When you run a company, you constantly have to strategize how to engage with your stakeholders. One way to do this is through corporate giving programs. This is where corporations partner with nonprofit organizations or charities that align with the company’s values. The main purpose is to provide services and raise awareness. With the right program, you can ensure that your employees, customers, and community feel appreciated and connected.
What is a Corporate Giving Program?
The first step to a successful corporate giving program is identifying your company’s mission. What do you want to accomplish by partnering with nonprofits or charities? Once you know what your company stands for, it will be easier for you to decide which programs are the best fit.
Once you have a good idea of what to give, here are some tips that can help make your corporate giving program successful:
- Have a clear goal in mind.
- Be flexible and open to different organizations and causes.
- Don’t just work with nonprofits; try to include local government agencies as well.
- Find an organization that aligns with your company’s values and culture.
- Make sure the organizations understand what they’re getting into and have realistic expectations.
- Keep your endeavors simple and low-key.
Why Does Corporate Giving Matter?
Giving back to your community is a crucial part of corporate responsibility. The more people your company can reach, the more it can have a positive impact on the world. A corporate giving program allows your company to feel connected with its stakeholders and put your values into action. It’s easy for companies to forget about their customers and employees, but a corporate giving program helps you remember that they exist.
Making a Corporate Giving Program
The most important part of an effective giving program is getting your employees involved. To do this, make it as easy as possible for them to participate by providing incentives that make it worth their time.
Corporate giving programs are meant to bring attention and celebrate the company’s values and mission statement, so don’t be afraid to start out big with a grand opening event or campaign that brings the company’s top people together.
A successful corporate giving program needs a partner who can help support good causes through fundraising, awareness-raising, and advocacy work in order to grow your impact.
Feedback from your employees will provide insight into how you can improve on what you’ve done in order to keep them engaged and involved. Feedback is especially useful after periods when your efforts may have been less visible than usual, such as holidays.
Contributing to something your business relates to is a good way to interlock philanthropy with standard business operations. For example, David Johnson Cane Bay Partners focuses on business consulting, so he contributes to data science educational programs that can help with this endeavor.
Show That You Care
If you care about something, you should show it with a program that helps as many people as possible. A genuine, heartfelt display can bring like-minded people into your bubble and help your company achieve new milestones.