Happiness,Wellbeing,and Flourishing in the CSR Workplace

Studies have shown that personal happiness increases with personal philanthropy and volunteerism. If so, then that logic can be extended to corporate giving, meaning that employees could experience an increase in well-being from their company's giving and volunteer programs as part of their involvement in CSR.

The latest trend in studies and books on happiness has come from the new field of positive psychology founded by Martin Seligman, of The University of Pennsylvania. Martin Seligman first came out with his landmark book "Learned Optimism" followed by several others including "Authentic Happiness". As president of the American Psychological Association in 1998, he initiated a whole movement in looking at and studying human behavior by focusing on positives with the goal of increasing them, rather than focusing on correcting the negatives.

 Martin Seligman has more recently rejected the word “happiness” for the broader term, well-being or “flourish" with his new book: Flourish: A New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being and How to Achieve Them.

Various organizations most notably the Gallup organization, have been measuring wellbeing in different levels of societies for countries, state and cities. Positive Organizational Studies have cropped up in graduate schools to address the impact of a variety of organization behaviors on well-being in the workplace. No one, as yet, to my knowledge, has measured the effect of CSR and employee volunteerism on employee well-being, with the exception of one area. We have noted several reports and studies on the positive effects of CSR on employee in regards to hiring and retention.

Could that mean that employees that are involved with their company’s CSR in the form of workplace giving programs or volunteering also experience well-being and flourish within their jobs?

The answer to that is worth exploring further and is to be continued….

Go Daddy Delivers a Knock Out Punch In Giving

While Go Daddy may the premier domain registry business, it also delivers a knock out punch in philanthropic giving. No wonder that CEO Bob Parsons received the Muhammad Ali Entrepreneur Award for donating over $2.8 million to date, to causes such as Make a Wish Foundation, Starlight Foundation, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and many other local groups based in communities where GoDaddy has offices.

At the Celebrity Fight Night charity event in Scottsdale AZ, the company also donated $2.5 million to help fight Parkinson's disease. Along with Muhammad Ali, other celebrities recognized Bob Parsons as an inspiring philanthropist.

Inspiring others seems to be a mission of Bob Parsons in many ways. On his personal video blog site he posts wild, wacky and fun videos that serve as motivational messages and tips for other entrepreneurs. This episode below, #42  is in response to the many questions that Bob Parsons receives from entrepreneurs about how to stay motivated and keep going in bad times. 

His motivational videos don't say anything about giving back to the community as a part of a business strategy. But one gets the sense that giving back, inspiration and helping others is part of the mission of Go Daddy and its founder.

To find out more about Go Daddy's charity work, visit GoDaddyCares.



For related stories about other philanthropic companies that also strive to inspire others.
Charitable Designs
Socks For Happy People 
GiveSomethingBack

The Attractor Factor in Business Giving

The Chronicle of Philanthropy has written a piece How Giving Has Helped One Business Grow about Blake Mycoskie of TOMS Shoes and his opening presentation at the annual meeting of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. While the story of the beginnings of his inspiration is moving, he also added three key points about why embedding philanthropy into the fabric of a business can help it grow with the attraction of these three essential elements.

We have written lots about why giving is strategic and advantageous for business growth, but here is a different way of thinking about it. 

1. Attracting Loyal Customers
Blake cited a story about a woman he spoke to in an airport who, without knowing who he was, told him that it was the philanthropic aspects of the company that appealed to her. We also know with current research by from Edelman's Good Purpose Study 2010 , that indeed customers not only are enthusiastically supporting  businesses with a social purpose but are increasingly expecting it.
 .
2.Attracting Quality Employees
TOMS shoes was able to lure employees from other well known shoe manufacturers because of the attraction of being part of a cause and having more meaning in their work. Studies have shown that even volunteering can contribute to an increase in employee satisfaction and retention rates.

3.Attracting Participating Partners 
Companies like Ralph Lauren and ATT have joined with TOMS shoes to support their cause. Paul Newman set a trend in this area with Newman's Own, by enlisting other companies to help support his Hole In the Wall Camp for children with life threatening illnesses. CECP which he founded, is based on the principle of businesses helping to support, inspire and partner with each other in their philanthropic efforts.

See related stories about other companies where giving has helped them grow.
Give Something Back which we wrote about last year was recently profiled in the SF Chronicle.

How Small Businesses Can Light Up on International Philanthropy Day

This Mon, Feb 28th is International Corporate Philanthropy Day (ICPD) organized by the CECP, Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy. The purpose of CECP is to help recognize the important role of business in society, and while its membership is offered to large corporations engaging in both local and global philanthropy, small businesses can take example and ideas from this organization for their own philanthropic initiatives.

LIGHT IT UP- TOLL THE BELL
The Empire State building and other tall buildings and landmarks across the country will be lit in the blue and green colors of  CECP on ICPD, and representatives of CECP will ring the bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

Why not have any company or business organization in any community toll a bell, put up blue and green lights, and honor International Corporate Philanthropy Day!


INNOVATIVE, INSPIRATIONAL IDEAS FOR CORPORATE PHILANTHROPY

While the membership of CECP  consists of large corporations and their corporate giving programs such as: General Mills, Intel, Western Union and many others, the goals of CECP is to have these companies set an example for others. The tradition of inspiring others to give began  when Paul Newman founded the fledgling enterprise Newman's Own. As his company grew so did the charitable giving, involving a number of other companies that participated in Newman's Own's projects.

