logo
From Inception to Impact: Cherry Bekaert Foundation's First Annual Report Highlights Community Engagement

From Inception to Impact: Cherry Bekaert Foundation's First Annual Report Highlights Community Engagement

RALEIGH, N.C., April 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Cherry Bekaert Foundation (the Foundation) is proud to unveil its inaugural annual report, detailing the organization's impactful journey from 2023 to 2024. Established as a 501(c)(3) in December 2022, the Foundation has rapidly become a catalyst for positive change in the communities it serves. The report offers a comprehensive overview of initiatives, national partnerships, volunteer efforts, and grant giving, while laying a strong foundation for future endeavors.
'We are thrilled to present our first annual report, reflecting our unwavering commitment to transparency, innovation, and community impact,' says Susan Moser, former Partner and Cherry Bekaert Foundation President. 'We are grateful to our partners, supporters, and dedicated team who have made this journey possible. Together, we are building a brighter future.'
Overall, the Foundation's annual report highlights multiple accomplishments, including:
Partnership with Junior Achievement: In March 2024, the Foundation announced its first national partnership with Junior Achievement, contributing an initial $100,000 donation. This collaboration aligns with the Foundation's educational focus, offering year-round volunteer opportunities for Cherry Bekaert employees to teach children essential life skills and financial literacy.
Volunteer Week: Cherry Bekaert employees united both in person and virtually to support deserving organizations and important causes, collectively volunteering 4,536 hours and donating over $13,000 in 2023 and 2024.
Grant Giving and Additional Support: Over the past two years, the Foundation has supported more than 80 charitable and non-profit organizations, with 35 in 2023 and 47 supported in 2024.
Hurricane Relief: In response to hurricanes Helene and Milton in the fall of 2024, the Foundation raised $28,000 in relief contributions and matching funds, disbursing $72,000 in grants earmarked for hurricane relief.
Explore the full Cherry Bekaert Annual Report here. Learn more by visiting cbh.com/foundation.
About the Cherry Bekaert Foundation
Established in December 2022, the Cherry Bekaert Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, gives back to the communities where we live and work. The Foundation seeks to collaborate with and support organizations that align with Cherry Bekaert's shared values, provide impactful resources, and inspire individuals to actively engage with their communities. Visit us at cbh.com/foundation and follow us on LinkedIn.
About Cherry Bekaert
Cherry Bekaert, ranked among the largest assurance, tax, and advisory firms in the U.S., serves clients across industries in the U.S. and internationally. 'Cherry Bekaert' is the brand name under which Cherry Bekaert LLP and Cherry Bekaert Advisory LLC, independently owned entities, provide professional services in an alternative practice structure in accordance with applicable professional standards. Cherry Bekaert Advisory LLC is not a licensed CPA firm. Cherry Bekaert LLP is a licensed CPA firm that provides attest services, and Cherry Bekaert Advisory LLC and its subsidiary entities provide business advisory and non-attest services spanning the areas of transaction advisory, risk and accounting advisory, digital solutions, cybersecurity, and tax. We exercise a deliberate curiosity to know our clients' industries and work collaboratively to create shared success. For more details, visit cbh.com/disclosure.
© 2025 Cherry Bekaert. All Rights Reserved.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Foundation CEO Provides Expert Testimony to U.S. Senate as Outside Witness on Vision Research Funding
Foundation CEO Provides Expert Testimony to U.S. Senate as Outside Witness on Vision Research Funding

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Foundation CEO Provides Expert Testimony to U.S. Senate as Outside Witness on Vision Research Funding

