Although most businesses are concerned with making a profit to fuel growth and innovation, the days are gone when that should be the only driver behind an organization's decisions. Today the public, governmental authorities, stockholders and employees themselves expect an organization to take into account how their actions impact the community that supports them commercially. In many ways, this recognition of social impact has become a business driver itself.
This caring about corporate social impact is a trend that gaining momentum. In the United Kingdom, for example, a Social Stock Exchange has been created. This allows investors to find companies with strong financial forecasts but also companies that focus heavily on their social impact. These days, social responsibility is one of the key building blocks for creating a positive reputation and legacy in our world.
So how can a company make a positive social impact while thriving financially? The answer comes down to creatively building and implementing a broad corporate social responsibility program that focuses on the doing of good, but does so in a strategic and efficient way.
You can certainly begin with some creative giving, and there are many different options. The best CSR programs will incorporate at least two, if not more, of the following creative giving options:
Sustainable Business Practices - A commitment to environmentally responsible materials, recycling, energy efficiency, or pollution mitigation.
Donate To The Cause -Corporate donations can include monetary contributions as well as the donations of products and services. You can set up a corporate foundation for this purpose.
Workplace Volunteering - Offering pre-approved volunteer opportunities to employees, including offering paid time off for volunteer activities on company time.
Staff Donations - If donations are complicated and many forms must be filled out, this is a huge deterrent so make the process easy. Automatic payroll deductions each month are one option or you can provide an easy one-time donation option.
Corporate Gift Matching - Offering a match for qualified charitable contributions.
In addition to these creative giving suggestions, you need to think about strategic giving. We all want to do some good, but your program of corporate responsibility won't help anyone if runs counter to the goals and culture already established in your business model. You need to ensure that your giving program aligns with the mission and goals of your business in order for it to succeed.
Strategic giving involves taking a well-planned and balanced approach to the following considerations:
Is this CSR program financially feasible for our company?
Will we have enough of an impact to justify the effort and investment?
How will these efforts be used to improve our business in general? (There is no reason not to publicize your charitable efforts and use these endeavors as a source of public relations or for the recruitment of new talent.)
Is the organization set up to fully support this cause?
Is there already a culture of philanthropy present at our company or does this need to be established?
Is upper management visibly on board?
Of course, even if each of these questions garners a positive result, you need to ensure that your CSR plan is run efficiently. The proper management of finances and employees is a huge priority. Every department of your business needs to be run efficiently and monitored and reviewed to ensure maximum growth. This is certainly true with corporate giving programs, and this process can be made far easier by enlisting the services of a partner company that specializes in the management of corporate social responsibility programs. As the manager of your company's CSR program, using a partner organization allows you to spend more time encouraging managers and employees to participate and also gives you some extra time for your own personal participation in charitable giving.
This caring about corporate social impact is a trend that gaining momentum. In the United Kingdom, for example, a Social Stock Exchange has been created. This allows investors to find companies with strong financial forecasts but also companies that focus heavily on their social impact. These days, social responsibility is one of the key building blocks for creating a positive reputation and legacy in our world.
So how can a company make a positive social impact while thriving financially? The answer comes down to creatively building and implementing a broad corporate social responsibility program that focuses on the doing of good, but does so in a strategic and efficient way.
You can certainly begin with some creative giving, and there are many different options. The best CSR programs will incorporate at least two, if not more, of the following creative giving options:
Sustainable Business Practices - A commitment to environmentally responsible materials, recycling, energy efficiency, or pollution mitigation.
Donate To The Cause -Corporate donations can include monetary contributions as well as the donations of products and services. You can set up a corporate foundation for this purpose.
Workplace Volunteering - Offering pre-approved volunteer opportunities to employees, including offering paid time off for volunteer activities on company time.
Staff Donations - If donations are complicated and many forms must be filled out, this is a huge deterrent so make the process easy. Automatic payroll deductions each month are one option or you can provide an easy one-time donation option.
Corporate Gift Matching - Offering a match for qualified charitable contributions.
In addition to these creative giving suggestions, you need to think about strategic giving. We all want to do some good, but your program of corporate responsibility won't help anyone if runs counter to the goals and culture already established in your business model. You need to ensure that your giving program aligns with the mission and goals of your business in order for it to succeed.
Strategic giving involves taking a well-planned and balanced approach to the following considerations:
Is this CSR program financially feasible for our company?
Will we have enough of an impact to justify the effort and investment?
How will these efforts be used to improve our business in general? (There is no reason not to publicize your charitable efforts and use these endeavors as a source of public relations or for the recruitment of new talent.)
Is the organization set up to fully support this cause?
Is there already a culture of philanthropy present at our company or does this need to be established?
Is upper management visibly on board?
Of course, even if each of these questions garners a positive result, you need to ensure that your CSR plan is run efficiently. The proper management of finances and employees is a huge priority. Every department of your business needs to be run efficiently and monitored and reviewed to ensure maximum growth. This is certainly true with corporate giving programs, and this process can be made far easier by enlisting the services of a partner company that specializes in the management of corporate social responsibility programs. As the manager of your company's CSR program, using a partner organization allows you to spend more time encouraging managers and employees to participate and also gives you some extra time for your own personal participation in charitable giving.
About the Author:
Sebastian Troup likes blogging about philanthropic solutions for businesses and non profit organizations. For additional information about the importance of business philanthropy, or to find some corporate giving programs, please check out the Truist.com site now.
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