Well-managed finances are the backbone of successful nonprofits. To continue fulfilling your essential role in the community, you must meet IRS reporting requirements, build donor trust, and make informed decisions that contribute to your overall financial sustainability.

While assembling your nonprofit financial statements can seem like a mundane checkbox to mark off every year, they can be highly useful resources for refining your budget, enhancing your fundraising results, and more.

We’ll cover all the essentials about nonprofit financial statements in the following sections:

• The Importance of Nonprofit Financial Statements
• 4 Essential Types of Nonprofit Financial Statements
• How to Prepare Your Nonprofit Financial Reports
• Strong Examples of Nonprofit Financial Reporting

Many nonprofits include these statements in their annual reports to demonstrate accountability. By providing donors, volunteers, corporate sponsors, and other stakeholders with a clear window into your financial activities, you’ll enhance your credibility and increase your chances of securing even more support down the road.

The Importance of Nonprofit Financial Statements

According to a recent Independent Sector study, while most Americans trust nonprofits, 83% indicate that “Nonprofits must earn my trust before I support them” and 80% agree that “I need to see proof of an organization’s impact to continue my support for it.”

With so many pressing causes worth their attention, donors want to feel confident that your nonprofit will put their funds to good use. By sharing your financial statements, you can let them see for themselves just how effectively you’re working to accomplish your mission.

Beyond attracting and retaining donors, nonprofit financial reporting allows you to:

• Improve financial decision-making. With a better understanding of your nonprofit’s financial situation and activities, you can make strategic adjustments to your budget and resource allocation. For example, you might decide to cut down on your event costs next year by investing in registration and planning tools that will allow you to host more virtual fundraising events.
• Secure more major gifts. Major donors can provide substantial funding to power your programs, capital campaigns, or general operations. However, to cultivate these key individuals, you need to convince them that their gifts will make a meaningful difference in the lives of those you serve. Presenting them with your nonprofit financial reports is an effective way to demonstrate your track record and impact.
• Build stronger corporate partnerships. Modern customer and employee expectations have led to a rise in corporate philanthropy initiatives such as matching gifts and event sponsorships. Your financial statements can convince companies that your nonprofit is a worthwhile investment. Plus, you can nurture long-term relationships by publicly recognizing your corporate partners in your annual report.
• Win more grants. When applying for a grant, you’ll frequently have to include detailed financial information alongside your proposal. These statements prove that your organization possesses the fiscal stability necessary to make effective use of grant funding and carry out your proposed project.
• Facilitate board financial oversight. Your board members have a fiduciary responsibility to monitor your nonprofit’s budget and financial health. This doesn’t mean they have to oversee every expenditure, nor do they need to be finance experts. Reviewing your financial statements allows them to ensure that your organization is managing its budget properly and complying with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), which include consistent reporting for every period and honesty from all involved parties.
• Evaluate your nonprofit’s performance. Since nonprofits are legally required to make their financial statements available to the public, you can use these resources to compare your performance with other organizations in your area of focus. In doing so, you’ll be able to identify ways to improve your strategies going forward.

Furthermore, charity watchdogs such as GuideStar and Charity Navigator often consider nonprofit financial reports when rating profiles on their website. Having clear and accurate statements can go a long way toward establishing trust in potential donors looking for new organizations to support.

4 Essential Types of Nonprofit Financial Statements

Nonprofits typically prepare four types of financial statements to visualize their financial health and communicate it to stakeholders:

1. Statement of Financial Position

Your nonprofit’s statement of financial position, or balance sheet, provides a summary of your organization’s financial health at a specific point in time. This document consists of three main elements: assets – liabilities = net assets. Let’s take a closer look at each element:

• Assets. Assets refer to everything your organization owns, including cash, accounts receivable, investments, property, and office equipment. You’ll list these out in order of liquidity, or how quickly you would be able to convert them into cash. Cash requires no conversion, so you would record it first. Since you’d have to take the time to sell your property and office equipment to convert them to cash, these assets would be last.
• Liabilities. Liabilities refer to everything your nonprofit owes to its employees, vendors, contractors, and other organizations. For example, you would catalog your accounts payable, loans payable, and other long-term obligations in this section. You’ll organize your liabilities by their due date, starting with the ones you must pay back first.
• Net assets. To calculate your net assets, subtract your total liabilities from your total assets. While you don’t have to note down every item, you’ll split this section into net assets without donor restrictions and those with restrictions. For instance, a grantmaker might stipulate that you can only use grant funding for a specific project or purpose.

