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:
- 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.
- 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.
- PayPal receives the donation and provides the donor with a receipt. PayPal will use this information to provide participating charities with monthly donation reports.
- 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:
Diversifying Nonprofit Revenue Streams: How to Raise More
/in About Double the Donation /by Adam WeingerAs a nonprofit professional, acquiring funds to power your mission is one of your biggest responsibilities. With over $300 billion in fundraising revenue donated in 2023 alone, finding reliable revenue sources might seem simple. However, individual fundraising can be a very volatile source of revenue, fluctuating due to economic trends, your donors’ financial statuses, and more.
That’s why your nonprofit should pursue several other revenue streams besides individual contributions from donors. Choosing and implementing new revenue streams can be challenging, but having the right tools and tips in mind helps your nonprofit achieve financial flexibility and freedom. We’ll help you start strong with these tips:
Diversifying your sources of support will ultimately lead to a more reliable future, empowering you to fulfill your mission. Now, let’s explore the different nonprofit revenue streams your organization can leverage.
8 Top Nonprofit Revenue Streams
Before we discuss how to diversify your nonprofit’s revenue streams, let’s review the top options for you to consider and the top strategy for each.
1. Individual Donations
Individual donations is an umbrella term for many types of fundraising that involve individuals donating to your organization. Some examples of fundraising in this revenue stream include:
How to Secure Individual Donation Revenue: Prioritize Relationship-Building
“Individual donations” is an umbrella term for many types of fundraising that involve individuals donating to your organization. Some examples of fundraising in this revenue stream include:
2. Matching Gifts
Matching gifts are a form of corporate giving that allows donors to get their charitable contributions matched by their employers. This valuable opportunity allows your supporters to double or even triple their financial impact on your cause. What’s more, your supporters will likely participate eagerly. According to our matching gift research, 84% of survey participants say they’re more likely to donate if a match is offered.
Top Matching Gifts Strategy: Use a Matching Gift Tool
Most donors don’t leverage their employer’s matching gift policy simply because they’re unaware of their program or how to submit a request. However, your nonprofit can empower them with matching gift software. This tool simplifies the process for donors by telling them if their employer has a matching gift program based on their company email address. Then, it provides steps for submitting a matching gift request based on each employer’s requirements.
When looking for a matching gift tool, prioritize solutions that have auto-submission capabilities. This allows your donors to submit a matching gift request straight from the donation form—no extra steps required. You can learn more about auto-submission with this educational video from our team:
3. Volunteer Grants
Volunteer grants are another form of corporate philanthropy that allows volunteers to turn their donated time into funds for your mission. Companies that provide volunteer grants donate to a nonprofit once their employees have spent a certain number of hours volunteering there. For instance, an employer’s policy might be to give $500 for 50 hours of volunteering time.
Top Volunteer Grants Strategy: Leverage a Volunteer Grants Database
Keeping track of all of your volunteers’ employers and their policies can be challenging. Using a volunteer grants database can help your nonprofit quickly determine which volunteers are eligible for grants through their employer. This allows you to provide volunteers with the information and resources they need to submit a volunteer grant request.
The best volunteer grants database will be volunteer-facing so your supporters can easily research their employer’s program. For example, Double the Donation’s nonprofit customers can make its volunteer grants database available to supporters so they can look up their companies whenever they wish.
Want to learn more about real companies that award matching gifts and volunteer grants? Access Double the Donation’s industry-leading database:
4. Corporate Sponsorships
Corporate sponsorships are when socially responsible companies support a nonprofit partner in exchange for tax benefits or being associated with a charitable cause. The most common types of corporate sponsorships include:
Our guide to corporate sponsorships shares several companies that are exemplary sponsors. Here are the top corporate sponsors it lists, ordered by the percentage of nonprofits in ZipSprout’s database they sponsor:
Top Corporate Sponsorship Strategy: Create a Personalized Pitch
Like any donation appeal, your nonprofit needs to convince potential sponsors why your organization is worth their support. However, unlike other donation appeals, you need to convince sponsors how they can benefit from your partnership as well. You might use insights such as:
Potential return on investment (ROI) based on the campaign. ROI can vary from campaign to campaign, so you should highlight why your campaign is valuable to their interests. For instance, let’s say you’re hosting a charity golf tournament. GolfStatus recommends highlighting that golfers have a much higher net worth than average, which makes them valuable sales prospects for sponsors.
Past results for other sponsors. If you’ve had corporate sponsorships before, present your key performance metrics to prove your program’s value. Better yet, if you’re trying to recruit past sponsors for a new campaign, pull metrics from their past engagement and estimate how the new campaign will increase revenue.
