America’s Charities has recently released “Snapshot 2014: Rising Tide of Expectations Corporate Giving, Employee Engagement and Impact.” This report focuses on the intersection of corporate giving, employee engagement and charitable impact and provides valuable information for nonprofits who want support from corporations. Some of the highlights of the report will be discussed here.
The study revealed a dramatic shift in workplace giving that has occurred in the last decade. Companies are moving to more fully engaging employees and maximizing the giving experience inside and outside the workplace. Companies are expected to do more than engage their employees and support the causes that employees care about. A new model is emerging that moves away from transactional giving to giving as part of an engagement model. In this new model, successful nonprofits are responding by providing greater opportunities for employees to learn about the organization, interact and engage.
The information contained in the report was obtained by surveying both companies and nonprofits. Interestingly, there are some differences between what employees value and expect and what charities value and expect, especially in terms of importance.
|
Employees Value & Expect |
Charities Value & Expect |
|
Opportunity to contribute via payroll contributions |
Matching employee contributions |
|
Matching employee contributions |
Employees able to promote their favorite charity to their peers |
|
Choice |
Financial incentives for employee volunteer service |
|
Goals |
Year-round giving |
|
Incentives |
Payroll contributions |
|
Year-round giving |
Choice |
|
Individual giving accounts |
Employees serving as board members |
|
Employee able to promote their favorite charity to their peers |
Company-supported volunteer teams |
To successfully engage corporations and their employees, nonprofits may want to think about how they can align their expectations with those of corporations and their employees.
