Corporate Philanthropy is good business
The community where your business is located is most likely also the neighborhood where you and your employees live, meaning that when you support the nonprofit organizations in the community, you are also giving back to your neighbors. Corporate philanthropy most frequently comes in the form of office giving campaigns. These campaigns can be pledge drives for fundraising or collecting donations of goods for a local nonprofit. Volunteering your time for a community service project or to advocate for those who are less fortunate is another way to engage with those in your area.
No matter how it is presented or which options management chooses, any type of corporate philanthropy program helps your bottom line. According to several studies of consumer practices, a company who is dedicated to serving nonprofits in its community reaps many benefits. In fact, the company receives as many benefits from its philanthropy as the people who live in the area do. Partnering with a charity can help to raise brand awareness for your company, making it a strategic business move as well as a philanthropic investment.
One of these studies, known as the Cone Cause Evolution Study, found that 85 percent of Americans are more likely to buy a product or use a company’s services because they support a cause that matters. Almost 80 percent said they would even be willing to switch brands, providers, or retailers based on the company’s corporate philanthropy. Giving as a business also builds employee morale and creates a feeling of being a team — meaning corporate philanthropy can be used as a form of team building for employees.
The biggest benefit of supporting nonprofit organizations in your community, though, is that these groups help to make your community more livable, healthier, and more economically stable. All across your community, these groups work to promote health, improve education, and stabilize income for all people.
Like many United Ways across the country, United Way California Capital Region utilizes partnerships with businesses across our service area. We build communities within the workplace while also raising funds for our important, life-changing programs. We also work with community business partners to recruit volunteers for their projects.
United Way California Capital Region also uses its annual workplace campaign to fund many of the projects in the community. In just the past year we have raised $11.3 million to advance the common good in the greater Sacramento area.
Almost every United Way across the country runs workplace campaigns as a part of their fundraising process. Many also offer opportunities for volunteering or advocating for those who need your assistance in your community. United Way works hand-in-hand with local businesses to improve the communities where employees live, work, and play, focusing primarily on education, income, and health.