Eventually in 1988, Paul Newman started CECP with the goal and mission, as stated on their site: " to inspire and challenge today’s business leaders to find innovative ways to fulfill unmet social needs, to lead the way towards better alignment of business and social strategies, and to serve as business ambassadors of inspiring business leaders".

There is just as many examples of the philanthropy and giving of small companies in local communities and examples of innovation that are solving local social needs, as there are of large corporations. It has been our mission  here at Business That Cares, to highlight the best of them.


OPPORTUNITIES

There are many opportunities and suggestions for companies to take advantage of on International Corporate Philanthropy Day on CECP's site. These suggestion's are equally suitable for both large and small companies.

• Join peers in your community for collaborative philanthropic activities.
• Tell your company's story about your philanthropic initiatives, by publicising and communicating  with the public.
• Post your company's support of causes on your website or through social media.
• Display banners or posters of the charities that you give to at your business.
• Recognize your employees that have volunteered for a cause.
• Engage your entire company in a planning session for your philanthropic programs.
• Set up a grant program for non profits to apply to.
• Plan a charity fair in your community. 

In addition, ICPD can be a great day to have your business employees volunteer for a worthy cause, whether it is local or a more global one. 

For more ideas for innovative ideas for business philanthropy check out some of these posts:

Can Your Business Give Back and Do Social Good?
Giving Bears, Kids and Heroes 
Charitable Designs

Ways Your Business Can Act Kindly

Last year on Valentine's Day I posted one of MY favorite posts: What's Love Got To Do With Business Giving. This year I have learned that Valentines's Day is also the first day of  Random Acts of KindnessWeek.

While the debate of whether business should  incorporate CSR, was a big news item this past year, imagine how superfluous and very un-businesslike the idea of incorporating  "love" and now "kindness" may seem in the domain of business practices, while cynics surely think business acting kindly is an oxymoron. Yet I hear about restaurants that give leftover baked goods to local food banks, or shoe repair shops that collect old shoes to repair and give to the needy. Businesses like Panera Bread,  pay as you want cafe,  have sprung up this year whose business models are basically based on  kindness.   

One doesn't need to change or create a whole new business model to be kind and give back. The point of the Random Acts Of  Kindness Week is more about stopping to think about being kind to others in small, perhaps unplanned and spontaneous ways. While I encourage small businesses to create plans for their giving so that they can have a more strategic and long term  impact on their communities, the idea of a short period of time where spontaneous acts of caring towards others in the community, towards employees and customers; where giving back in simple yet direct ways, connects everyone with the real meaning of philanthropy, "love of humankind"  more readily.

This is one area where small businesses have an advantage over  big corporations, in that they see in their day to day operations the needs of their community and their customers and can act on them more readily and spontaneously.

Throughout this blog there are hundreds of tips and suggestions for giving and for acts of kindness that any business can use this week, or any time. The organization, Random Acts of Kindness offers their list of ideas for businesses to try.  Better yet, if your business is considering developing a giving plan, try to include a week of spontaneous giving like this one into the future. Can you measure the impact of this? Maybe not.
But, your employees will be happier in the workplace, your customers will appreciate you all the more and your community will be a better place to live and to do business, at least for one week.

WORKPLACE IDEAS

• Collect goodies for children to donate to city service workers (e.g., police, firefighters, animal shelter).
• Send floral arrangements to senior centers, nursing homes, police station, hospitals, etc. near your office.
• Collect goods throughout RAK Week (or during the whole year) for a food bank or shelter.
• Give coupons for discounted or free goods to schools to use as incentives for their kindness programs.
• If your office has a RAK Week committee, put out a memo to your staff asking for volunteers to help plan and implement the next campaign.
• Donate a percentage of your revenue for one day to a group in need.
• Donate flowers to a meal delivery program.
• Take up a collection to purchase items needed by a nonprofit organization.
• Plant a Kindness Tree or Garden on the office grounds. Ask the mayor to give a brief presentation at the dedication.
• Organize a blood drive dedicated to Random Acts of Kindness.
• Sponsor a Random Acts of Kindness mascot to circulate, distributing gifts and suggestions for acts of kindness.
• Hand out suggestions for random acts of kindness to each customer or client, and offer a nominal discount in exchange for their pledge to do an act of kindness.
• Give away the first $10 of purchases on a given day or pick a couple of days during RAK Week to do this.
• Set up free coffee, tea, or hot chocolate for your employees.

Have some ideas for acts of kindness and giving in your workplace, random or planned, please share  them here!

Good Causes Matter to Consumers

Does a  customer prefer to buy from a company with social purpose or from a similar one without any obvious support of a good cause? How would they know which businesses support a good cause?

Recent studies from Edelman's Good Purpose Study 2010 , have confirmed that businesses with social purpose have a marketing advantage with consumers. Over 66%  of customers prefer to buy products from those businesses that support a good cause over similar products in quality and price even when such things as brand loyalty and design are taken into account. More interestingly though, in the 2010 Cone Cause Evolution Study, consumers, 278 million of them want to know how a company is supporting a good cause.