No matter which approach you use to pitch your nonprofit to potential sponsors, ensure you use hard facts to support your appeal. For example, you could mention overarching economic trends and the company’s goals to illustrate why sponsoring your nonprofit could be beneficial.
5. Member Dues
For nonprofits with a membership structure, dues are the money members pay regularly to remain part of the program. Nonprofits such as museums offer memberships to secure a reliable source of income.
Top Membership Dues Strategy: Add Unique Membership Perks
Unlike recurring gifts, membership to a nonprofit often comes with special benefits. Add unique perks to your membership package to differentiate your program from similar alternatives. For example, you could add:
Georgia Welles Apollo Society, an affinity group of members who pool their dues and vote on new art to add to the museum’s collection each year.
Each membership community is unique, so you should base your benefits on their preferences. To formulate ideas for perks, you could survey your most loyal donors to understand what they’d like to experience as part of a membership community. From there, you can compile a list of contending ideas and select a few that align with your budget and goals.
6. In-Kind Contributions
In-kind donations are gifts of non-financial resources to your nonprofit. You can use in-kind contributions to:
Top In-Kind Contributions Strategy: Create a Wishlist
Chances are, your existing donors have in-kind resources they could donate to your nonprofit. They just might not know that you need anything. Create a comprehensive, detailed wishlist that describes all the in-kind resources your nonprofit needs at a given time. Include information such as:
Once you’ve drafted your list, create a landing page on your website where supporters can easily sign up to donate in-kind items. If possible, integrate your CMS with your sign-up software so the public-facing list remains up-to-date and you don’t get duplicate donations.
P.S. Looking for companies that offer in-kind donations? Utilize Double the Donation’s corporate giving database to uncover the best opportunities for donated goods and services.
7. Grants
Grants are sums of money awarded to nonprofit applicants who fit certain criteria. They are usually provided by government agencies or foundations with an endowment.
Top Grants Strategy: Use Management Software
Your nonprofit likely juggles numerous grants at a time, some with overlapping requirements and due dates. Staying organized and vigilant about your grant applications is crucial to finding the right opportunities and securing funding. Grant management software can help you:
When picking a grants management software solution, ensure that you consider your volume of grant applications. For instance, if your nonprofit relies on grants for 20% of your funding, investing in a comprehensive solution can help you keep track of more applications, whereas a nonprofit that only applies for a few grants a year can make do with a cheaper solution with fear features.
8. Product Sales
Consider selling products to donors and taking the profit as fundraising revenue. Your nonprofit has a unique brand identity, making it easy for your donors to support you in style. Plus, branded products can spread the word about your mission.
Top Product Sales Strategy: Sell Limited-Edition Merchandise
While selling items with your nonprofit’s logo and slogan is a good start, you can level up your product sales by creating exclusive merchandise for certain events and campaigns. For example, let’s say you’re hosting an auction. You could sell a t-shirt with unique branding for your event to attendees and discontinue it afterward. This creates a sense of urgency for your donors to get your items before they’re gone.
Nonprofit Revenue Stream Diversification FAQ
Now that you know of different nonprofit revenue streams, let’s answer some questions you might have about adding them to your financial approach.
What are the benefits of diversifying your nonprofit’s revenue streams?
There are numerous advantages to intentionally diversifying your organization’s revenue streams, such as:
There’s no set amount of revenue streams your nonprofit should have, but you should have multiple to support you through any situation.
What are some common challenges in managing multiple revenue streams?
Despite the benefits of having diverse revenue streams, numerous obstacles can dissuade nonprofits from seeking out new ones, such as:
Changes can always pose challenges to nonprofits, but as long as you have the right tools and strategy in mind, you can tackle these hurdles. We’ll cover the impact the right software can have in a later section.
What are some key performance indicators (KPIs) for evaluating revenue streams?
Not all revenue streams are feasible for every nonprofit. As you test out new revenue streams for your nonprofit, use these KPIs to decide which are worth developing:
The best way to collect and leverage this data is by using a CRM with complex reporting capabilities, automated workflows, and field customization. These features allow you to track multiple KPIs simultaneously and form more accurate data-driven insights.
Nonprofit Revenue Stream Diversification: Dos and Don’ts
Do:
Don’t:
Wrapping Up + Additional Resources
Pursuing new nonprofit revenue streams isn’t only a financially sound strategy, but it also helps your team innovate and stay relevant over time. As long as you assess each option in detail, record results, and keep your core competencies in mind, you can shake up your organization’s current fundraising approach without significant risk. Plus, your donors will love having new ways to give back to your nonprofit!