Many nonprofits often include a column for the current year and another for the previous year as a way to compare their financial performance. Feel free to use this template to start constructing your own nonprofit statement of financial position:

The details in your statement of financial position will come in handy when it’s time to file your Form 990. Additionally, you can use this report to learn more about your nonprofit’s liquidity. For instance, by dividing your total current assets by your total liabilities, you can calculate your current liquidity ratio. The higher the ratio, the better equipped you are to pay back all your liabilities.

2. Statement of Activities

Your nonprofit’s statement of activities, or income statement, details all your revenue and expenses throughout the fiscal year. Like your statement of financial position, this document contains three main elements:

• Revenues. In this section, you’ll itemize all of your various revenue sources, such as cash donations, in-kind gifts, grants, membership dues, program fees, and investment returns. Your report will commonly include two categories to account for your restricted and unrestricted revenue.
• Expenses. In this section, you’ll specify all the costs associated with running your nonprofit and carrying out your mission. For example, record staff salaries, facility rent, insurance, consulting services, supplies, and program-related expenses.
• Net assets. Subtract your total expenses from your total revenue to calculate your net assets. You’ll typically indicate your net assets at the beginning of the year, your net assets at the end of the year, and your total change in net assets. A positive change in net assets means that your nonprofit is effectively managing its finances throughout the year.

Use our statement of activities template to hit the ground running with your nonprofit financial reporting:

By compiling a statement of activities, your nonprofit can evaluate the sustainability of its programs and determine whether you need to raise more funds to cover your projected expenses in the coming year. For instance, you might decide to focus on marketing matching gifts to generate the revenue you need to expand one of your core programs.

3. Statement of Cash Flows

A statement of cash flows provides your nonprofit with a more minute overview of the cash moving in and out of your organization. Your report will have three main sections:

• Operating activities. These activities refer to the revenue and expenses associated with operating your nonprofit. You’ll log staff salaries, program fees, and donations in this section.
• Investing activities. In your statement of cash flows, you’ll list information such as long-term investment purchases and sales, including property and equipment. Additionally, you’ll note down revenue such as interest earned on your investments.
• Financing activities. Your financing activities refer to any revenue you generate from your savings and financial expenses, like credit card or loan payments.

Like your statement of financial position, it can be helpful to include a column for the current year and a column for the previous year in this report. This way, your leadership team, board members, and other stakeholders can have a better understanding of how your nonprofit generates and spends its cash from year to year.

Start assembling your nonprofit’s statement of cash flows using this template:

By consistently monitoring your cash inflows and outflows, you’ll be able to notice important trends and use them to adjust your financial strategy in the future.

4. Statement of Functional Expenses

A statement of functional expenses recounts all of your spending, categorizing each expenditure by the purpose it served for your nonprofit. You’ll break up this financial statement into three columns:

• Program services. In this column, you’ll enumerate all the funds your nonprofit spent to provide its services and carry out its mission. For example, a hunger relief organization may note travel costs for food delivery while a wildlife rehabilitation nonprofit may include animal care supplies as part of its program expenses.
• Management. Your nonprofit’s management expenses refer to all the costs related to running and managing your organization. Some common management expenses would be employee salaries, office equipment, and rent.
• Fundraising. In this column, you’ll identify all the expenses associated with raising funds for your nonprofit, including the costs of fundraising event planning, new software solutions, and marketing.

Form 990 includes a “statement of functional expenses” page for 501(c)(3) organizations to fill in. While each nonprofit will have different rows of specific expenditures depending on its activities and area of focus, you can use this basic template as a jumping-off point for your nonprofit functional expenses reporting:

You can use the insights from this nonprofit financial statement to guide your annual budget planning. Plus, this publicly available information can provide current and prospective donors with the context they need to decide whether they’d like to support your nonprofit based on how it employs its funds.

