Forward-thinking companies understand that both their employees’ purpose and their community’s social good needs play into their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Creating and running a successful CSR program these days is no longer a “nice to have,” it is the new expectation. If you are not convinced yet, take a look at the open letter that Blackrock’s Chairman, Larry Fink sent to CEOs last year.
Employees, potential talent and other stakeholders expect that the companies they work for offer them opportunities to play a role in their social impact programs. Employees want to know that their employer is committed to social good. Customers want to support brands that show a strong stance towards social good. These expectations are backed by research that shows that when your employees have sense of shared value within their company, it will positively affect the overall bottom line.
Some of this research is highlighted in Blackbaud’s CSR 2020: Experts Look Ahead eBook, which includes insights from a number of CSR thought leaders. In the chapter titled “Elevating Employee Voice with Social Fundraising” Jerry Needel starts by reminding us that we live in a world of unlimited, on-demand choices: “The digital transformation has changed our world: We have unlimited on-demand choices for almost every service, product, and experience, and we can access endless possibilities our mobile devices 24/7.” This trend is reflected on employee expectations as they choose how to give, when to give and which tool to use.
Traditionally, corporate philanthropy programs have taken a top down approach that limits cause areas and the ways in which employees can get involved. Those programs no longer feel engaging for employees who want their voices heard, their time valued and the ability to support the specific causes they care about. Employees want tools that offer them choice and that help them seamlessly share their cause with the world.
Crowdfunding, which has been defined by Merriam Webster as “the practice of funding a project or venture by raising small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet” is the fastest growing form of online giving. The following data points confirm this trend:
- $300 million has been raised on Facebook via “Donate Your Birthday”
- Just Giving is the second most visited website in the U.K (Facebook is number 1)
- 70% of millennials believe they can impact a cause without relying on a traditional institution
As crowdfunding grows in popularity, your employees are looking for opportunities to get involved, perhaps by even creating their own fundraising pages. Corporations can benefit from a crowdfunding strategy in multiple ways, some of the key reasons include:
- Crowdfunding is easy to implement: Cloud-based technologies don’t require heavy lifting from your IT department, so your program can be up and running in just a few days.
- Crowdfunding is authentic: There is a lot of skepticism around CSR and cause marketing, but crowdfunding gives your stakeholders the opportunity to tell their own stories.
- Crowdfunding is scalable: Crowdfunding is a great way to amplify the reach of your social good dollars.
- Crowdfunding helps you understand what your employees care about
Some of the most common crowdfunding strategies for corporations fall under one of the following categories:
- Project-Based Fundraising: Project based fundraising is typically a short-term initiative tied to a specific project or idea. Examples of project-based fundraising include:
- Casual Fridays
- Giving Days
- Virtual Food Banks
- Affinity Groups
- Fitness and Well-being Employee Fundraising: This type of fundraising gives employees the opportunity to stay active and bind with their teammates in a healthy way.
- Team-based Fitness Events (i.e.: 5K)
- Virtual Events
- Third Party Events that your employees want to support (i.e.: A running team at a marathon)
- Disaster Relief Crowdfunding: Provides your employees with the tools they need to fundraise in the aftermath of a disaster.
In a recent article titled “Four Ways to Engage your Employees with Crowdfunding Technology,” I shared some additional ideas on how to launch a variety of crowdfunding initiatives, including supporting affinity groups and running virtual food banks. There has never been a more important time to evaluate your corporate social responsibility programs. If you are not offering employees a way to get involved with social good, you might be missing a crucial way to engage employees, share the stories of your impact and align your strategy with stakeholder expectations.
A board member recently had their company do casual friday fundraising with a promise of a company match at the end of the year. This has been very successful for us so far
Thanks for posting!
These are great ideas.
…”when your employees have sense of shared value within their company, it will positively affect the overall bottom line.” YES! Employees must not only care about the company’s mission, they also need to know the company is socially responsible.
Interesting article.
People want to participate and be involved in meaningful ways. I know that I do with the organizations that I support.
Good thoughts! Thank you!
Very interesting!
Great ideas. Thank you.
Lots of cool ideas!
Excellent ideas!
Thanks for the ideas. Very helpful!
I like the project based fundraising such as casual Fridays, however the virtual events I have mixed personal feelings about as I feel they are so easy to implement they are often an overwhelming amount of them at any given time.
We’re really moving toward project-based fundraising. Love these ideas!
I fully support and like the idea of crowdfunding, but some strategies are more difficult to implement in larger organizations.
Thank you for the ideas.
Interesting article thanks
Thanks for providing even more ways to increase staff buy in to the development process!
Unlimited on-demand choices for products, services and experiences have moved our capabilities to an unprecedented level. It has become so convenient and efficient for our audiences to participate in our efforts, they just can’t resist in many cases.
Thank you for the ideas.
Can’t wait for our STL Giving Tuesday!
This is so true: “Employees want tools that offer them choice and that help them seamlessly share their cause with the world.”
Thanks for the inspiration. Our organization is doing some great things but we continue to look for new ways to get others involved.
We have been looking at crowdfunding and implemented a few within the last few years. I’m looking forward to seeing any features that would help link crowdfunding sites to Non-profit CRMs to help simplify the donation process.
Thank you for posting this!
Great read!
Thanks for the insight!
Thanks for posting. Looking forward to doing more crowd funding for 2019!
Crowdfunding seems to be the “in” thing to do these days. Thanks for sharing!
Interesting!
Thank you. This article helps me think of ways to introduce crowdfunding to my organization and those with which I volunteer.
Interesting, thank you
Good things to think about, we would like to delve deeper into crowdfunding in the future
Interesting thoughts
I think we now have the right person in place who will start utilizing more ideas like this.