4 Easy Ways to Start Embracing CSR at Your Company
/in Learning Center /by Adam WeingerCorporate social responsibility (CSR) is an opportunity for companies to give back to the communities they operate in and boost their reputations at the same time. From creating matching gift programs to improving your company’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices, there are several ways to get involved.
Review the following strategies and consider how you can incorporate them into your company’s operations. With the right mindset and intuitive social good software, you can navigate the ever-evolving CSR landscape with ease.
1. Familiarize Yourself With the Benefits of CSR
Before you create a CSR program, familiarize yourself with the rationale behind the movement and everything it can do for your business. First, embrace the fact that businesses are adopting CSR programs because of a clear demand — employees, customers, and shareholders alike want companies to be more socially responsible.
These statistics explain the rise in CSR-related initiatives and the profound impact they can have on your company:
As these trends show, effective CSR programs can help your company improve everything from employee motivation to your business’s reputation. Plus, if you use a CSR platform to track and measure your programs’ results, you’ll be able to easily report on and publicize your company’s impact to access these benefits faster.
If any of your company’s key stakeholders are hesitant to adopt a CSR program due to the necessary investment of time and resources, share these statistics and others like them to demonstrate CSR’s proven value.
2. Reflect on Your Company’s Values
CSR programs are more likely to be successful when they represent a company’s core values and public priorities. Value alignment helps employees feel more motivated to participate in CSR activities and ensures that your company will retain a vested interest in the program long-term.
Take time to revisit your business’s core values and think about ways you could naturally align corporate social responsibility programs with them. For example, if one of your core values is giving back to the community, you should prioritize corporate philanthropy programs and community service opportunities for employees. On the other hand, a sustainable food service company would be more suited to create internal energy conservation initiatives or a program that donates leftover food products to community shelters.
Brainstorm ideas for a variety of programs that would align with your company’s interests, then research other companies in your sector to see what type of CSR programs they have. Choose one idea to explore first, then save the rest of the list for future program development.
3. Start With a Matching Gifts Program
As you evaluate your options for potential CSR programs, consider developing a matching gifts program first. Employee giving programs are especially effective for increasing employee engagement, and matching gifts are the easiest employee giving program for businesses to facilitate.
These programs involve your company financially matching donations that your employees make to eligible nonprofit organizations, often at a 1:1 ratio. This means that if your employee donated $100, your company would donate an additional $100 to the same organization. Matching gift programs allow your company to support a multitude of causes while helping individual employees make more of a difference.
To launch a matching gift program for your company, follow these basic steps:
To encourage employees to participate in your new matching gift program, emphasize the benefits of matching gifts for both employees and the organizations they support. Focus on how they can make more of an impact on the causes they care about without spending more of their own funds.
4. Offer Incentives for Volunteering
It’s likely that some of your employees already volunteer regularly, while others would appreciate an incentive to do so. By launching a corporate volunteering program, your company can embrace CSR and boost employee job satisfaction.
Consider offering one or more of the following volunteer incentives:
No matter which programs you choose, a robust CSR platform can help you manage volunteer activities and monitor the impact of both your company and individual employees. With this information, you can recognize employees who volunteered the most and encourage team members to engage with your CSR programs.
As you explore what CSR looks like for your company, take note of any charitable organizations you interact with that seem especially aligned with your values. Cultivate relationships with these nonprofits through corporate volunteering outings and conversations with their staff, and they could become long-term partners you can sponsor in the future. The more you learn about your employees’ charitable interests and organizations that align with your core values, the more easily you’ll be able to develop and maintain impactful CSR programs.
Improving Your Donor Development Approach: 15 Expert Tactics
/in About Double the Donation /by Adam WeingerEvery nonprofit professional’s dream is to cultivate a donor community full of lifelong supporters. However, achieving this goal requires lots of long-term strategic moves and outreach from your team.
These activities represent donor development, a critical process for nonprofits looking to establish a foothold in their community. Prioritizing donor development can significantly improve your acquisition rate, retention rate, and growth potential.
In this guide, we’ll review the key components of donor development so you can launch your own strategies, including:
Let’s explore the importance of donor development and how you can improve your current approach.
Donor Development: Key Terms to Know
Before we get into the details, let’s define some essential terms you need to know relating to donor development:
Now that you know these important terms, let’s answer some of the questions you might have about donor development.
Donor Development FAQ
Why does donor development matter?
These statistics illustrate the importance of donor development in your nonprofit’s overall financial health and stability:
As you can see, retention is a more cost-effective way than acquisition to secure revenue from your donor community. And with total giving decreasing, it’s more important than ever to optimize your donor development approach and secure consistent fundraising revenue.