How to Prepare Your Nonprofit Financial Reports

Plan to compile these nonprofit financial statements well before the end of your fiscal year to ensure that you have all the time you need to fulfill your accounting requirements. Follow these general steps to start preparing your reports:

• Assemble your financial data. Since your nonprofit financial statements offer a comprehensive rundown of various aspects of your operations and mission, you’ll need to reference receipts, bank statements, and records of other financial transactions to complete them.
• Use dedicated nonprofit accounting software. Many nonprofit accounting solutions make it easy for your organization to manage its financial data, track real-time performance, and even automatically generate its financial statements.
• Review and audit your nonprofit financial statements. Auditing your financial reports can go a long way toward increasing accountability and transparency in the eyes of your nonprofit’s stakeholders. Furthermore, an audit ensures that all your financial data is error-free, so you can confidently share it in your annual report and use it to inform your future strategies.
• Consider partnering with a nonprofit accountant. With so much that needs to be done to fulfill your nonprofit’s mission, tax season and all its requirements might seem like an overwhelming addition to your to-do list. Fortunately, there are accounting experts with years of experience in helping nonprofits prepare their financial reports. Consider reaching out to these professionals to lighten your workload.

Ultimately, your nonprofit financial statements are snapshots of your financial health and activities that you can use to improve your decision-making and secure more support down the line. A nonprofit consultant can work with your team to interpret your financial data and harness it for future growth.

Strong Examples of Nonprofit Financial Reporting

Assembling your nonprofit financial reports may seem like an intensive process, but it’s perfectly feasible. Let’s take a look at some excellent examples that other nonprofits have produced and shared:

1. Feeding America

Feeding America includes a “Financials” section in its annual report and states upfront that “98% of contributions go directly to programs that serve people facing hunger.” The nonprofit’s statement of financial position and statement of activities provide the necessary details to back up this claim, which can increase trust among donors, volunteers, and other supporters in the community.

Plus, at the bottom of the page, Feeding America adds a link to view its audited financials for anyone interested in delving deeper into its financial situation and activities.

2. The World Wildlife Fund

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) features graphs alongside its statement of activities to present its annual report readers with a more visual perspective of its revenue and expenses. With just a glance, it’s easy to see that 85% of total expenses were program-related and that the majority (29%) of operating revenue came from individual contributors.

Furthermore, WWF adds graphs that illustrate the nonprofit’s operating revenue and program spending growth over the past decade.

3. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) shares its audited financial statements for the past five years on its website. Each report comes with a note from the independent auditor stating that they conducted the audit according to the Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS) to ensure that each document is free from any misstatement.

4. Heifer International

Similar to LLS, Heifer International has an entire page on its website devoted to sharing its financial information with stakeholders, including a graph that maps out its expenses over the fiscal year. The nonprofit even compares its results with the Better Business Bureau standard for charities, stating that it has gone above and beyond by allocating 75% of funds to program expenses and 21% to fundraising activities.

Wrapping Up: Understanding Your Nonprofit’s Financial Health

While preparing your nonprofit financial statements can feel like wrangling a bunch of numbers together, remember that your ultimate goal is to turn these data points into a story that donors, board members, corporate partners, and other stakeholders can understand.

Whether you add graphs to visualize your most important financial details or simply include your audited reports on your website, consider how you can cater to your audience’s interests and preferences. Engaging stakeholders in your financial reporting and providing transparency can turn reporting requirements into increased impact for those you serve.

For more information on how to improve your nonprofit’s financial situation and share better results year after year, check out these additional resources:

• 14 Types of Corporate Philanthropy You Should Know About. Companies are finding more and more ways to support nonprofits and make a difference in their communities. Explore popular types of corporate philanthropy and how to tap into them.
• Matching Gift Videos | Examples and Best Practices. Matching gifts can bring in significant revenue for your nonprofit, at no additional cost to your donors. Discover how you can effectively use videos to promote these opportunities.
• Nonprofit Basics: Google Ad Grants for Nonprofits. Want to expand your reach without straining your marketing budget? Learn all about Google Ad Grants and how you can unlock $10,000 to spend on Google Ads credits every month.

Trends in corporate philanthropy show that corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs are on the rise among companies of all sizes. While large corporations have more resources to set aside for CSR, small and medium-sized businesses can also make meaningful impacts in their communities.

The first step for creating a winning CSR strategy is to know what’s possible for your business. That’s why business leaders who are serious about CSR should examine what other companies have accomplished through their social good programs.