While consumers are becoming more aware of businesses partnering with causes through cause marketing, like Pepsi Refresh, and KFC, Pink Buckets For the Cure (see our thoughts about that one) most aren't aware of which companies exist that have integrated a good cause or have any form of social purpose embedded in their business practices, whether it be a portion of profits donated to charities or products made of sustainable materials, or any other form of support of a good cause such as we have profiled here. Some of these social purpose companies have achieved the brand awareness of Newman's Own or Whole Foods and have thrived as a result.

Along has come an organization, that certifies this new type of business called  B Corporations. Through the non-profit B Lab, businesses that are founded with the intention and the social  purpose of  solving social and environmental problems are certified as B Corporations, better known as B Corps, much the same way as Fair trade coffee and other products are certified.

The parent B Corps/B Lab organization has recognized the problem with consumer recognition of these kinds of companies. They are addressing this desire and interest of values-driven consumers to buy from companies with a social purpose with a "better way to do business campaign", targeting ads in magazines published by Ogden Publications, such as Mother Earth News, Utne Reader, Natural Home and Herb Companion and in online communities like Care2.com. The B Corp ads promote the idea that "when you buy from  a certified B Corp you are supporting a better way of doing business." They believe that it is time to build awareness of this movement and to highlight these companies so that consumers can make an informed decision.

So in this ad for Better World Books vs. a regular online bookstore the reasons for buying from them are featured, including the giving back millions of dollars to support the good causes of literacy programs and libraries. I might add myself, that as much as I like the "other" online company, shopping with Better World Books is an amazing experience.

The real question is how mainstream can and will this trend go? Can all kinds of consumers, become more conscious of their choice to support businesses that give back and do business in a more sustainable way? Certainly cause marketing has been banking on this. But will we be seeing advertising for companies that have embedded social purpose in their business advertising in mainstream media and as Google ads? More than likely if these companies succeed as businesses and can afford it, they will -witness the TOMS shoes advertising that is all over the place.

See B Corps designated businesses that we have featured at Business That Cares, including great interviews with their founders: Better World Books, Pura Vida Coffee, GiveSomething Back and GoodCapital

How Corporate Philanthropy Can Influence Your Business

Author: Thaddeus Bodemann

The term corporate philanthropy refers to the act of giving things away to non-profit organizations, grants, resources or simply monetary donations. Of course, the individuals giving away these things are a part of a big company or corporation. Philanthropy is a word that is used to describe an act of kindness. Basically, businesses that engage in these types of actions are considered to be kindhearted places. One great example is Cadeau Express, a private company in Las Vegas. Mr. Ramon Desage formed the company not ony to earn but also to help the people in Lebanon and Las Vegas.

Businesses that choose to employ this corporate giving attitude can benefit in many different ways from their actions. These businesses will increase their reputation amongst the general public, and also begin to attract new consumers to their business as well. Remember, the more consumers that you can attract the more money you can expect your business to make.

Businesses that choose to help out their communities will increase their employee retention rates significantly as well. Bear in mind that happy employees will increase their productivity levels and go above and beyond to ensure that your store is always operating in tip top shape.

When companies opt to engage in this giving activity their shareholders will begin to build a level of confidence in the business. Be aware that the shareholders that invest in your business hold a lot of power in their hands. They want to ensure that their money is being spent in the right places, therefore companies that engage in giving back to the community can expect their shareholders to give back to them in the process.

A lot of people and business owners, including Ramon Desage, believe that the only way to give anything back to the community is to spend money on the people that reside within it. Even though everyone loves being given money, businesses do not have to give away money in order to show their community that they care. Businesses can choose to give away other things such as the utilization of their facility for community events, their services, or form employee volunteer groups for the people that work for them.

Businesses large and small are implored to engage in some type of corporate philanthropy activity at least once per month. Most large businesses tend to wait until the holidays come around before they start giving back to their community. However, if you want to increase your overall annual sales rates you will elect to engage in giving activities throughout the entire year. All this you will learn by following Ramon Desage.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/public-relations-articles/how-corporate-philanthropy-can-influence-your-business-3812126.html
About the Author

Thaddeus Bodemann is an entrepreneur who has a great passion for helping people and his community. He is a follower of Ramon Desage - philanthropist/entreprenuer.

Business Doing Better at Doing Good- 2011 Trends in Business Philanthropy

The month of January is named after the god Janus, the god with two heads, one looking behind and one looking forward. Apparently the god Saturn, gave Janus the introspective ability to see into the past and the gift of seeing into the future. I can make no claims of having god-like abilities, but in reviewing the past year's stories and tweets, it seems that there is trend is to find newer and better ways for business to do good.

And these are the trends I see that will be significant in the year of 2011 for creating positive new directions in business philanthropy.

Using the Social Sciences to Understand the Dynamics of Giving Behavior

More and more studies in social psychology and behavioral economics have been addressing the question of what motivates people to give. Businesses hoping to use cause marketing and to engage their customers in giving, and non-profits seeking to find ways to get more value from their corporate sponsorships should tap into these research studies more. Take for example, the recent study about amusement park goers who paid more for their photos on a ride when they could choose their own price and the profits went to charity. Sceptics of the Panera Cares Business Model, (we profiled their first cafe opening, St Louis Bread Company Cares) which is an example of this kind of approach, should check out the video on CBS News.
For more research studies on consumer giving behavior check out: Ways Your Company Can Give More Bang For the Buck.

