Charity with Clarity: 3 Steps to Determining Your Business Give Back

It’s important to think good, speak good, and do good. If we want to see positive change in the world, then we need to connect to goodness. I try in everything I do, both in business and philanthropy, to make a positive change and do that by doing good.

Shari Arison

Even with the economic challenges of the past 5+ years, corporate giving and employee volunteerism is growing. Companies are committed to making a difference with their dollars and employees. The Giving in Numbers: 2014 Report by CECP shows some very encouraging facts that support the trend that businesses are in the business of doing good:

• Giving grew for 64% of companies between 2010 and 2013, and it increased by more than 10% for 52% of companies.
• 76% of companies are measuring and tracking the societal outcomes and/or impacts of their investments and starting to use to the data to inform their core programs.
• Community & Economic Development was the fastest growing program area, with total contributions increasing 34% from 2010 to 2013.
• For the second straight year, Education (K-12 and Higher Education) was the most popular funding area for the average company (28%) in 2013, slightly ahead of Health and Social Services (27%).
• 59% of companies provided paid-release time volunteer programs in 2013, up from 51% in 2010.
• 50% of companies provided pro bono service programs in 2013, up from 34% in 2010.

As an entrepreneur looking to make a difference and give back, you can find yourself torn about which causes to support:

• Do you support programs locally or internationally?
• Do you give time or money?
• Which area do you give back to? Education, health, community investment, environmental awareness or animal welfare?
• Do you give to one organization or multiple?

This is why I recommend charity with clarity. You have to commit and focus. You can’t be all things to all people. I struggled with this myself since I was finding myself torn between all the corporate solicitations for animal welfare organizations. Here are 3 steps to help you commit and focus:

1. What do I stand for? Your company has a vision and mission you’re committed to. For example, you might be a business that proudly markets itself as a Made in USA manufacturer. Then you would want to ensure that your corporate giving programs support local or US initiatives.
2. Which cause supports my values? This is to allow you to be in integrity with your beliefs and morals. I very much value the buy local movement, but could never support a local 4-H animal program. Why? I’m vegan. Corporate giving also means that you walk your talk. It’s not about just looking good or “charity-washing”.
3. Where can I make a difference with my gifts? You might be a small business owner who runs a lean and mean organization. You would love to give back financially, but your current profits don’t support this. That’s where looking at your gifts and talents can be just as valuable. Lots of local charities need expertise and skillset to keep their operations running. Your time and gifts mean more than money.

Once you’re clear on which organization(s) you support, you can then easily craft a written response and information on your website to eliminate the distraction of dealing with all different kinds of requests. I personally found myself dealing with almost daily inquiries before we included language on our website and formulated a written response. This is the response we’re currently using on both our Contact and Giving Back pages:

Please read this first if you’re a charity or non-profit.  Given the nature of our business and the focus on organizations that contribute toward organizational, social and environmental good, we receive a lot of requests for partnerships and/or contributions from charities and non-profits.  Chamberlain Leadership firmly believes in charity with clarity.  This means that we provide focused financial support in alignment with what we stand for.  While we would love to support many causes, at this time the two organizations highlighted on our Giving Back page have our commitment.  We applaud you for your efforts and wish you the best in doing good in the world.

Here’s to making the business world more socially and environmentally responsible and giving back!

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