To help your research, we’ll look at top companies with thriving CSR programs and provide insight into how you can incorporate their strategies into your initiatives. While many of these are large companies, even small businesses can adapt their practices to fit their resources and capabilities.

But first, let’s explore why companies offer CSR programs and the sheer variety of ways you can approach CSR at your business.

Why do companies participate in corporate social responsibility?

CSR benefits society. Through these programs, nonprofits receive donations, the environment gets cleaned up, and employees have safe and healthy working conditions. These are all obvious reasons why CSR is a positive force, but what do the companies paying for these initiatives get in return?

It turns out businesses committed to CSR can more than make up their investment. They can expect benefits like:

• New marketing opportunities. Some CSR programs involve partnering with third-party organizations, usually nonprofits. To say thanks, these charitable organizations promote their business partners to their supporters, opening up new marketing channels and providing a foot in the door with new customers.
• Easier recruitment. Along with holding on to the employees you have, CSR also helps businesses find and recruit top talent. For instance, if your company is committed to worker safety, health, and well-being, word-of-mouth about your positive work environment will likely spread, resulting in more qualified applicants.
• Boosted reputation. Just as employees want to work for employers committed to social good, customers want to shop at ethical businesses. For example, let’s say you have the choice of buying two products of equal quality. One brand has a spotty history with CSR, while the other pledges to donate a portion of proceeds to good causes. In this situation, most buyers would select the business with a positive reputation.
• Improved employee engagement. Employees tend to work harder, care more about the quality of their work, and stick with their employer longer when they feel like they are working for a good cause. By doing good in your community and implementing socially responsible internal practices, you’ll help employees feel more engaged, increasing productivity and loyalty.

The benefits your business gains depend on the types of CSR programs you offer. For example, will you focus on internal practices to engage employees, explore external philanthropy to connect with your community, or try a mix of both approaches?

What are the types of corporate social responsibility?

CSR is ultimately an umbrella term that consists of all the activities a company does to further social good. This includes both philanthropic donations and internal company conduct.

To give you a sense of the sheer variety of CSR programs, here’s a brief list of some of the most common types of CSR:

• Employee giving. Workplace giving programs involve facilitating donations to nonprofits by encouraging your employees to donate. To encourage employee donations that align with their missions, many businesses provide recommendations for nonprofits to support. Corporations can also boost employee donations by offering to match their gifts, usually at a dollar-per-dollar rate. Although, some businesses match at a 2:1 or even 3:1 ratio.
• Sustainability. Sustainable companies are positive for the environment and signal to investors that their businesses plan to operate for decades to come. CSR programs focused on sustainability usually involve reducing their carbon footprint, eliminating waste in the production process, taking accountability for any environmental clean-up needs, and using renewable energy sources.
• Volunteerism. Rather than asking employees to donate their paychecks, businesses can enable them to donate their time. Volunteerism programs include team volunteer days wherein the business organizes a volunteer activity in partnership with a nonprofit, volunteer time off where employees can take paid time off to volunteer, and volunteer grants, where businesses donate to nonprofits based on how many hours their employees volunteer.
• Adherence to workers’ rights. Treat workers with respect by providing fair wages, creating an equitable and diverse workplace, promoting employee health and wellbeing, and using supply chains that follow ethical labor practices.
• Sponsorships. As mentioned, philanthropic donations fall under the umbrella of CSR. Sponsorship agreements typically involve monetary donations but may also include gifts of supplies or specialized services and promoting nonprofit causes.
• Grantmaking. Some businesses, usually large corporations, establish grantmaking foundations as part of their CSR efforts. These organizations have a specific focus area for which they provide grants, such as advocacy, environmentalism, or economic equality.

Whether you plan to launch several or just one CSR initiative, software can help you organize and monitor your program. While CSR software providers have various focus areas, most solutions allow businesses to track employee donations, manage grants, facilitate nonprofit relationships, and oversee matching gift requests.

Examples of Corporate Social Responsibility

1. TOMs

Shoe retailer TOMs has made CSR a part of its brand to the point of becoming a Certified B Corporation, meaning the company meets high standards for social impact, environmental protection, and accountability. Not only has TOMs achieved this honor, but the organization has boosted its initial score of 96.3 in 2018 to 121.5 in 2021, all while the median score for businesses hovers at just 50.9.

