Top Ways Companies Can Prioritize Giving Over Receiving

Purpose Business Model

In 2018, donations to nonprofits in the United States amounted to almost $360 billion. That’s more money than spent on lottery tickets ($80 billion), pregnancies ($55 billion), and buying alcohol ($223 billion) combined—and what’s even more encouraging is the fact that new ways to positively support underserved youth are being implemented every year.

Here are some top ways companies have prioritized giving over receiving within the corporate environment.

Profit + Purpose Business Model

Profit & purpose business (cause marketing and conscious capitalism) has revolutionized how companies operate nationwide. Customers uniformly prefer to support enterprises that support a good cause, whether it benefits society or the environment. It is rapidly spreading to become the way a company or brand increases profitability along with bettering the communities in which they share.

This business model connects the revenue-generating facet of business with its charitable side. The Marandi Foundation suggests every company that has reason to call itself socially progressive feels they have an equal moral obligation to do good in tandem with pleasing its shareholders. They are motivated to place a higher value on the philanthropic side of business operations.

Matching Gift Programs

When a big corporation has employees who regularly contribute to legitimate nonprofits and charity organizations, they can support their employees’ causes. This is a brilliant way of funding a nonprofit organization that workers are passionate about. The most common way the company donates is via a Matching Gift Program.

This program has been implemented in numerous corporate philanthropic-centric companies such as Apple, Expedia, Google, and General Electric. All an employee has to do when they work at one of the companies that provide this program is to submit a form to their employer. It must provide proof of its donation to the nonprofit. When the company receives this request, they match the donation amount the employee made.

Volunteer Grant Programs

Another way to implement a corporate giving agenda is to initiate a volunteer grant program. A list of the nonprofits to which the employee can donate their free time can be selected by the company itself, or suggestions on which nonprofits the workers wish to benefit from can be discussed. The employees are always kept in the loop about the programs the company has chosen for the volunteer grant program.

It works very simply. Employees who donate their time to nonprofit organizations can submit an application to their employer afterward. The company then donates the equivalent per-hour remuneration to the charity. This option is a trendy way to give back to the community. The employee gives up their time, and the company provides money. It's the ultimate win/win. Walmart, ExxonMobil, and Google are high-profile companies with active volunteer grant programs.

These are the most successful ways companies and brands can give back while still keeping the profitability machine turning. The consumer will support these efforts by opening their pocketbooks as well.