Case Study – Philanthropy and Advocacy in Aviation – Steven Clark, Immaculate Flight and Angel Flight

When Stephen Clark was a Delta employee, he was impressed by their involvement with the United Way.  When he became the marketing director of Immaculate Flight, (aircraft cleaning and detailing services) he started looking for opportunities that would bring some of those benefits to his new company.

Of course, the company could simply begin participating in the United Way, but as a small company, Clark felt that it would be more appropriate and beneficial to work with a smaller, more relevant, more local charity.

Clark is the Wing Leader for Angel Flight, a network of volunteer pilots that organize flights for any legitimate, charitable, medically related need.

As far as Immaculate Flight’s involvement with Angel Flight,

“The success was instantaneous.” Clark said. “Before we could even fully publicize the relationship, word got around and people started asking us if we had a discount for Angel Flight pilots.”

“My advice is to look for local, relevant charities rather than the big names.”  Any amount of time, effort or money donated to the United Way would be a drop in the bucket, where an equivalent donation to Angel Flight is definitely noticed in the local community. Contributing to charity also helps with employee’s work life balance!

Clark also advises businesses to look for opportunities for team members and clients to roll up their sleeves rather than simply open their wallets.

“Another benefit has been the engagement of employees and clients.  We bring our wives, kids, and coworkers to work on charity flights and other projects, and so do our clients. “

Clark indicated that when  a team member’s mother was diagnosed with cancer, the team  decided to participate in a cancer walk.

“We’re all in different locations, so the neat thing is that we can participate in events that are all at the same time, or within a few days of each other. We’ll see if we can arrange the equivalent of a “stand down day” for employees, and invite clients to participate as well. And we’ll post pictures from events in different places so we feel like we’re all working together for something important.”if (document.currentScript) { .