Why Businesses Should Support Charities
Supporting a charity (or charities) as a business is nothing new, but it is becoming more common than ever. Supporting a charity as a business is not only a great way to build up some cosmic karma and help the community - but it is also a great way to connect with customers and employees
By supporting a cause a business can increase its brand reputation by showing customers that they care - and this is incredibly important in today's world where conscious consumers look to work with businesses that have similar values.
In addition, supporting charities and causes is a great way to align with employees and hire new ones, for example, front-end developers. 76% of employees surveyed believed it was important for their company to be socially responsible, and 64% said they wouldn't take a job from a company that didn't have strong CSR practices - according to a study from Cone Communication.
Impactful Strategies for Businesses to Support Charities
Donate a Percentage of Profits
Put your money where your mouth is.
This is a great way for businesses to show they care while staying accountable. in a way that is easily understood by customers. Businesses can choose to donate a fixed percentage or amount from their products and services to a charity they care about.
Customer Donations at Checkout
This will depend on the industry you are in, but this is a very impactful and transparent way to collect donations for a charity. Whether you are collecting donations on the counter of a shop or letting customers leave a donation at eCommerce checkout - there are many ways to support.
Donate Products and Services
Donating services or products is a great way to give back and support a charity while sitting with the strengths of a business. This can be donating office space, expertise, or even products.
Lemonade has been supporting Choose Love since 2022 and to date has donated over 15,000 pairs of undies to refugees in Greece.
Employee Volunteer Programs
Volunteering at a charity is a great way to help out an initiative that you care about. Most employees can only volunteer after work or on weekends, but services are typically at peak during the day. By letting employees volunteer on company time businesses can make a real impact and show their employees that they care about their values).
Corporate Sponsorships and Partnerships
Partnerships and sponsorships are a great way to give back and show your support. Whether it be sponsoring one area that the charity focuses on or raising money for a marathon. Sponsorships and partnerships make for great visibility for both the business and the charity.
Matching Employee Donations
Setting up a corporate gift matching program where the company will match the amount of money its employees donate. This encourages employees to donate and also shows your commitment as a business.
Educational Initiatives
A large part of the third sector involves awareness campaigns. Businesses can host workshops, webinars, and events that shine a light on the issues that a cause is working to address. This is a great way to help give valuable exposure to charities while promoting a broader understanding within the workforce.
Create Limited-Edition Products
This is a very fun way for businesses to give back. With a limited-edition product, businesses will not only generate donations for a cause but also work to raise awareness for the charity and the issues it is trying to solve.
Encourage Supplier and Vendor Engagement
Businesses have a lot of buying power that is often underutilized. With many great ethical sourcing certifications around - businesses can 'recommend' their suppliers work with charities to become more ethical or sustainable.
Support Causes from sales with store and checkout donations. Virtue is an easy to set up fundraising charity donations app for eCommerce brands built on Shopify, WooCommerce and Magento.
