Winners:

Most philanthropic employer

• Premera Blue Cross
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• Microsoft

It's exciting to know that the wealth of our region is being spread to the needy through some truly charitable employers. The biggest philanthropist of all is, of course, Bill Gates. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation only began in 2000, but it's already amassed an endowment of 31.9 billion dollars. The money will go towards everything from making sure public libraries throughout the country have computers to delivering vaccines to developing countries. Employees at Gates' other organization, Microsoft, aren't selfish, either. They have their charitable contributions matched by the software company and you can even have your donation come straight out of your paycheck each month, automatically. And each year Premera Blue Cross donates more than one million dollars to a variety of causes, including the American Heart Walk, the United Way and others.

Honorable mention:

Randy's Ring & Pinion
The 125 or so employees at Randy's Ring & Pinion up in Everett aren't just making differentials, they're making a difference. Puns aside, one employee says, "Our company has given away thousands (in 2005, over $100,000) to our local community. We do a food drive, we're scheduled for a blood drive, and we participated in backpacks for kids."