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.
Recently, David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, publicized the formation of a Social Stock Exchange. This organization helps people find companies to invest in that focus equally on social issues as well as generating income. A move such as this by one of the great economies of the world stands as a testament to the importance that social responsibility now plays in the corporate world.
How do you identify ways to enhance your company's positive impact on society while still striving to grow and be profitable? Creating a corporate responsibility plan is a way, but this plan must not be implemented until you have developed a strong strategy that emphasizes efficiency and clear goals.
Creative giving is certainly one solid option. Although any one of the following methods can produce excellent results on its own, a great CSR program will incorporate two, three, or more of these options in complementary ways:
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.
Donations From Employees - The key to employee donations programs is making them easy and giving them several options. Employees can donate just once or have donations deducted from payroll. You can also give them several different causes to choose to support.
Corporate Gift Matching - Offering a match for qualified charitable contributions.
Strategic giving is another component to consider. While few can argue with the doing of good, a CSR program will not be sustainable if it makes no business sense or runs contrary with a company's established culture and goals. And if it is not sustainable, it's not going to have the social impact the organization desires. Instead, setting up the CSR program strategically in line with business goals and the dominant business culture ensures the program will have the support it needs to thrive.
You need to have a balanced and well-planned approach to a strategic charitable giving program, so ask yourself these types of questions:
Is a successful program addressing a particular cause viable financially?
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 company set up to support this charity fully?
Is there already a culture of philanthropy present at our company or does this need to be established?
Is upper management visibly on board?
Efficiency, however, must be a priority as well. Again, a CSR program - even with excellent intentions - will not make a significant social impact if it is run inefficiently and cannot be sustained over the long term. The financial, personnel, management and organizational considerations that play into a successful CSR program are many and complex. In many cases, the best way to ensure the entire process is being handled as efficiently as possible is to work with a trusted partner organization that can professionally manage many - if not all - of the administrative aspects of your CSR program. This allows you - as a CSR manager or executive - to concentrate more fully on participating personally in the CSR program and encouraging others to do so.
Recently, David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, publicized the formation of a Social Stock Exchange. This organization helps people find companies to invest in that focus equally on social issues as well as generating income. A move such as this by one of the great economies of the world stands as a testament to the importance that social responsibility now plays in the corporate world.
How do you identify ways to enhance your company's positive impact on society while still striving to grow and be profitable? Creating a corporate responsibility plan is a way, but this plan must not be implemented until you have developed a strong strategy that emphasizes efficiency and clear goals.
Creative giving is certainly one solid option. Although any one of the following methods can produce excellent results on its own, a great CSR program will incorporate two, three, or more of these options in complementary ways:
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.
Donations From Employees - The key to employee donations programs is making them easy and giving them several options. Employees can donate just once or have donations deducted from payroll. You can also give them several different causes to choose to support.
Corporate Gift Matching - Offering a match for qualified charitable contributions.
Strategic giving is another component to consider. While few can argue with the doing of good, a CSR program will not be sustainable if it makes no business sense or runs contrary with a company's established culture and goals. And if it is not sustainable, it's not going to have the social impact the organization desires. Instead, setting up the CSR program strategically in line with business goals and the dominant business culture ensures the program will have the support it needs to thrive.
You need to have a balanced and well-planned approach to a strategic charitable giving program, so ask yourself these types of questions:
Is a successful program addressing a particular cause viable financially?
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 company set up to support this charity fully?
Is there already a culture of philanthropy present at our company or does this need to be established?
Is upper management visibly on board?
Efficiency, however, must be a priority as well. Again, a CSR program - even with excellent intentions - will not make a significant social impact if it is run inefficiently and cannot be sustained over the long term. The financial, personnel, management and organizational considerations that play into a successful CSR program are many and complex. In many cases, the best way to ensure the entire process is being handled as efficiently as possible is to work with a trusted partner organization that can professionally manage many - if not all - of the administrative aspects of your CSR program. This allows you - as a CSR manager or executive - to concentrate more fully on participating personally in the CSR program and encouraging others to do so.
About the Author:
Sebastian Troup enjoys 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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