TOMs takes a multi-pronged approach to CSR, dividing its efforts into three categories:

• Purpose. TOMs aims to create a more equitable world by supporting grassroots nonprofits. As such, TOMs donates a third of its profits to nonprofit organizations dedicated to boosting mental health, increasing access to opportunities, and ending gun violence.
• Planet. TOMs seeks to improve its environmental friendliness in multiple ways, specifically by using sustainable and recycled materials. Currently, 80% of TOMs’ packaging is made from recycled materials, and the company aims to use 100% sustainably grown cotton by 2025.
• People. In addition to giving to nonprofits, TOMs aims to improve internally by positioning their organization as anti-racist, launching volunteer initiatives on GivingTuesday, and working with suppliers that share its values.

TOMs is proud of the impact it has made so far and only aims to improve its CSR programs in the future.

CSR Takeaway

There’s no need to choose just one type of CSR program for your business. Taking a multifaceted approach to CSR like TOMs allows your business to engage employees, build a positive reputation with customers, and connect with like-minded organizations.

Conduct an internal assessment and determine what improvements you can make immediately and what may take a few years for your company to accomplish. For instance, you may be able to set up a long-term partnership with a nonprofit organization within a few months but need several years to reduce your carbon footprint.

2. Checkr

Checkr, a leader in the background screening industry, exemplifies corporate social responsibility through its commitment to creating fairer employment opportunities and enhancing impact with generous giving. Recognized for its innovative approach and dedication to social good, Checkr has integrated CSR into its core values, earning accolades and driving significant positive change.

This company’s CSR initiatives are designed to promote social justice, environmental sustainability, and community engagement. Its matching gift program in particular stands out for the simplicity with which its staff can get involved through an auto-submission partnership with Double the Donation!

CSR Takeaway

Checkr is a CLMA-designated matching gift company, which means the company is a Certified Leader in Matching Automation. In other words, Checkr prioritizes accessibility and a streamlined submission process in its programming, making it easy for employees to engage.

Checkr’s comprehensive CSR strategy demonstrates that a business can drive meaningful change by addressing social, environmental, and community needs in a way that rallies the whole company.

3. PayPal

PayPal’s payment processing services need little introduction, but many may be less familiar with how they use this technology to help charities earn more donations through the PayPal Giving Fund.

Essentially, the PayPal Giving Fund supports charitable organizations through this four-step process:

1. Charities create a registered account with PayPal. Registered charities will receive PayPal’s low processing fee rates and access to donation opportunities on PayPal and its partner organizations, including GoFundMe, eBay, and Humble Bumble.
2. Supporters donate through PayPal, eBay, or another PayPal partner. Many PayPal partners will even cover processing fees for charities, making donations to nonprofits go even further.
3. PayPal receives the donation and provides the donor with a receipt. PayPal will use this information to provide participating charities with monthly donation reports.
4. The funds are added to the charity’s PayPal account. In addition to individual donors’ gifts, charities can receive grants and major gifts through PayPal.

Along with ensuring donations are securely processed, PayPal’s extensive partner network helps nonprofits receive funds from various sources.

CSR Takeaway

This CSR program takes advantage of the technology PayPal already has to help nonprofit organizations. Assess your business’s products and services and whether they would benefit charitable organizations in your community. If so, you can provide your offerings at a reduced cost or even for free to nonprofits for a philanthropic CSR program.

4. FP Markets

FP Markets is a financial trading service that allows customers to trade Forex, CFDs, Indices, Shares, Commodities, Metals, and Bonds. FP Markets is also committed to CSR, stating that its mission is to: “Actively contribute to the well-being of communities and the environment. Through sustainable practices, philanthropic initiatives, and ethical decision-making, we aim to make a positive impact on society, fostering a better future for all. Our projects across multiple sectors reflect this goal, promoting change and fostering a healthier, more equitable world.”

Currently, FP Markets has two unique CSR programs worth highlighting:

• Men’s Health. FP Markets focuses on promoting advocacy for overlooked health issues that affect men, including prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health conditions.
• Cricket Brazil Youth Development Programme. In this example of philanthropic CSR, FP Markets partnered with a Brazilian youth cricket organization to support young athletes and create a positive difference in their communities.

