Monday, May 7, 2012

Corporate Giving Programs Will Boost Your Company Profile

A corporate giving program can be an excellent way of improving your company’s profile and increasing your press coverage. This may also lead to an increase in sales if you are able to touch a cord with customers that like a corporately responsible company.

When to start a corporate giving program?
Where to start a giving initiative if you are new to this trend? You are not alone if you have just decided to start corporate giving at your organization. There are many companies that are now actively supporting community programs, education, health, and international crises. According to a study published by the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy, corporate giving increased by 7% in the period between 2008 and 2009.

You can use these statistics to start a donation program. You will need a budgeting for this purpose so that to present a complete accounting detail to your shareholders.

Budgeting for a corporate giving program
It is important for you to budget your corporate giving in such a manner that it does not impact your balance sheet. It will be even more important to take care of budgeting if you are a publicly listed company. A careful approach in this regard is to start donation programs from the profits instead of taking money out of revenues. You can allocate a minimal percentage of your profits for social causes with an option to increase this donation once you get the finances right.

Seeking shareholders approval
It might be necessary for you to take shareholders approval before you start donating money to causes or organizations. It will be a good idea to discuss such matters in annual company meetings and discuss the matter with shareholders. You can start donation programs to companies and causes that are non-controversial thus avoiding the wrath of shareholders. It is highly unadvised to start corporate giving to controversial causes that might damage your company’s reputation and earn the ire of shareholders. A simple voting will be the best way of settling on donation plans that are acceptable to everyone.

Advertising your kindness
You can improve your press ranking and company reputation by advertising your social spending. Most companies now release press statements whenever they inaugurate a new health center or donate to earthquake victims. It is one of the best ways of promoting your company while displaying your concern for social and environmental causes. You can also donate to political causes as long as you are not afraid of losing your business or shareholders’ approval.

Streamlining your donations
It is highly important that you keep track of every cent that you spend in donation programs. You can use online donation portals that streamline the process of giving. Facebook, Linked-in, and Twitter can help you to advertise your social giving and encourage others to chip in. Online donation platforms will enable you to use a single portal for managing these campaigns and tracking donations.
It will be a good idea if you start one or multiple corporate giving programs while keeping the above factors in mind. This will enable you to keep the finances in check while improving your company profile.

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