Research) is an annual series of charity bike ride events that bring financial services firms together in support of the Autism Science Foundation, a nonprofit leader in funding autism research and supporting families. Sam and Lindsey discuss how Forefront’s marketing and communications efforts helped fuel the growth of the original Wall Street Rides FAR event, which has since expanded to several satellite rides in cities across the US and Canada. They also touch on what it’s like to participate in a Rides FAR event, which feature a variety of cycling and walking routes and give registrants the chance to enjoy the fall foliage alongside colleagues, family members and industry friends.
They move on to discuss Forefront’s CSR program in general, which was originally spearheaded by Lindsey in 2023. Forefront’s recent CSR initiatives have included a women’s professional attire drive for Dress for Success Worldwide, a school supply drive for the New York Foundling, a holiday food drive for City Harvest and volunteering for dinner service at the Bowery Mission.
Read on for an excerpt from Lindsey’s blog, “Championing Change: Forefront’s CSR Year in Review”:
“As a company, we are always mindful of our impact on our team members, our industry and the community. As Forefront has grown, we’ve made strides toward formalizing our firm’s commitment to causes that matter. At the start of 2023, Forefront adopted an official Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) plan. This milestone ensured that our team would use its collective platform to try and make a difference outside of work.
With our small, tight-knit team, individual participation in our CSR program isn’t just an option, but integral to its success. Our employees took an active role in getting the program off the ground, providing suggestions for social causes, monthly observances and charitable organizations to support. Ultimately, we decided on what we would support based on a majority vote among our team members. We’re pleased to say that the inaugural year of our CSR program was marked by initiatives that align with a wide variety of our employees’ personal passions.”
To learn more about Rides FAR and how the organization supports evidence-based autism research, visit ridesfar.org. If you’d like to donate to Team Forefront’s Rides FAR team page, you can do so here – or you can sign up yourself and participate in this year’s ride, taking place in Westchester, New York on October 5.
Stay tuned into our LinkedIn, X and Instagram channels for opportunities to get involved in future Forefront CSR initiatives.
See below for a breakdown of what was discussed. Happy listening!
Timestamps:
1:25 – Wall Street Rides FAR and its work to support autism research
3:40 – What it’s like to participate in a Rides FAR event
5:45 – Lindsey’s role in spearheading Forefront’s CSR program and a recap of our past initiatives
7:30 – The value of a CSR program for small to mid-sized firms
8:50 – How listeners can support Forefront’s CSR efforts