As these two causes show, FP Markets is interested in making a difference globally and partnering with a variety of charitable causes, no matter where they’re located.

CSR Takeaway

Your business doesn’t need to build an entirely new program to serve your community. Rather, try partnering with nonprofits in your area and support them through sponsorships and marketing assistance. These organizations already have the research, resources, and infrastructure to fulfill their charitable missions that align with your CSR goals.

5. Toast

Toast.org is the foundation founded by Toast, a point-of-sale software vendor for restaurants. Just as its products revolve around the food industry, Toast’s CSR program also revolves around food. Through its foundation, Toast aims to address hunger and provide access to healthy food.

Toast also encourages its employees and customers to participate in this mission. To motivate employees, Toast offers a matching gift program, which saw a 48% participation rate in 2022. Additionally, through its software, Toast provides restaurants with features to track and reduce food waste.

CSR Takeaway

When selecting your CSR mission, consider what focus areas make sense for your business. Determine what you have the resources to accomplish, what challenges your business and community face, and how your mission impacts your brand.

Many companies have CSR missions unrelated to their businesses. However, a mission that aligns with your products or services can make your brand memorable and allow you to better connect with new audiences that discover your business through your CSR program.

6. Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank brands itself as “America’s most socially responsible bank,” meaning CSR is a core part of its strategies. It focuses on a wide range of issues, including:

• Climate Justice
• Immigrant Rights
• LGBTQ+ Rights
• Anti-Violence & Gun Safety
• Criminal Justice
• Workers’ Rights
• Reproductive Rights
• Voting Rights
• Racial Justice
• Economic Justice

For each of these issues, Amalgamated Bank takes a proactive stance. Its CSR efforts range from offering pro-bono services to nonprofit organizations to not doing business with parties they feel are harmful, such as fossil fuel companies.

CSR Takeaway

Your business can conduct CSR in many ways. If there’s a focus area you care about but don’t have the resources to launch an entire program for, consider how else you can support it. For instance, if you’ve already used up your philanthropic budget by donating to economic equality groups, you might organize a corporate volunteer day with an environmental organization to plant trees.

Additionally, CSR benefits companies by associating their businesses’ names with good causes. There’s no need to be modest about your organization’s work to assist nonprofits, create a positive work environment for employees, and be a better corporate citizen. When you promote your CSR efforts, you’ll attract customers and employees who share your values, creating a positive and productive environment.

7. Ben & Jerry’s

Since its founding, Ben & Jerry’s has had two goals: provide quality ice cream and make the world a better place through activism. 

Over the years, Ben & Jerry’s has expanded its activism into several focus areas, including ones both related and unrelated to its products. Currently, Ben & Jerry’s CSR programs center on these issues:

• Racial justice 
• Fairtrade
• Rights and dignity of refugees 
• Campaign finance reform
• LGBTQ+ rights
• Climate change

For examples of Ben & Jerry’s programs in action, it became the first ice cream maker to use Fairtrade Certified ingredients in 2005, and since 2014, all ingredients in Ben & Jerry’s products are Fairtrade Certified. 

Or, in regards to climate impact, Ben & Jerry’s set climate goals approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. These include using 100% renewable energy and 40% greenhouse gas intensity reduction both by 2025.

CSR Takeaway

Ben and Jerry’s has evolved its CSR programs over time based on new urgent issues and its ability to meet goals. For instance, after the company achieved its Fairtrade-related goals, it continued the program and expanded its efforts to support Fairtrade Certified suppliers.

For your business, use this as inspiration to continue adjusting and expanding your goals. If you hit a target, consider how to push your company to do more.

8. Bombas

Specializing in socks, Bombas is a clothing company that gets its customers involved in its CSR initiatives. Workplace giving programs are popular because they allow employees to take an active role in making a difference, and the same principle applies to shop for a cause programs like the one Bombas offers.

Essentially, whenever a customer buys a t-shirt, pair of socks, or underwear—the three most requested items at homeless shelters—Bombas will donate the same item to one of their nonprofit partners, who then distribute the clothing to those in need.

CSR Takeaway

Determine how much you want your customers and employees to get involved in your CSR program. Some initiatives, like establishing a charitable foundation, are usually influenced very little by customers or employees, allowing the companies that operate them to act more independently.