CSR's Umbrella


Last year I predicted that Cause Marketing and Corporate Giving would become more differentiated. Well I was wrong. The lines have gotten even blurrier between CSR, Employee Volunteerism, EVP, Cause Marketing and Corporate Giving. Is it more that they are distinctions or that they justifiably fall under the CSR umbrella? More and people cite all of these in the context of each other and often interchangeably. Beth Kanter suggests in her blog post.Corporate Altruism: The Blurring of the Lines Between CSR and Cause Marketing that perhaps the lines do not distinguish one fore another but that it is more of a continuum. CSR this past year has been struggling with finding a definition of itself, but more than being a continuum, I like the image of an overencompassing arc, like that of an umbrella..

Employee Drive Philanthropy


Yahoo employees do it, Blackbaud's employees do it and GiveSomethingBack's employees do it: various forms of employees recommending charities; designing the giving programs often in forms such as competitions,scholarships; sitting on the grants committee; and other forms of direct emplyee involvement.
Employers are seeing that when giving back to the community is a company grassroots effort, not only is there more by-in from the employees, more total giving in time and money, but also more loyalty given back to the company.

Skills Based Volunteering 

While providing extra hands for bagging food or assembling backpacks will never go away as an important function of Employee Volunteer Programs, more meaningful ways for employees to help communities are
emerging.  Bea Boccalandri of the BCCCC, has been advocating that businesses create more of these kinds of asset based opportunities for employees volunteering as a way for companies to provide their employees with more engaging and rewarding experiences that help build the capacity of the non-profit organization  in more sustainable ways. Skills based volunteering also serves as great employee training opportunities for the companies involved. Her suggestions may seem radical, and so she acknowledges that these changes need to be small at first and that both types of volunteering can co-exist. And she cites examples of companies like Aetna and Hasbro and Levis that have been doing so.


Directed Giving Through Voting and Liking

Using social media to involve the public in making the decision for a company's giving is going to get bigger and bigger. It's an approach that appeals to many as it can engage thousands in feeling that they can contribute in some small way by voting for their favorite charity or "liking" a facebook page, that results in an award or donation given by a business to the winner. Witness the Pepsi Refresh Project, (which I mentioned in last year's trends picks, The Classy Awards, (where two of our featured businesses, Sweets Trucks and GiveSomethingBack were finalists, and the American Express Small Business Day, where just a vote on a  website or a Facebook "like", brought about large corporate funding towards specific projects and causes.

More Public Scrutiny

As businesses will continue to involve the public in their giving programs, so will the public be more involved in the judgment of corporate giving. Witness the outcry over the Punk Buckets for a Cure, BOBS Shoes and Target's funding of political campaign. While some of the public will want to be more included in corporate giving, others like Michael Hiltzik of the LA Times (who gave us a cool shout out) may want to be left alone to their own philanthropy.
Whatever a company does, you can be sure the public will be watching to make sure that a company's giving is neither insincere, nor causing harm in any way other way, nor just plain dumb.

New Forms of Philanthropic Business Models 

While many were dubious of Panera's business model, more and businesses are coming up with innovative philanthropic business models. Even staid Nordstrom is planning to open a philanthropic department store in Manhattan with all profits going to charity. We have seen the B corp becoming recognized as a legal entity in several more states. Several forms of "buy one give one" business models, and more businesses like Panera with "set your own pricing schemes" have sprung up.
It is possible, of course, that some of these innovative philanthropic businesses will fail, but perhaps at no higher rate no than other start ups. And if so, so be it,  innovation requires taking taking on the risks of failure, but also the rewards of success and of leading the way in developing a whole new sector.


In spite of what I consider my one missed prediction for 2010, I think that last year's predictions, which you can read here, have proven to hold up and will grow to have even more importance in 2011. Business giving in partnership with consumers, non-profits and communities, will be evolving and will create better solutions to local and global problems.


I look forward to bringing more of these stories here in 2011.










rcdp5gz4

Macy's Newest Cause Marketing Miracle on 34th St.

Not since the movie " A Miracle On 34th St" a 1947 movie where the existence of a Macy's Santa was proven by the submission in court of  50,000  letters to Santa, and "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa" 1897 editorial , has there been better proof that there is someone out there that will grant children's wishes.

For every letter to Santa delivered Macy's has given $1.00 to Make A Wish Foundation an organization that grants wishes to children who are face life threatening illnesses.

Macy's has set up a Believe post office like stations at all their stores nationwide, as well as a website where letters can be written and decorated to be printed up and brought to stations.   

Now practical parents,Scrooges, Grinches and cause marketing cynics as well, must be cringing at this strategy of taking advantage and even furthering childrens' beliefs in Santa as a ploy to bring in customers.


But I am sucker for such causes like Make A Wish Foundation; and for myths like tooth fairies and Santas, and I always cry when I watch movies "The Miracle on 34th Street". As a mom I know the pain and heartbreak of having a child injured or sick, as well as the joys and delight of children at Christmas time.

