Two signs in the Brake Parts Inc. parking lot in McHenry – setting aside prime spots for top United Way givers – are evidence of how much the company once supported local charities.

In news stories over the years, the brakes manufacturer – which shut its doors in recent days, taking with it hundreds of local jobs – was lauded for its contributions to organizations like United Way of Greater McHenry County and The Community Foundation for McHenry County.

In November 2021, the Community Foundation recognized Brake Parts as “business philanthropist of the year,” according to Shaw Local archives.

That was about the last time the foundation heard from the company, Amy Hernon, the foundation’s executive director, said.

[ Laid-off Brake Parts workers said company claimed jobs safe ]

In June 2019, 14 months before its sale to First Brands, the local United Way honored Brake Parts with The Benchmark Award for raising more than $272,000 for the organization.

“They were a tremendous company for a long time, as an employer and a community partner,” said Jamie Maravich, president and CEO of the United Way of Greater McHenry County.

On the Brake Parts Inc. website, a video praises its commitment to charitable giving, sustainable business practices and overall corporate culture.

But at some point after that August 2020 sale – before Maravich came on at United Way – that relationship was lost, she said.

“When that happened, they did go from being the largest contributor by far to not contributing at all,” Maravich said.

The parent company, First Brands Group, announced on Jan. 26 its intention to “wind down” operations at Brake Parts, and 389 employees received termination notices Feb. 3.

First Brands founder and former CEO Patrick James and his brother, former senior executive Edward James, were indicted on multiple fraud charges Jan. 29, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office news release. Both have pleaded not guilty and are free on bail.

McHenry County’s United Way organization is not the first to see corporate and employee giving – often through a payroll deduction – disappear after a local company is sold to an international conglomerate.

“It happens more and more as the world gets more consolidated, and technology factors in, too,” Maravich said.

“Instead of going through United Way, with its finger on the pulse” of where funds can do the most help in a community, employees are often searching for charities online – and outside their own communities, she added.

Losing a major contributor hasn’t stopped the local United Way from raising funds that are then send out to community nonprofit groups. In the 2024-25 cycle, the organization funded grants at nearly 30 county agencies, totaling more than $1 million.

What is funded varies from year to year, Maravich said, but the need hasn’t changed.

“The grant requests far exceed – and that was true in the very good years too – the amounts raised," she said.

Other local companies also have stepped up their giving.

“There are organizations like TC Industries and many others that are leaning in. Stryker just launched a strategic partnership with us, designating 50,000 new dollars [to increase] health and food security with an emphasis on protecting and lifting ALICE families,” Maravich said.

ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed – families who are employed but struggle in current economic conditions.

“One big expense, like a car breakdown, can lead to financial ruin,” Maravich said.

The loss of one big donor is a reminder to nonprofits and agencies to make sure they do not rely on just one source for their grants, Hernon said.

“It can be easy for us to go back to the same wells, but we also encourage all of those who we fund ... if we are giving you a $25,000 grant, you need to have three or four others giving you $25,000 grants, too,” she said.

Hernon pointed to local companies that have stepped up their charitable giving.

“Some of our large partners have transitioned better than others,” following sales to larger, international companies, Hernon said, adding she just met with officials from Cary-based Stryker regarding its community engagement in McHenry County. “That is still very important to them.”

For information on United Way of Greater McHenry County, go to its website, uwmchenry.org. More on The Community Foundation for McHenry County can be found at thecfmc.org.