However, programs that engage stakeholders are far more public and help businesses make CSR a part of their brand identities. Plus, initiatives like shop for a cause programs can lead to positive business outcomes. After all, if a buyer knows each item they purchase results in a donation, they’re likely to buy more than they normally would.

9. Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle, renowned for its commitment to fresh, responsibly sourced ingredients, exemplifies corporate social responsibility through its dedication to sustainability, ethical sourcing, and community support. Recognized for its forward-thinking approach and substantial impact, Chipotle has seamlessly woven CSR into its brand identity, garnering praise and driving considerable positive change.

Chipotle’s CSR efforts focus on promoting environmental sustainability, ethical farming practices, and community involvement. Notable among its initiatives is the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation, which supports sustainable agriculture, family farming, and education programs. Additionally, the company’s Harvest Program, which donates unused food to local communities, stands out as a testament to its commitment to reducing waste and supporting those in need.

CSR Takeaway

Chipotle’s comprehensive CSR strategy showcases the power of integrating employee-led philanthropy into a business model, and this is only reiterated by its status as a CLMA-designated (or Certified Leader in Matching Automation) employer. By prioritizing its matching gift program and enabling auto-submission for employees, Chipotle not only enhances its brand reputation but also sets a high standard for corporate responsibility and employee engagement in the food industry.

10. Land O’ Lakes

Founded in 1921, Land O’ Lakes is a farmer co-op that produces a wide range of agricultural goods, from dairy products to animal feed. As part of their co-op model, Land O’ Lakes is deeply committed to community and empowering farmers, stating: “We believe success shouldn’t only be measured in financials and figures, but also in stories told and lives changed. That’s why we’re using our voice to elevate the ongoing work our farmers, members and employees are doing in their communities and beyond.”

Along with an investment in sustainability, Land O’ Lakes is most notable for its recent work with the inventory management platform Spoiler Alert to increase timely food donations. Food companies that produce products with limited shelf lives, like Land O’ Lakes’ dairy products, often want to donate excess products but have challenges doing so in a timely manner.

By partnering with Spoiler Alert, Land O’ Lakes alleviated this problem, and in 2023, the company donated 3.6 million pounds of food, far surpassing its initial goal of donating 3 million pounds cumulative by 2030. With this new technology, Land O’ Lakes has updated its donation goal to 15 million pounds of donated food by 2030.

CSR Takeaway

Technology can dramatically improve your company’s ability to enact its CSR programs. From efficiency leading to increased productivity to organizational capabilities improving tracking, the right software can streamline your efforts.

11. PNC

PNC provides retail banking, asset management, and corporate banking services to customers across the United States. With over 1 million customers, PNC serves a wide range of communities and has CSR programs dedicated to meeting the unique needs of every location.

Specifically, PNC offers two major CSR programs dedicated to improving local communities:

• The PNC Community Benefits Plan is a pledge to provide $88 in financial support over a five-year period to moderate and low-income communities. PNC has provided loans to small businesses, mortgage financing, community investments, and charitable donations.
• PNC hosts multiple employee volunteerism programs, including skills-based and pro bono work programs that allow PNC legal professionals to lend their services to nonprofits in their local communities.

CSR Takeaway

If your business has multiple locations, consider CSR programs that allow you to address local needs. For example, employee volunteer programs enable employees to give back to their unique communities. This type of initiative allows you to adapt to a variety of situations and needs rather than creating one program with blanket policies.

Corporate Social Responsibility Examples: More Resources

There are as many ways to approach CSR as there are businesses operating. The examples in this guide are a strong place to start to inspire your own CSR efforts to positively impact your community, all while boosting relationships with customers and employees.

Of course, to create the transformative programs listed here, these companies started with a strong foundational knowledge of CSR best practices. Continue to expand your business’s expertise with resources like these:

• Corporate Citizenship: Creating Meaningful Community Impact. CSR is about being a good corporate citizen. Explore the nuances of how to make an impact in this guide.
• Top Employee Engagement Companies Leading By Example. CSR efforts can boost employee engagement. Discover the intersection of employee engagement and CSR with these real-world examples.
• CSR in Action: Corporate Social Responsibility Examples. Interested in exploring even more examples of CSR programs? Check out this guide to discover the vast world of CSR.