To date Macy's has received 1,001,002  letters. This campaign has translated to Macy's delivering a $1,000,000.00 check to Make A Wish Foundation, with an additional $500,000.00 from their facebook promotion- proving once again that kids' letters to Santa must mean that somewhere out there he does exist -and so does charitable giving tied in with some brilliant cause marketing.

If Macy's can help me "believe" that that there is "someone out there" that can give some joy and hope to children with life threatening illnesses, then I truly hope that Macy's wish for profitable season has been granted too.

How Not To Do Business Philanthropy -Like Skechers BOBS

Skechers the athletic and leisure shoe company has recently unveiled a new line of shoes called  BOBS, a TOMS canvas shoes look alike. Not only do BOBS shoes look a lot like TOMS with the little tag and all, but Skecher's is also donating a pair of shoes to a needy child for every pair of shoes bought.

So, this blog is supposed to be about "innovative ideas for business philanthropy" - with the intent of inspiring other businesses to create giving programs that can create social benefit. Every now and then something comes across my desk that leaves me scratching my head and wondering : "what WERE they thinking?!!!"

I can't presume to know what Skechers was thinking about, but just looking at this program gives one a lot to learn about how not do business philanthropy.

But first, to be fair, it's important to say a few good things about the Skechers program. They are donating shoes to a first rate non profit, Shoes4Soles, that delivers donated used shoes to impoverished areas all over the world. I wrote about Soles4Souls after the Haiti disaster here. Also on the Skechers webpage they have a link to their corporate philanthropy program, the SKECHERS USA, “Nothing Compares to Family” promotion, that ran through 2009, and starred popular celebrity families and benefits children's charities with ads breaking in celebrity weekly and fashion magazines.

There is no mention of BOBS shoes on  this page - which gives me  me a perfect opportunity to launch into the first of several  "What Not To Do's." in business philanthropy.

Don't tell your customers much about the charity or the cause you are partnering with.
When buying BOBS, there is little opportunity for a customer to learn anything about Soles4Souls and what they do. The transparency of the business giving is just as important as the transparency of the non-profit. Soles4Souls is a fabulous organization that provides shoes to disaster victims in impoverished countries and Skechers has lost an amazing opportunity to promote their mission better. To add injury to injustice when I last checked BOBS site, the link to Soles4Souls page no longer exists.

Have no  transparency.
Skechers has a brief description of their donations to Soles4Soles on their website, but there is nothing to describe how they are partnering with them and what kind of shoes they are donating, unlike TOMS which has pages of information about their philanthropy.

Don't bother to assess your business' core values.
Toms shoes started with a vision of being a philanthropic business caring about the plight of impoverished children in the world. Hard to know how Skechers came up with the idea that they cared about barefoot children. If that were part of their corporate values they might  have unveiled a broader program donating other kinds of more useful shoes, like their sneakers.

Don't do something that makes sense as good business strategy.
Coming out with a giving program that is related to you core business is a good idea, but even then, distinguishing yourself from the competition continues to be important for business success.In these economic times, no business can afford to pay little attention to using the best strategy for their business whether it ties into their philanthropy or not.


Don't tell a good story

Part of TOMS success is their utterly original and charming story that has captured the hearts and minds of the public and the media in a big way. Good stories helps inspire others, including your employees, your customers, your investors and other businesses and brings attention to your cause and to your business.


 


Do make everyone question whether it is a marketing ploy.
Skechers may have had truly philanthropic intentions, but the perception of this program is that it appears to be a quick marketing scheme. In the world of business, perception often becomes reality.

There are many lessons to learn from many companies and their giving programs. Often there are mistakes in the planning and execution both for businesses and non-profits.Skechers may be singled out here, but in truth corporate philanthropy, CSR, and community involvement is still quite young as a movement. Hopefully more and more businesses will learn from other successes and failures alike, and come on board to support their communities and good causes through philanthropy.

SunPower Powers Up Giving Back

Two high tech companies in Silicon Valley, SunPower and its parent company, Cypress Semiconductor, gave a significant donation, a million dollars worth of solar panels to the headquarters of Second Harvest Food Bank  last week. The significance was not only in the million dollars, but also in the ongoing effect that the donation will have on reducing the operating costs of the non-profit.

In a news report on KCBS Radio, Sunpower CEO Tom Werner said: “SunPower has a great opportunity at our core as a company to build a great company and, we believe, to change the world. We think one of the ways we can change the world is to give back and Second Harvest is a great organization at giving back. So we get to accomplish our mission as a company.”

He added that this is not just talk but a tangible double gift to an organization that gives to the community.

While SunPower's contribution was over $400,000, the other $700,000 came from Cypress Semiconductor. Cypress'  CEO, T. J. Rodgers saw the added value that a tangible donation of this kind would create for the charity: "If you put solar on the roofs, it reduces their costs and in turn they can serve more meals. In the lifetime of the system it translates into over 6 million  meals."

Second Harvest Food Bank  provides meals to over 200,000 people a month in the Silicon Valley area, and the number of meals served have been dramatically increasing in the last year. 

              Some interesting ideas here-changing the world and giving back- as is SunPower's stated mission.

Not only are these two companies philanthropic, but they are finding ways to help the charity do what they do better. Add to this the positive effect on the environment which translates into powerful impact on the community, locally and globally. It's also an incredibly innovative way to align SunPower's core business with their philanthropy. Bravo!

