Corporations often shy away from philanthropic works due to concerns of ‘throwing money away.’ There are feelings that philanthropy and charity are only useful for the tax benefits or PR, with little return on investment. But this is not true. Society is shifting to a greater interest in responsibility for each other, our environment, and our communal financial success. Because of that, many job seekers are looking for more philanthropic and community-focused employers.
But what are the other major benefits of corporate philanthropy? Read on to educate yourself, and prepare for making an argument for philanthropic corporate culture.
- Engaged Your Workers – It’s easy to tell that employees are more engaged and passionate when their corporation displays an interest in the community. But there is proof that employees are more productive and interested in their work when there is an underlying philanthropic program – Gallup polls have shown that productivity goes up by as much as a fifth when their corporation has one of these programs in place.
- Attract Top Talent – When you are at the top of your field, you get to be more choosy about your employer. The best of the best are often in a position where they can seek out the perfect corporation for themselves. And as shown in the introduction, there is a major interest in philanthropic employers. If you want to bring in the best workers, give them what they want.
- Boosting Sales – People spend more money on brands that support causes that are important to them. This comes from two dual underlying benefits that we are more aware of – Philanthropy is good for PR, and it is good for marketing. Building networks and relationships with local businesses or philanthropic organizations can provide you with reach and visibility that you would never achieve through a focused marketing campaign – and likely for a lower price.
- Tax Deductive Spending – This is always attractive to corporate money-crunchers, and shouldn’t be neglected in any good argument for corporate philanthropy benefits.
When carefully and considerately pursued, corporate philanthropy can have remarkably positive impacts on business performance, reputation, and bottom-line profitability. This is counter to the commonly held views of corporate philanthropy as a heartless PR stunt. While PR itself is important, we should never neglect the importance of philanthropic pursuits among employees and communities throughout our nation.