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4 Companies With Unique Philanthropy Programs

Unique Philanthopy Programs
Many companies are embracing the idea of philanthropy for many reasons. It helps their image and it also helps recruit better employees who are socially responsible and want to give back more. Two of the most popular programs for employees to give back are companies matching employees’ donations, and offering grants to employees who spend their time outside of work volunteering for their favorite charities. But four companies are taking giving back a step further by introducing unique philanthropy programs to encourage more employees to do more for their communities and communities around the world.

These new and unique programs include:

1. No-strings-attached donations

2. Time off for volunteering

3. Donations based on number of years of service

4. Charity programs for family members

Each of the four companies has implemented one of these unique philanthropy programs to become a leader in the corporate giving world.

BP

Ever since the major oil spill in 2010, BP has been trying to make right with its customers and the public. To try to make amends, the company created the no-strings-attached grants program. This program allows employees to choose to donate $300 to a nonprofit with no strings attached. The employees do not need to make a donation out of their own pockets, and they are not required by BP to volunteer for that money.

Nestle

Not many employees can resist extra vacation days, and Nestle has taken notice. So to reward their employees who work outside the company as volunteers, they implemented a program that will give a worker two extra vacation days when they spend the equivalent of one day volunteering.

RealNetworks

This company chose to reward loyalty with charity. Employees don’t have to give their own money or volunteer their time, but RealNetworks will donate $500 to a charity of the employee’s choice when they celebrate their 5th anniversary with the company.

CarMax

CarMax is expanding on the idea of matching employee donations by also matching the employee’s spouse and dependents’ donations to charities that are close to their hearts.

Each of these companies understands the importance of philanthropy, but they also understand that innovation is key in this new world of corporate giving.

– Katie Brockman
Source: Triple Pundit

How Big Events Affect Corporate Philanthropy

Corporate-Philanthropy
There are two major occurrences that can shake up the world of corporate philanthropy: sporting events and natural disasters. According to a recent study of over 2,500 organizations in 157 cities, popular sporting events such as the Olympics or the Super Bowl and natural disasters like earthquakes and hurricanes can bring out the best in businesses to an extent.

Although football games and hurricanes may not seem to have much in common, they both can encourage companies to donate more to the local community. According to the study, huge sporting events like the Olympic Games encourage companies in the host city to increase their charity to improve their public image. The study also states that although the corporate philanthropy is dramatic, it is also short-lived. The businesses are willing to ramp up their donations before and during the event, but gradually decline afterwards.

Natural disasters have a similar effect on corporations headquartered in the damaged city, but only to an extent. If the damage to the community is relatively minimal ($5 billion or less), businesses often step up and do what they can to help rebuild and recover.

But if the damage is more extensive, wouldn’t businesses want to help more by donating and volunteering more in the community?

The study showed that if the damage totaled more than $5 billion, companies instead took the “every man for himself” or “secure your own oxygen mask first” approach, and there were fewer donations from organizations because they were most concerned with securing their own future, and usually the community gets less help from local businesses than if the damage was minimal.

For short-term corporate philanthropy, it’s best to ask for donations shortly before or during planned events such as the Olympics, Super Bowl, World Series, or other major sporting events because it’s more likely that local businesses will do more to support charities and nonprofit organizations in the area. Immediately after a small or medium-sized natural disaster is another key time to ask businesses for their time or money, as they would be more likely to do what they can do help the local community during times of struggle.

– Katie Brockman
Source: Forbes
Photo: Pacific Standard