Opinion: The Transformative Power of Business Wealth

This month, Charlie and Mary Beth O’Reilly presented a $1.5 million gift to Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks, the nonprofit officially formed in 2000 by Mary Beth to serve the needs of local women fighting breast cancer. In honor of the gift, a small gathering was held at Hilton Garden Inn and a formal announcement was made to a group of loyal supporters.

I had the pleasure of attending and stayed all of about 30 minutes. But, in that short time, there were a number of things that struck me, small lessons in business and philanthropy that I continue to turn over in my mind and that I think warrant repeating.

1. Stay the course. Mary Beth began her remarks by describing her inspiration for BCFO over 15 years ago. Her name was Kristen. Mary Beth recounted the story of the 27-year-old who was diagnosed a year after reporting a lump she was told couldn’t possibly be breast cancer. The two women met for the first time, as Kristen took her initial dose of chemotherapy. At that time, Mary Beth provided the kind of support most needed: a friend to lean on during the difficult fight, an introduction to a community of survivors and access to education and research.

Remembering Kristen seems essential to the BCFO mission. It is so important, Kristen’s 1998 photo remains on the organization’s website today. In this way, a single focus is maintained.

2. Set stretch goals. BCFO has survived and thrived by combining various fundraising models with a cadre of events. Even outside business revenue plays into BCFO’s financials with the organization’s contractual management of five motor vehicle licensing offices in the area. Though, in an effort to generate sustainable resources, BCFO established an endowment fund in the bylaws creating the organization. BCFO looked far into the future and determined a mature endowment of $25 million by the year 2020 would create the annual revenue needed to provide comprehensive services for years to come. The O’Reilly couple’s recent gift brings the organization within $7.5 million of reaching that goal.

3. Rally the troops. At the Aug. 19 reception, I quickly realized I hadn’t been invited to a press conference. Sure, reporters were invited, but truly this was a celebration of supporters, a pep rally of sorts. I saw BCFO board members, staff members, volunteers and donors. This gathering was about celebrating progress and recommitting the troops to the miles still left to travel. It was about leadership showing they are in this, too.

3. Embrace the codependence of the chicken and the egg. Charlie was last to the podium, and he seized the opportunity to say a few words about O’Reilly Automotive Inc. He thanked the loyal auto parts customers and asked them to return to the stores often. “You see,” Charlie said, “Mary Beth and I couldn’t be nearly as generous without the enormous success of O’Reilly Auto Parts.”

While this statement garnered an audible chuckle from the audience, it has probably given me the most to ponder. Ralph Waldo Emmerson claimed doing well is the result of doing good. However, most entrepreneurs I know have managed to do the most good by first doing well. Maybe it just doesn’t matter which comes first. Perhaps the takeaway is real results stem from doing the most good one’s means will allow, for the most people, for as long as possible.

There is no question the O’Reilly family has experienced tremendous business success. Now publicly traded, O’Reilly Automotive (Nasdaq: ORLY) eclipsed $7 billion in revenue last year, and the stock this month hit a record high of $258.15 per share.

BCFO serves as just one example of the transformative power of business wealth reinvested in the community. Charlie put the coexistence of these two concepts in very simple terms: “Keep buying your radiators from O’Reilly Auto Parts so that BCFO can keep taking care of families affected by breast cancer … forever,” he said.

Springfield Business Journal Publisher Jennifer Jackson can be reached at jjackson@sbj.net.