How Corporate Giving To Haiti Disaster Has Inspired More Giving

Now nine months after the earthquake in Haiti, a report has come out via the aid agency,World Vision, about the overwhelming corporate response for sending aid to victims of the earthquake. Back in January we wrote: From Cell Phones To Shoes, How To Use Your Business To Help Haiti, where we highlighted stories about businesses large and small that were pitching in with helping out in a huge variety of ways. Following my post, I received a twitter message from Jeffrey Montgomery, the Managing Partner of Omatic Software, asking whether Omatics' contribution to this disaster, donating their Import-o-matic software solutions for free to organizations that are providing aid to Haiti, counted as a worthy example. What ensued was a conversation, "Does Giving Inspire More Giving" about how a company's involvement in aiding a disaster inspired the company to become more philanthropic in the future.

World Vision has seen this type of increase also as this tragedy has been a catalyst for businesses to respond  to the need for sending aid more nimbly and for partnering with aid organizations more effectively. While World Vision commends their corporate partners for their generosity prior to this and other more recent disasters, they are lauding the surge of giving and partnering from the corporate sector that has grown since then.


Haiti Quake a 'Game Changer' for Corporate Philanthropy
Leading aid agency expects to see greater corporate involvement in future disaster responses

SEATTLE, Aug. 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As Haiti marks nearly eight months since its devastating earthquake and Chile sees the six-month mark since its own destructive quake, international aid agency World Vision has seen a notable increase in both corporate donations and level of involvement and interest in disaster relief from companies in a broad range of industries.

"Haiti was a catalyst for American companies to look at broader and deeper ways they could partner with aid groups that are on the front lines. Now, with companies like P&G and Verizon contributing to the Pakistan flood response, we're continuing to see this trend," explained David Owens, vice president of corporate development for World Vision.

"While we had indisputably one of the most generous set of corporate partners before the Haiti quake, we've been humbled by the overwhelming corporate response in the past nearly eight months," Owens continued. "And with the current hurricane season kicking into high gear, we realize there's a greater demand for charitable partnerships that can serve an enterprise in all the ways it may want to give back—from employee initiatives to corporate foundations to product donations to relevant expertise it can share."

Verizon's financial support for Haiti came through a variety of areas including grants from the Verizon Foundation and a program to match employee contributions dollar-for-dollar. The company also created a Haiti donation micro site where its customers could contribute online to relief agencies' responses.

Best Western International invited its guests to donate reward points from the hotel chain's loyalty program to help survivors of the Chile quake. The company notified customers by email and on its website of the opportunity, which complements the company's ongoing campaign that invites both guests and hotel employees to sponsor children in need through World Vision.

JPMorgan Chase, Symantec and Johnson & Johnson provided their staff with a hands-on way to give back, by partnering with World Vision to assemble relief kits for delivery to Haiti. Overall, World Vision's corporate partners have assembled 25,000 kits since October for use in disaster zones and other high-need areas around the world.

The Salesforce.com Foundation responded to Haiti based on the company's 1/1/1 integrated corporate philanthropy model, where 1% of the company's time, 1% of its equity and 1% of its products are given forward to the community. Salesforce.com leveraged its website to World Vision's relief effort by providing its customers a link where they could make online donations and encouraged other corporations to make their own contributions. In addition, salesforce.com matched all donations dollar-for-dollar to World Vision's response and used Twitter to spread the word. Further, salesforce.com employees mobilized and assembled more than 500 emergency relief kits for Haitian earthquake survivors.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC) has also recently noticed a similar trend of increased business involvement in disaster response and global development, particularly since Haiti's January quake. "We have seen that Haiti rebuilding is a catalyst for corporations to offer both financial support as well as sector expertise," explained Stephen Jordan, BCLC's Executive Director.

In addition, the BCLC together with Executives without Borders is establishing a Haiti Business Corps. The pilot project aims to make it easier for companies to effectively leverage their talent and expertise in the delivery of social good to Haiti.

"I'm grateful to all our corporate partners who have given so generously in this extraordinary year of disasters. But I'm also confident that in future global emergencies, the corporate sector will continue to leverage their influence and stakeholders in ways that make a bigger overall difference," explained Keith Kall, World Vision's executive director for global partnerships.

Given Haiti's high rate of poverty and the massive loss of infrastructure and human capital, this earthquake has proven to be one of the most difficult disaster responses in recent memory. While working to scale up construction of transitional shelters, World Vision is also beginning to implement more sustainable large-scale programs in the areas of livelihoods, water and sanitation, health and education. To learn more about World Vision's work in Haiti, please read our 6-month report at http://www.worldvision.org/resources.nsf/main/press-haiti/$file/Haitisix.pdf or call 1-888-56-CHILD.

Corporations may contact World Vision at 1.800.642.1616

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tacking the causes of poverty and injustice. For more information, please visit www.worldvision.org/press

SOURCE World Vision U.S.
Back to top

RELATED LINKS
http://www.worldvision.org

Back To School For Corporate Giving

Parents and kids are gearing up to go back to school and so too businesses are gearing up their giving programs. Through funding, donations, and volunteering businesses are creating initiatives to address the critical needs of students and education.