Jason Menzo Urges Robust FY2026 Funding for National Eye Institute and Protection of Its Independent Status COLUMBIA, Md., June 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Foundation Fighting Blindness, the driving force in the global development of treatments and cures for blinding diseases, today submitted written testimony to the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies through its chief executive officer, Jason Menzo, who served as an expert outside witness. In the testimony, Menzo urged the Subcommittee to deliver robust and sustained funding for the National Eye Institute (NEI) in Fiscal Year 2026 and to preserve NEI's status as an independent institute within the National Institutes of Health (NIH). "NEI is the only federal institute dedicated exclusively to vision research," said Jason Menzo, CEO of the Foundation Fighting Blindness. "Its work is restoring sight, advancing precision medicine, and delivering hope to millions of Americans living with retinal diseases. Continued investment is critical to maintaining momentum and achieving breakthroughs for conditions that currently have no cure." The Foundation's testimony highlights how NEI-supported research has led to transformative discoveries, including the first FDA-approved gene therapy for an inherited disease, and emphasizes NEI's strategic role in public-private collaborations that accelerate treatment development. The Foundation Fighting Blindness and NEI have long shared a close, collaborative partnership to advance high-impact scientific discovery and bring new treatments to patients faster. Vision loss from diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, and Stargardt disease currently affects tens of millions and costs the U.S. economy an estimated $134.2 billion annually. The Foundation emphasized that inconsistent funding stalls clinical trials, closes labs, and risks losing top scientific talent—consequences that are difficult and costly to reverse. The testimony also noted that for every dollar invested in NIH-funded research, $2.56 in new economic activity is generated, making this one of the highest-return investments Congress can make. "We're not just talking about restoring sight—we're talking about protecting America's leadership in biomedical innovation and supporting economic growth in communities nationwide," added Menzo. The Foundation Fighting Blindness urges Congress to: Provide strong, sustained funding for NEI in the FY2026 Labor-HHS Appropriations bill; and Preserve NEI's status as an independent institute within NIH to ensure focused, strategic investment in vision science. The full testimony is available at About the Foundation Fighting BlindnessEstablished in 1971, the Foundation Fighting Blindness is the world's leading private source of funding for research on retinal degenerative diseases. The Foundation has raised over $954 million toward its mission to prevent, treat, and cure blinding diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration, Usher syndrome, and more. Visit for more information. Media Contacts:Chris AdamsVice President, Marketing & CommunicationsCAdams@ 423-0585 View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Foundation Fighting Blindness

Aurora and On the Road Garage team up to train autonomous vehicle technicians
Aurora and On the Road Garage team up to train autonomous vehicle technicians

Yahoo

time3 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Aurora and On the Road Garage team up to train autonomous vehicle technicians

