Charity cheque

The global financial crisis has affected all sectors of the business world forcing professionals to stop, take a step back and reassess. With business owners scrutinising their financials and weighing up the importance of every penny spent, non-for-profit organisations are feeling the effects. When times get tough, spending that is not considered a necessity falls by the wayside in favour of cost cutting. Many organisations have decided charity support is not an option because at the present time there is a lack of funds to spare.

If your workplace is feeling the pinch there is still a way you can help a charity without writing a cheque. Corporate volunteering also referred to as employee volunteering, is where a business encourages their employees to dedicate time to working with non-for-profit organisations. This form of philanthropy is the perfect option for organisations who want to get involved in their community whilst remaining cash conscious.

Lisa Rowe from the Sunshine Coast Health Foundation (SCHF) says the pressure has increased on social and humanitarian charities due to changes in the Australian economy. One of the challenges faced by SCHF is finding funding.

“Changes in Australian society are causing many charitable organisations to spend a high proportion of their income on fundraising,” said Lisa.

By supporting employee volunteering your business is acting in a socially responsible manner. It may also benefit your business by improving your image within the community as a good corporate citizen. Corporate volunteering provides opportunities for employees to engage in team building as well as the generation of organisational culture through loyalty and pride in the company. Employees often want to volunteer to do something positive, this way they can develop new skills whilst gaining knowledge about the community.

“For employers, being aligned with a reputable charity contributes to an overall feeling of corporate social responsibility,” Lisa explains. “This in turn enhances staff loyalty and morale and the public perception that this company is a good place to work and actually gives back to the community it thrives in.”

Ashley Robinson from Pointon Group is a local business man passionate about giving back to the Sunshine Coast community. Involved in charity work for twenty years, Ashley is an avid supporter of the Mudjimba Island Charity Swim. He has helped the charity raise around eight hundred thousand dollars over the past few years. Pointon Group is an example of an organisation that supports their staff in helping charities, allowing Ashley to take time out from work to continue to be involved in the swim. Ashley says his motivation for getting behind the charity is to give back to the community.

“I’m tremendously lucky with the support I have received from individuals and local businesses in the community,” said Ashley.

Once you have decided to support a charity, how does your business ensure its corporate volunteering program is successful. The best way to get started is to determine your organisation’s needs and goals as well as the type of work your employees want do. It is also important that you consider the resources your business will need to allocate to the program. Some activities may require uniforms or fundraising equipment amongst other things so it’s worth considering what you could possibly need.

It is not always easy deciding which charity your business should support. It is advisable to stick to local non-for-profit organisations or widely known charities that are well established. Businesses can choose to become a small benefactor for a big organisation or a major sponsor of a smaller company. By assisting smaller charities your company could make the difference in the non-for-profits success or struggle with its endeavors. The size and type of organisation your business gets behind will depend on what cause you and your employees believe in.

Workplace giving demonstrates that a business is committed ethically and commercially to the long-term economic and social development of communities and families worldwide.  This in turn sends positive signals to investors, shareholders, employees and customers alike.

If you are having trouble finding the right charity for your business volunteer brokers or resource centers are able to help. These companies specialise in matching corporate volunteers to non-for-profit organisations, Pro Bono Australia is one of these. They provide volunteer match services and one of Australia’s largest databases of non-for-profit organisations. The use of these resources can make finding a charity easier and ensure that it is a legitimate organisation.

There are many ways in which your business can become involved in corporate volunteering. Staff can get involved in an event held by your chosen non-for-profit organisation. There is also the option of doing pro bono work for charities such as offering free advice in the area of the service you provide or supplying free samples of the product you make.

“Volunteering helps you understand the charity connected to the event, you can help generate ideas to raise money,” Ashley explains. “It’s also a reality check, people take a lot for granted, things that we consider to be big problems are put into perspective when you see what some people live with everyday.”

Once you have chosen a charity to support it is a good idea to make use of your own internal communication systems including team briefings, newsletters and notice boards. This ensures employees are well informed about the projects their organisation is involved with and also encourages more staff members to get involved.  To ensure corporate volunteering is a rewarding and safe experience you will need to consider legal issues such as insurance and confidentiality, working conditions, occupational health and safety as well as the implications of working with children.

If your business decides to work in child related volunteering employees may require a blue card. These are issued by the Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian after they have conducted the Working with Children Check. This check looks at an individual’s national criminal history and determines if they are eligible to work with children. Once the application has been approved a positive notice letter and a blue card will be sent out.

Evaluation is a valuable tool to utilise. Not only does it demonstrate the effectiveness of your corporate volunteering program it also reinforces the reasons why the venture was entered into in the first place. It is a good idea to know what it is you want to measure before you start so that you are able to collect information during the volunteering process. Data can range from how many employees participated in the program to how much time was dedicated to the project.

The evaluation process is a good way to determine if objectives have been met and whether the organisation and employees goals have been reached. This allows business owners to compare their actions against their results, future opportunities and additional benefits may also be identified. Once the data has been reviewed and improvements are recognised it is good to give your staff feedback.

No matter what type of non-for-profit organisation you choose to support, if done properly corporate volunteering has beneficial outcomes for all parties involved. Although the world financial conditions are hitting businesses hard even the most money savvy professional can get involved.

“I’ve read that to be truly successful you should give 10-20% of your time or money to charity, because it fulfils your life,” Ashley says. “I 100% believe this to be true.”  

There is no need to feel like a miser as long as corporate volunteering is around; your businesses can be generous with its time instead of its cheque book. Volunteering has positive outcomes reflected through the publics’ image of your business as well as the lift in staff morale. These are just some of the reasons why your business should jump on the philanthropic bandwagon.

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