What are the phases of the donor lifecycle?
Understanding the donor lifecycle can help structure your donor development efforts. You can break the donor lifecycle into the following actions and stages:
The goal is to grow your donor’s commitment to your organization over time. That being said, the donor lifecycle looks different for every nonprofit based on your goals, budget, and fundraising capacity. Adjust this general donor lifecycle layout based on your objectives. Throughout the process, track donor engagement in your CRM and tailor your strategy to their preferences.
What’s the difference between donor cultivation, stewardship, and development?
While similar, all of these terms represent a different area of donor relationship management. This Venn diagram can help you understand what these terms commonly encompass and what sets them apart:
All of these terms are important to creating an overall donor development strategy. As we discuss how to plan your own, keep in mind your current activities for each of these processes and how you can improve them.
How can you gauge your current approach to donor development?
Establishing a baseline benchmark for your donor development program improvements is crucial for gauging performance. You can gauge the effectiveness of your current donor development strategies by:
You’ll need a comprehensive donor database to execute these activities effectively. If your CRM isn’t customizable, scalable, or otherwise doesn’t fit your reporting needs, you should research and implement alternative solutions.
Your job doesn’t end with finding an effective CRM, through! Once you’ve started using a solution that supports your donor development efforts, ensure you implement and stick to data hygiene practices. NPOInfo’s guide to data hygiene for nonprofits recommends adding these activities to your regimen:
Improving your data hygiene practices helps you keep your donor development data reliable and useful. This consistency makes it easier to detect and react to data trends, not just during the initial benchmarking phase but continuously over time.
Donor Development: 15 Strategies
General Donor Development Strategies
Implement these tactics into any donor development strategy, no matter how much the donor gives or how long they’ve been with your nonprofit:
Encourage feedback. Optimizing the donor development journey is easier with suggestions straight from the segment that you’re trying to optimize. Welcome feedback from donors so you can access new insights that you can use to adjust your strategies. You can collect feedback formally using a survey, or informally by letting donors know that you’re always available if they have ad-hoc suggestions.
Mid-Tier Donor Development Strategies
Mid-tier donors are those who have the potential to upgrade and become lifetime donors. These strategies help you funnel them through more advanced stages of the donor lifecycle:
Major Donor Development Strategies
Once your donors have entered this stage, they’ve firmly established their loyalty to your nonprofit and have demonstrated a large capacity to give. These tactics can help you secure a significant lifelong commitment from them:
Wrapping Up + Additional Resources
While implementing these suggestions provides a foundation for your donor development, you should customize your tactics based on your community and strategic plan. As long as you take the approaches that best suit your donors’ needs and provide creative ways to give back, you can boost your donors’ lifetime value and cultivate an ideal donor lifecycle for your nonprofit.
The Ultimate Guide to Employer Appends for Fundraisers
/in Learning Center, Fundraising Ideas, About Double the Donation, Learning Center /by Adam WeingerYou likely gather many details about your donors—those who support your cause with their funds, time, or resources. Perhaps you collect names, contact information, engagement history, interests, and hobbies. The more comprehensive an understanding you have of each supporter, the better you can tailor your fundraising strategy to effectively reach your target audience.
However, one critical piece of the puzzle that’s often overlooked is employment data. Knowing where your donors work can play a significant role in how you relate to them in terms of fundraising, corporate giving opportunities, and more. And if you don’t already have this data point on file? That’s where employer appends come in.
In this guide, we’ll provide a walkthrough of all things employer appends—including:
Understanding your donors’ employment status can elevate your fundraising efforts in huge ways. You won’t want to discard the wealth of information gathered through employer appends, nor the amplified impact it brings.
Let’s get started!
The Basics of Data Appends
Data appends are a particular type of data enhancement strategy that allows nonprofits and other fundraising groups to learn more about the individuals in their networks. These efforts aim to provide organizations with more comprehensive and up-to-date information, often concerning their donors and other supporters. This empowers fundraisers to adjust their messaging and overall engagement strategies by better discerning who a donor is and what makes them tick.
Organizations typically provide the information they do have to a company dedicated to data enhancement services. The company then compares donor information against a mega-database of individual data, filling in the details the organization lacks as they go.
Employer appends, in particular, empower organizations to collect new and optimized data regarding the companies their supporters work for. Beyond employer information, other common types of data appends include mailing addresses, email addresses, birth dates, and phone numbers.
As you’ll notice, these types of appends primarily fill in missing or outdated contact information. That makes connecting with supporters easy for email outreach, phonathon fundraisers, direct mail solicitations, and other campaigns.