Last week I participated at a education roundtable forum sponsored by the Entrepreneurs Foundation and the Silicon Valley Education Foundation for corporate community practitioners and education non profits to share examples of effective models of corporate involvement in education.

Manny Barbara, Vice President, Advocacy and Thought Leadership, of the Silicon Valley Education Foundation opened the forum with some stark statistics about some of the broad issues that the US faces in education and some specific challenges our communities face here in Silicon Valley.


President Obama in a speech at The University of Texas in Austin Texas last Monday August 9th, also outlined the challenges that education in this country faces and our educational goals that we must reach in order to strengthen our economy and be able to compete in a global economy. The statistics point to the United States falling behind other countries in math and science and also falling behind in college graduation rates for young adults.

"It's an economic issue when the unemployment rate for folks who've never gone to college is almost double what it is for those who have gone to college. Education is an economic issue when nearly eight in 10 new jobs will require workforce training or a higher education by the end of this decade. Education is an economic issue when we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that countries that out-educate us today, they will out-compete us tomorrow."

President Obama laid out the critical areas that need to be addressed in improving our college graduation rate: academic competencies, affordability, focused career programs, dropout rates  But also he emphasized the  need to create better schools across America at the pre-school, elementary and secondary levels in order for students to be prepared for college.

Businesses understand the critical need to educate a workforce that can help companies compete in a global economy. It is in their best interest to step up to the plate and to help close the achievement gap in many communities, to educate future leadership, and create this workforce that is better prepared for a global society. For global companies, they also understand and participate in supporting education in many of the countries and communities where they have a presence.

As corporate philanthropy becomes more aligned with each company's core business, many companies are investing in education as a focus area and creating innovative solutions to many of these problems.Safeway Corp. is an example of a company that understands this, as Mike Minasi, President of Marketing for Safeway said in a press release: "It makes sense for businesses to make a financial commitment to education, because today's students are tomorrow's workforce. We see this as an investment in the future of our communities."

In the next few posts I will be sharing the stories of some of these large and small companies, like Safeway and others, that are creating an impact by partnering with schools and communities to raise the level of education creating stronger communities and a better world for everyone.

Charity Choice: Innovative Commitment For Corporate Giving

Who would have thought that a little card could pack such a philanthropic punch? CharityChoice Gift Cards offers an array of opportunities to small and large businesses by providing a corporate customization suite of philanthropic giving options that engages the recipient in the gift giving choices, and delivers a message to clients about the company's commitment to charitable giving.

CharityChoice Gift Cards, is a fundraising enterprise that supports the non-profit, Special Kids Fund. The idea to develop this enterprise was hatched at a board meeting when a member mentioned that he was searching for a way to donate to charity in memory of an associate's deceased father, but was stumped since he did know what the family's favorite charities were. The board of Special Kids Fund came up with the idea of creating an internet based charitable giving program that has since grown to support over a hundred participating charities by employing a variety of mechanisms to enable the gift giving. 

Intrigued by their innovative ideas, I was thrilled to have an interview with Daniel Goldman, the co-founder of CharityChoice, where he chatted on the phone with me all the way from Israel.

Danny outlined the process of the customized gift card and online giving programs for businesses. He was enormously passionate about the benefits, for any sized businesses, of creating an unusual type of cause marketing by using CharityChoice Gift Cards.

How do you see Charity Choice Gift Card as helping businesses, large and small with their corporate giving and social responsibility?

Danny: In terms of Social Responsibility ….. When a business doesn’t want to align itself with a particular cause, but the cause they want to align with is just the giving part-corporations and small businesses can see  how CharityChoice can fulfill that mission. The idea that by fulfilling that component of cause affinity is kind of novel because it is not an affinity with a particular kind of cause but is an affinity with charitable giving in general.
That is a leap for many people, but the advantage here is that it gives the customer or client of the company, the choice. That is the key in terms of both Corporate Social Responsibility and in terms of gift giving, because the choice and the decision in how the charitable gift will be designated is left to the recipient.

How would this work? How does a business of any size, large or small, actually enable their customers or their clients to take advantage of this and partner with you?

Danny: When you mention a small business, what we give is an opportunity for a small business to brand in a way that they normally would not have. Usually with a particular charity if they are a small business, a large charity is not interested in their branding.
If they are a large business, Kelloggs for example, and they are going to have a campaign for a certain charity, then that affinity for the charity creates a partnership. If they are a small business, a large charity is not necessarily going to partner with them.

The way our card works is: you can give it in many forms, it can be a card, an e-mail; you can purchase code and put the code in a medium like on boxes, event tickets, programs for an event; the code itself can be distributed in a any way. So in fact, getting back to the charitable giving, they can create an affinity with a small group of charities, by limiting the choice to the smaller group rather than using the list that we have.

So it’s the business that is buying the cards and offering it to their customers.

Danny: For the customers, the clients- as holiday gift cards- they can put up their logo, or put up season greetings, or they can give thank you cards, and have whatever caption they want on the page. The client can then select the charities the funds can go towards.

There is the psychology of people not wanting other people to make decisions for them. When a company says they want to donate to a charity, a lot of people may not care about that charity. What we are offering is the feeling or reality of participation.


