Some of the world’s greatest philanthropists are business owners and corporate executives. What drives their charitable work can be attributed to many factors, ranging from solidifying their employee, client and community ties and supporting the communities that support them, to favorably positioning their company to appeal to future workforce’s values and taking advantage of tax incentives. These programs make a positive impact on the communities in which they serve. It’s rare for any two corporate charitable giving programs to be alike.
Corporate Leaders Give Back
Corporate leaders like to give back and many feel a need to have a positive impact on social responsibility. Others have the passion and desire, but need help in getting started. Greater Horizons works with corporate leaders to determine and execute services that reflect their philanthropic views and goals, resulting in programs that make their charitable dollars work smarter, as well as encourage their employees’ passion and involvement.
Our corporate giving experts can help you create a comprehensive corporate social responsibility (CSR) program or execute the services you wish to include. Greater Horizons provides the most comprehensive offering of products, services and expertise in the marketplace today, making your charitable dollars go farther.
What Constitutes a Corporate Giving Program?
Your company’s program might start with giving employees paid time off to volunteer, or collecting personal hygiene items for a local shelter. Perhaps it’s writing a check at the end of the year as an annual donation, or sponsoring a nonprofit’s fundraiser. All of these activities move the needle for the organizations that benefit from your efforts. Typically, corporate leaders want to grow their philanthropy into a streamlined and well-thought-out corporate charitable giving program. This is where Greater Horizons can help, offering a variety of cost-effective components of your CSR program.
With strategic planning assistance, we help align your company’s giving mission and goals. Our history of guiding and executing corporate philanthropy programs is easy, thanks to a five-step process to help you answer the hard questions and provide solutions that truly make a difference.
A corporate donor-advised fund can serve as your company’s corporate foundation, and it organizes philanthropy under one structure. Not only can Greater Horizons help you establish a corporate foundation that maximizes the tax and budget aspects of your company’s philanthropy, we also:
- Can organize your corporate giving under one structure
- Do not require a minimum balance for the fund
- Keep fees low, starting at just $21 a month
How Does a Corporate Donor-Advised Fund Work in Conjunction With a Corporate Giving Program?
Matching gift programs are attractive because they show that your company’s leadership cares about what is important to your employees. Matching gifts also encourages employees to be charitable since their donations are tied to your company, making a matching donation to their chosen nonprofit. If you have a corporate donor-advised fund established, matching contributions can be made from it.
It’s common for people to feel collectively helpless when news of a local, national, or international disaster strikes. Greater Horizons has a disaster relief online donation option to which your employees can donate easily. It quickly puts donations into the hands of those who need it most.
Other Greater Horizons Services to Consider for Your Corporate Giving Program
- Scholarship Funds
- Competitive Grantmaking
- Assistance Identifying Company-Wide Volunteer Opportunities
- Volunteer Tracking
Successful Corporate Giving Programs Tie into Your Companies Core Values, Mission and Goals
With Greater Horizons, it is easy to establish a tailored CSR program customized to your company’s culture, mission and goals. Create or enhance your philanthropic program to increase your visibility in the community, help your recruiting efforts, and improve your bottom line. Our customized, cost-effective products and services, corporate giving expertise, and experts dedicated to helping you build upon and manage your good work all come together to create your unique program. Depending on your goals, your program could include any of the services listed above.
Corporate giving doesn’t just create more loyal customers. It also makes employees feel good. Greater Horizons helps companies and their employees make a positive impact around the world and in their own backyards.
How Can Your Company Establish a Corporate Giving Program?
A number of the top philanthropists in the country own businesses or lead corporations. These philanthropists understand that it is better to give than to receive, which is one of the reasons they open corporate charitable investment accounts and establish corporate giving programs. Beyond the positive impact corporate giving can make on nonprofits and those they serve, companies also benefit by improving brand reputation, employee and customer loyalty, and the financial bottom line.
The sooner a charitable investment account is opened, the longer the funds earmarked for charitable giving have to grow and the more impact your company can have on causes that matter most to your employees and customers.
Corporate giving programs, which often involve a corporate charitable investment account, can be developed at any stage of a business, from startup to succession. However, in order for a program to align with a company’s products, services, mission and values, you must evaluate motives and goals and create a program to match. Following the process outlined below can help you develop a corporate giving program that reflects your corporate culture and meets your company’s charitable goals.
Determine Why Your Corporate Giving Program Matters
No doubt, you want your community, customers, employees, ownership, leadership and stakeholders to see your company as caring and charitable. Now more than ever, corporate social responsibility is expected by employees and customers alike. Establishing a corporate giving program shows you take that responsibility seriously. Lasting and meaningful programs are built on two determining factors: deciding why your program matters and for which causes your charitable investment account will be used.
The experts at Greater Horizons can help guide your decision process. Programs built on deeper meanings are sustainable and can grow into corporate legacies.
Validate Your Why with Buy-In from Others
Without widespread buy-in, it will be difficult for your corporate giving program to gain and maintain traction, much less make a charitable impact on your chosen causes. Only with buy-in from a majority of your employees can your charitable giving program build momentum and achieve a measurable impact.
How do you gauge buy-in? Talk to people in your company and community. Ask them if they feel your company’s charitable mission is important to them. Is it something they believe is worthy and will stand behind?
Conversations are easier to have in smaller companies compared to large corporations. But, think of getting buy-in in bigger companies as an opportunity to expand your reach. For example, a small biotech firm’s charitable goal could be to support local community members’ health with sponsored clinics. A nationwide or global biotech could support a variety of causes, from disease research to STEM education on local, national and global levels.
Regardless of company size, Greater Horizons’ philanthropic advisors can help document a clear mission statement for your charitable giving program, including its goals and parameters. Let’s say your company matches employee donations. Employees submit a donation they made to an animal shelter for company match. By having documented parameters limiting company support to humanitarian causes, you can prevent funds in your charitable investment account from going to causes that don’t align with your philanthropic goals.
Publicize Your Charitable Giving Program
Just like you update employees on other company news, keep your charitable giving program part of your ongoing communication. Share news on milestones achieved, success stories and financial impact made. Send reminders about volunteer opportunities, donation drives and monetary matches. Invite an expert to talk to your employees about a charitable cause or organization. Schedule time for employees to engage firsthand, whether volunteering on-site or visiting the charity. Seeing firsthand the impact your company’s charitable giving program makes helps employees make emotional connections with your cause.
For additional information about corporate charitable giving, download our guide: 5 Ways to Increase Your Company’s Charitable Giving.
Seek Greater Horizons’ Expertise
Greater Horizons provides the most comprehensive offering of products, services and expertise in the marketplace today, making establishing your charitable investment account and giving program easy and your charitable dollars work smarter. We offer cost-effective services and a team to help you build upon and manage your good work.
Every day, Greater Horizons works with hundreds of businesses across the country to develop corporate giving programs to further their corporate philanthropy, helping them and their employees make a positive impact throughout the world through:
- Corporate Foundations: To organize all your company’s philanthropy under one structure.
- Strategic Planning Assistance: To align your giving to your company’s philanthropic mission and goals.
- Matching Gift Programs: To build a program that matches time and monetary contributions.
- Disaster Relief: To quickly respond as a company by collecting and distributing donations.
- Custom Giving Programs: To tailor a program specifically to your goals, needs and resources.
Need help setting up your corporate philanthropy program or charitable investment account? Please contact us to learn more.