Burns & McDonnell leadership participate in a "Hot Ones" challenge during United Way of Metro Chicago's campaign in 2025.

For more than 30 years, Burns & McDonnell and United Way of Metro Chicago have partnered to strengthen local communities, creating a legacy of generosity that has resulted in nearly $2 million in contributions over the past 28 years.

What makes the partnership especially powerful is not just the dollars raised, but the culture behind it — one that starts with leadership, is embraced by employees, and continues to grow organically across the engineering, architecture, and construction firm.

This culture is rooted in one defining characteristic: 100% employee ownership.

“What drew me to Burns & McDonnell was the people,” said Tim Faber, Vice President and General Manager of the Great Lakes Region at Burns & McDonnell. “The fact that we are all [company] owners gives a different level of care. You’re working together. It’s almost like a family and for a common purpose.”

Burns & McDonnell empowers its people to think beyond their individual roles and consider the broader impact they can make. According to Tim, that mindset influences everything, from serving clients to supporting coworkers and giving back to the community.

“Ownership is the biggest differentiator for us,” Tim said. “It affects the type of people that are attracted to us. When people come to work here, they don’t leave. You build this long history with folks, and it creates an incredible culture.”

That culture is evident in the company’s longstanding support of United Way of Metro Chicago. Senior leaders champion the campaign each year, while employees enthusiastically participate through kickoff events, volunteer opportunities, raffles, leadership challenges, and other creative activities that bring people together around a shared purpose. Last year alone, more than 450 employees — including senior leaders, young professionals, and new hires — all participated in the Chicago-area campaign, demonstrating the depth of engagement across the organization.

For Tim, United Way’s value lies in its ability to unite individual passions into collective action.

“There is great value in coming together around a shared purpose,” he said. “Through our partnership with United Way, our collective passion is translated into meaningful, lasting impact in our community.”

That sense of shared purpose aligns closely with Burns & McDonnell’s mission of making clients successful while creating communities of opportunity. Employees are encouraged to look beyond day-to-day responsibilities and consider how they can leave a lasting impact on the neighborhoods where they live and work.

Many of the company’s most meaningful community initiatives are not directed from the top down. Instead, they emerge organically from employees who identify needs and take action. Tim points to a recent partnership with Genevieve Melody STEM School in West Garfield Park as an example of how employee passion can develop into a sustained community impact effort, reflecting both the quality of the company’s people and its commitment to service.

United Way helps create the space for those passions to come together.

“What I really value about United Way is its ability for us to collectively engage in one common cause,” Tim said. “This is our way of driving that significance through our business into a greater purpose. We’re trying to make the world a better place.”

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