Psychologically it’s just a matter of respect. There was an article, Control Freaks, by David Berkowitz, director of marketing for search engine marketing firm icrossing, where he wrote about the psychological principle of people wanting control in their choices and how CharityChoice taps into that.

I noticed in your website that you have loyalty points that can be designated towards CharityChoice, in the bigger companies such as Wells Fargo and other banks.

Danny: If you are at the link:
www.mycharitypoints.org, it has a list for employee incentive programs, a whole slew of major corporations that are offering our card for incentive programs. They work the same as credit card incentive programs. On the credit card side you will see some links to actual programs, Verizon Business Partners, Wells Fargo, US Bank, many other banks. Verizon Business Link Rewards uses CharityChoice to help support relief efforts in Haiti.

We were covered by Incentive Magazine, they also had a diamond invitational golf tournament for host companies and clients at the event, where they passed out our cards in goody bags, passed as giveaways by Incentive Magazine. The industry itself treats us as a tremendous vehicle for incentives and all types of corporate promotions.

On the side of the charities, how do you benefit charities that partner with you?

We offer to a charity, the opportunity to register as your charity. Your charity has the functionality of being a featured charity. Your supporters can click on that link and make a purchase , then your charity is the featured charity for that purchase and 75% is pre-designated to the charity.


If a group of local businesses and local charities partner, it could become community buzz for charitable gift giving and benefit local charities.

I love the whole view that the gift you are giving is that choice and that are real psychological and economic benefits that come from this.

Definitely there is something in terms of the respect the integrity of the recipient with a charity gift. Therefore the participation is meaningful. We see it all the time when they send a thank you- its amazing in terms of the  types of comments we get back from people.

Danny sent me a link to some of  comments. Here's one from the Los Angeles branch of a major insurance company:

 "Thank You CharityGiftCertificates.org. Our 2007 holiday gift giving initiative was a huge success. We received only positive feedback from our customers thanking us for giving them the opportunity to give back to the charity of their choice. The service was fantastic and the gift certificates customized with our corporate logo was very professional."

Of course, CharityChoice has a registry for birthdays and weddings too, to make personal giving more meaningful. The choices and possibilities are endless-I expect to see CharityChoice expand into many more creative ways for businesses,organizations and individuals to continue to support causes they choose to support, with a little help from their friends.

Ecojot : Using the Philanthropic Model of Buy One Give One, Workbooks for Kids Around the World

Ecojot makers of 100% post-consumer recycled paper products donates school supplies to kids in need around the world through their corporate giving model  "buy one, give one".  For every Recycled Journal, Notebook, Sketchbook, or Calendar that is sold, they will donate and ship workbooks to children who cannot afford school supplies. Partnering with the Ve'ahavta KinderKits Program, their first shipment was sent along with medical supplies to Zimbabwe.

Originally called the Mirage Paper Co., three years ago Mark Gavin the head of marketing and his sister,Carolyn, embraced the trend of businesses taking on social responsibility by becoming more green as well as giving to social causes in the world. Mark and Carolyn  developed a  line of  green stationary made entirely from waste material that is locally made in Canada. Their products use acid-free  processed chlorine free paper, glues are vegetable based and  bio-degradable, paper is made from recycled materials, and all packaging is corn based

Ecojot's corporate giving also supports the non-profit environmental organization Canopy, that works to protect all the world's forests, species and climate. They are proud to donate $1 from the sale of each 'bou" (as in caribou) journal to Canopy which is promoting the protection of the boreal woodland caribou an endangered species in Canada.


Ecojot joins the inspiring list profiled here at BusinessThatCares, of other businesses that have adopted the buy one give one business giving model like Toms Shoes, and Socks for Happy People, as well as triple bottom line companies, with their commitment to people, planet, and profit such as Better World Books.

Their products are both colorful and beautiful and can be purchased in stationary stores all over the US and Canada. You can follow their inspiring story on their blog: Jot and Dot.

What's Love Got To Do With Business Giving?

In honor of St.Valentines Day and the upcoming anniversary of my blog, I decided to indulge myself in some reflection on the state of business giving and the direction that it may be and should be taking. Running in my head is the famous Tina Turner song: "What's Love Got To Do With It" and as the lyrics continue:  "it's a second hand emotion."

This past year there has been so much emphasis on accountability, measurement, strategic planning, it seems as though the whole sector of non-profits and philanthropy has forgotten what the words "philanthropy" and "charity" are about. Philanthropy is about the love of others, and charity,has it roots from the Latin word for caring, "caritas".

Yesterday I was talking with a friend who has recently stepped down as the director of a board of a Jewish educational non-profit. She was lamenting the fact that foundations, their chief source of revenue, were so intent on the non-profits proving their impact with metrics, that the non-profit's visionary and innovative ideas were being stifled.

And yet, from the perspective of a business and its philanthropic giving, the value of "having a heart" has a positive effect. Following the post, BlackBaud's Wide Reach, I spoke with Melanie Mathos, the PR Manager for Blackbaud and I told her how impressed by Blackbaud's employee engagement program. "That's one of the reasons why people love to work here", she said.

Yes, it's important to understand and carefully assess to whom and the best ways to give to a charity. But, charity and giving, are not second hand emotions or even second hand ways to make a decision about where to focus your business giving.

Discovering what you and your employees care about, may very well be the first place the start.