Aurora has partnered with On the Road Garage, a transportation workforce development provider to launch an apprenticeship and upskilling initiative to prepare workers for the new demands required by autonomous vehicles. Aurora advises the program and includes autonomous and electric vehicle repair, ADAS calibration, advanced vehicle technologies, and AV terminal operations. This program is about more than just jobs—it's about building equitable access to the future of mobility,' said Roy Villareal, vice president at On the Road Garage in the release. 'Through this collaboration with Aurora, we are creating a national model for inclusive workforce development in emerging transportation technologies.' The program called 'OTR Advanced Vehicle Technology—Powered by Aurora' combines hands-on training paired with pathways to gain industry credentials, a major pathway for vehicle technicians who use these credentials to get better roles or more pay. For autonomous vehicle providers, half the battle is getting the truck on the road while an additional and under-reported challenge goes into maintenance. Compared to a traditional tractor driven by a driver, autonomous trucks require technicians who can troubleshoot and repair the complex LiDAR and radar arrays besides the extra redundant systems that AV trucks require, like braking, power and steering systems. The fleet technician space remains in a shortage, with an aging workforce paired with broader demographic changes forcing maintenance providers to get creative with filling roles. An added challenge comes from the labor pipeline, where smaller shops are competing with larger OEM dealers for labor. Trevor Milton, recently pardoned founder of Nikola, is actively fighting a subpoena from creditors of his bankrupt electric trucking company as they attempt to recover nearly $100 million he allegedly owes the firm. The official committee of unsecured creditors issued the subpoena to Milton's legal team on April 1, seeking information about his financial affairs. The committee alleges Milton has failed to pay the substantial sum awarded to Nikola following a 2023 arbitration case related to his criminal conviction. 'Milton has yet to pay a cent,' the creditor committee stated in a recent filing. Before its bankruptcy declaration in February, Nikola had sued Milton in federal court in Arizona, accusing him of 'fraudulently transferring away tens of millions of dollars of his assets in order to hinder, delay, and defraud [Nikola] in [its] attempts to collect upon the Arbitration Award.' The dispute has persisted for approximately two months, with Milton's legal team arguing that materials sought by creditors are protected under a protective order in the Arizona case. Meanwhile, Nikola's assets have been largely liquidated through the bankruptcy process. Lucid Motors has acquired the leases on Nikola's Arizona factory and headquarters, hiring around 300 former employees. An auction company purchased the company's remaining hydrogen-powered trucks. The arbitration award represents one of the largest remaining assets in Nikola's bankruptcy estate. The company had initially planned to use this award to settle an ongoing class action shareholder lawsuit related to misleading claims made during its public offering process. Complicating matters further, Milton received a surprise presidential pardon from President Trump while appealing his four-year prison sentence. Shortly thereafter, Nikola's lawyers accused Milton of attempting to derail the bankruptcy proceedings. Milton has since commissioned a documentary that premiered on June 10, which he claims will reveal the 'true story about how the so called 'justice system' nearly destroyed an innocent man.' The post Aurora and On the Road Garage team up to train autonomous vehicle technicians appeared first on FreightWaves. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Declares $0.47 Per Share Dividend
Blackstone Mortgage Trust Declares $0.47 Per Share Dividend

Yahoo

time4 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Declares $0.47 Per Share Dividend

NEW YORK, June 13, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE: BXMT) declared a dividend of $0.47 per share of class A common stock with respect to the second quarter of 2025. This dividend is payable on July 15, 2025 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on June 30, 2025. About Blackstone Mortgage Trust Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE: BXMT) is a real estate finance company that originates, acquires and manages senior loans and other debt or credit-oriented investments collateralized by or relating to commercial real estate in North America, Europe, and Australia. Our investment objective is to preserve and protect shareholder capital while producing attractive risk-adjusted returns primarily through dividends generated from current income. Our portfolio is composed primarily of loans secured by high-quality, institutional assets in major markets, sponsored by experienced, well-capitalized real estate investment owners and operators. These loans are financed in a variety of ways, depending on our view of the most prudent strategy available for each of our investments. We are externally managed by BXMT Advisors L.L.C., a subsidiary of Blackstone. Further information is available at About Blackstone Blackstone is the world's largest alternative asset manager. Blackstone seeks to deliver compelling returns for institutional and individual investors by strengthening the companies in which the firm invests. Blackstone's nearly $1.2 trillion in assets under management include global investment strategies focused on real estate, private equity, credit, infrastructure, life sciences, growth equity, secondaries and hedge funds. Further information is available at Follow @blackstone on LinkedIn, X (Twitter), and Instagram. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which reflect BXMT's current views with respect to, among other things, its operations and financial performance, its business plans and the impact of the current macroeconomic environment, including interest rate changes. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "outlook," "objective," "indicator," "believes," "expects," "potential," "continues," "may," "will," "should," "seeks," "predicts," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "anticipates" or the negative version of these words or other comparable words. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those indicated in these statements. BXMT believes these factors include but are not limited to those described under the section entitled "Risk Factors" in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, as such factors may be updated from time to time in its periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") which are accessible on the SEC's website at These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in this release and in the filings. BXMT assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events or circumstances. View source version on Contacts Investor Relations Blackstone+1 (888) 756-8443BlackstoneShareholderRelations@ Public Affairs Blackstone+1 (212) 583-5263PressInquiries@

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store