Utah Community Builders

About Us

Utah Community Builders is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community impact foundation of the Salt Lake Chamber. As an organization, we are leveraging the innovation and efficiency of the private sector to strive for solutions to community issues affecting our businesses, workforce, families and all Utahns.

Our Vision Expand workforce opportunity and prosperity for all.

Our MissionActivate the Utah business community to address pressing community issues that strengthens Utah’s workforce.

Our Strategic Priorities

  • Upward Economic Mobility
  • Workforce Mental Health
  • Family-Friendly Workplaces

Guiding Principles 

Utah Community Builders is a response to the growing desire from the business community to create a social impact for good beyond traditional business issues. We aim to engage businesses, using our guiding principles.

Identify

Utah's Pressing Challenges

Identify Utah's Pressing Challenges

Through high-quality data and research, we focus on the area of greatest need, impact and results.

Collaborate

with business community, issue experts and stakeholders

Collaborate

We bring together the business community, nonprofits, service providers and thought leaders to identify areas and plan for improvement.

Promote

social responsibility with the business community

Promote social responsibility with the business community

We provide actionable steps for businesses to take to address pressing challenges.

Encourage

the next generation of problem solvers

Encourage the next generation of problem solvers

Through process and engagement, we instill the importance of social responsibility in leaders of tomorrow.

“We hope to shine a brighter light on critical needs and issues facing our community and to partner with local businesses to make a lasting impact. It’s inspiring to see so many business leaders already stepping forward so we can support this effort together.” – Lisa Eccles, President and COO of the George S and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation and Co-Chair of the Utah Community Builder Advisory Board

Strategic Initiatives

Family-Friendly Workplaces

Utah is recognized for its strong and vibrant economy, unparalleled quality of life and community spirit. Yet, despite our many successes, Utah has challenges that require our best efforts. One that needs to be addressed is child care.

We believe that the private sector can positively impact Utah’s workforce by addressing the intersectionality of child care, employee wellness, employee retention and upward mobility.

Family-Friendly Workplaces: A Guide for Utah Business Leaders

It is estimated that childcare issues result in a $1.36 billion dollar loss annually for Utah’s economy. Family-Friendly Workplaces: A Guide for Utah Business Leaders is a resource guide for business, government and community leaders that spotlights valuable data, what to consider, and actionable steps with best practices for businesses to elevate the culture and leadership around child care support. We encourage you to carefully review the guide, and consider what steps you can take in your organization to support the child care needs and overall well-being and success of your employees.

Untapped Potential in Utah Report

The Untapped Potential in Utah was created to help the business community understand the unique needs of working parents in Utah and examine the current childcare landscape. The report estimates how often parents with children under the age of six leave the workforce or educational opportunities because of insufficient childcare, as well as how often they are missing work or school due to childcare issues. In addition, it highlights the value of access to childcare for families and any proposed solution must be developed to be responsive to the distinct challenges of Utah.

Work/Life Balance Preferences: Utah Parents

The Work/Life Balance Preferences: Utah Parents statewide survey results suggest there are a number of supportive policies employers could enact to recruit, support and retain working parents in Utah’s competitive labor market. It shows that while most are satisfied with their current work and childcare arrangement, many parents and guardians also think policies such as increased wage/salary, paid family leave, flexible/stable hours and schedule, remote/hybrid work options, better part time job opportunities and child care assistance are important to achieving their ideal situation.

Workforce Mental Health

Mental health has long been one of Utah’s most pressing issues as clinical depression in Utah has been consistently higher than the national average since 2011, and the COVID-19 pandemic only made that clearer. Utah’s business community is leading the way by building a more resilient workforce through creating cultures that support mental wellness.

Workforce Resilience Through Mental Fitness

With the right information and tools, business leaders can help improve the mental fitness of their employees, and by extension all of Utah’s workforce. The Workforce Resilience Through Mental Fitness is a campaign that provides business leaders with the information and tools necessary to improve the “mental fitness” or mental wellness of their employees, thus elevating the mental and emotional resilience of Utah’s workforce. Advice from experts, coupled with free or discounted resources, are available now.

Suicide Prevention in the Workforce Employer Toolkit

The workplace is a critical area to address mental health and suicide prevention. The Suicide Prevention in the Workforce Employer Toolkit was created to help business leaders become more understanding of and response to the mental health needs of their employees, as well as learn the best strategies to prevent suicide among their employees. There are also three industry-specific guides for construction, legal and hospitality.

State of Good Podcast

Get Involved

As the private sector is uniquely positioned to drive real progress on these issues affecting our businesses, workforce and families, we encourage you to get involved with Utah Community Builders. There are a wide variety of opportunities to engage, from volunteering on the advisory board to contributing philanthropic support. For more information, contact Executive Director Kabi Catalano at kcatalano@slchamber.com.