During the holidays, in particular, many company leaders often consider how their establishment can lean in to assist with funding or volunteer its time to support a charitable cause, in the spirit of giving.
But what is the best way to choose the right partnership with a reputable foundation that makes the most sense and enables your organization to do the most good? Below, 11 members from Fast Company Executive Board are sharing their tips to help you get started, whether you plan on giving back for a season or throughout the entire year.
1. COMPILE A SHORT LIST WITH TEAM MEMBERS.
Start by choosing an organization that aligns with your company’s purpose. Then open a dialogue among members of your senior team about the organizations they support, allowing you to learn more about who they are and their values, and giving them an opportunity to participate in the process. In the end, you’ll have a short list of organizations that reflect both your company and your employees. – Meg Sullivan, Imprint
2. TAKE A MULTIPRONGED APPROACH.
Support causes that align with your core values, that your team is passionate about, and will enable you to have a real impact. The more that your team members are excited about supporting the cause, the more you’ll be able to sustainably take action. Also, take a multipronged approach, meaning, you can donate your time but you can also donate money to other groups, offer business services to others, and more – Tom Shapiro, Stratabeat, Inc.
3. BASE YOUR CHOICE ON THE BRAND’S VALUES.
Make choices based on your values and what makes the most sense for your brand. Identify what’s important to you, whether it’s a personal connection to a disease-related cause that requires more funding or you have school-aged children and want to increase access to education in underserved countries. Expand by searching for opportunities to make your business community a better place for all. – Bruno Guicardi, CI&T
4. REMAIN AUTHENTIC.
Be sure to remain authentic. Consumers are smart, so make sure the nonprofits you choose to work with make sense for your company and your product. The between impact and brand link should be obvious. Why do you support that organization? Why did you donate to that cause? Why did you speak up about that issue? If you’re not sure, then it’s the wrong cause. – Nina Rauch, Lemonade
5. RESEARCH THE INTEGRITY OF THE ORGANIZATION.
Try to find an organization that aligns with your business’s goals or mission. Depending on the industry, that may be difficult, but you should always try to stay consistent. If all else fails, going for something that we can all agree on is a good thing. If nothing else, do your research on givewell.org so you know who and what you are supporting and where the money and time actually go. –Wyatt Clouse, Rearden Consulting
6. MAKE A COMMITMENT, THEN TRACK YOUR PROGRESS.
Make sure it aligns with your corporate values. Also, pick a cause your company can impact at scale. Women in tech (WIT) is a good example. If you are in the education field, STEM is a great WIT cause. If you are in high tech, you may want to focus on women in leadership. Commit and track your own progress, because hiring more STEM students or ensuring a fair promotion process for women should not be a one-off thing. – Isabelle Guis, Commvault
7. CONSIDER HOW THE FUNDS ARE ALLOCATED.
Be ready to invest in personal sweat equity. At least part of that is doing your homework. Make sure the organization is a good fit for company values, yes, but also make sure it’s allocating its funding responsibly toward the identified cause. You should feel excited both to cut the check and get more involved. But, you may decide to keep looking should the director of a nonprofit pull up to pitch a proposal to you in a Rolls-Royce. – John Hall, Calendar
8. BECOME AS INVOLVED AS YOU CAN.
In my case, I started my own foundation because it brought me closer to the causes I feel the most for. I think it’s important to be as involved as you can with the workings of a charity or organization. And these reasons drove me to start an educational foundation of my own. I’m proud of this effort and recommend leaders do the same if they can. – Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner
9. GET BEHIND A SOCIAL CAUSE.
Not organization; find a social cause that aligns with your core values and help that cause wisely. It will bring satisfaction to you and your brand that stands for that cause. Many organizations work on various levels, and you can easily communicate with them that serve your social responsibility. Move away from unknown requests for funds and always check the authenticity before donating. – Candice Georgiadis, Digital Agency, Inc
10. TRY TO REACH THE LARGEST AMOUNT OF PEOPLE.
We like to support causes that are apolitical and that benefit the largest number of people with the smallest impact. We do this to get the buy-in and support from all employees and customers, regardless of race or background. In doing so, we have found causes involving feeding and protecting children to be especially impactful when it comes to getting all stakeholders involved. – Tyrone Foster, InvestNet, LLC
11. CONDUCT YOUR OUTREACH WITH INTEGRITY.
Don’t do it for marketing purposes. Do it because your organization authentically wants to support a particular nonprofit or cause. Choose organizations that align with your mission, vision, and values. Engage employees in the decision-making process. – Amy Radin, Pragmatic Innovation Partners LLC