What Are Employer Appends?
Employer appends are one of the most common types of data appends for nonprofits, schools, and other fundraising organizations. In this case, the unknown information an organization seeks is that of a donor’s employer.
By providing other data points—such as the person’s name, location, phone number, education experience, etc.—the intended result is to locate the company that the individual works for (and sometimes even their job title!). In the end, the organization receives invaluable insights that can help uncover matching gift and other workplace giving opportunities, estimate wealth data, and more.
How Employer Appends Work for Fundraisers
The employer appends process is simple. After locating a data appending service (we’ll cover what to look for below), you’ll want to collect as much data about your donors as possible. This should include:
You will likely not have every data point available for each donor. And that’s okay! However, starting with as much information as possible increases the likelihood that the appending service provider can locate and match supporter records to the right employer information.
From there, the appending service will conduct its own research, typically scanning a number of public and privately held databases, which may include government records, SEC filings, social media profiles, business registrations, and more.
When the service provider is able to match a donor record with an employing company, they make a note of the identified information, check the newly collected data for accuracy, and share their findings with the organization. Ultimately, the organization is able to utilize the information to its best advantage in terms of optimal fundraising and donor relations.
Benefits of Employer Appends for Nonprofits and Universities
Employer appends can bring big results to nonprofit fundraising. Knowing where your donors and other key supporters work plays a significant role in overall engagement strategies, not to mention enabling targeted efforts regarding available workplace giving opportunities.
Specifically, employer appending can help your team:
Determine matching gift eligibility —
Thousands of companies offer matching gift programs where they agree to match employee donations to charitable organizations.
However, you likely won’t know which donors are eligible for (and, as a result, which to follow up with about) matching opportunities if you don’t know where they work. In fact, this knowledge gap even results in over $4 to $7 billion in matching gift funding going unclaimed each year!
Once you have the information you need, however, you’ll be able to prompt qualifying donors to complete the match process and secure additional funding on your organization’s behalf. This is true not only in the form of corporate match revenue but in elevated individual giving (and donor engagement), as well.
Keep in mind that matching gift services—like Double the Donation—can help nonprofits target and follow up with matching gift opportunities as well. However, employer appends are often able to provide additional data points with which to guide an organization’s strategy, allowing fundraisers to capture supporter information even if the individual is not currently in the donation pipeline.
Here’s an example: “Jody, did you know that your employer, the Home Depot, matches full- and part-time employee donations up to $3,000 per person each year? Click here to request your matching gift!”
Uncover volunteer grant opportunities —
Similarly, if your organization has a supporter base of dedicated volunteers, corporate volunteer grants can help stretch their donated time even further. These are additional giving programs offered by philanthropic-minded businesses, the difference being that employers contribute monetary funds to the organizations with which their employees volunteer their time. Volunteer grants, which are also referred to as “dollars for doers,” can be an excellent way to multiply the impact of volunteer time for your organization, and supporters love being able to get involved in that way as well.
But again, you’ll need to know which companies your volunteers work for, which is where your employer appends come in. That way, you can be sure to inform them about the opportunities, encourage participation, and direct them to their employers’ request processes to get involved.
Here’s an example: “Thanks for all of your help at the shelter this weekend and over the past several months, Sam! As a Verizon employee, your volunteer hours likely qualify you to request a corporate volunteer grant on our behalf. Click here to learn more about how to request your grant!”
Identify potential corporate sponsorships —
Corporate sponsors can bring your nonprofit’s next fundraising event to the next level, and knowing which companies your supporters work for can aid in determining top prospective sponsors and help get your foot in the door! Once you know where your donors work, leverage the information as an in with a potential sponsor or encourage donors to advocate for a partnership on your behalf.
Here’s an example: “Ashley, it’s great to connect with the Microsoft team. More than 100 of our nonprofit’s donors work for Microsoft, and we’ve received thousands of dollars in matching gifts from your company in the past. As it’s clear that we already have a lot in common, would you be interested in sponsoring our upcoming event?”
Estimate wealth data —
Your donors’ wealth levels can play a significant role in their ability to give charitably, and understanding their limits can help organizations determine ideal fundraising asks. Knowing which companies your donors work for, their roles in the businesses, and more can help shed light on their estimated incomes and, by extension, giving abilities.
Here’s an example: “Sarah, we thank you for your continued support of our nonprofit cause. Will you consider making a $10,000 donation to help us reach our year-end giving goal?”
Tailor donor communications —
You want your donor outreach to be as personal and targeted as possible. Including direct references to donor-specific information helps develop relationships and shows that you’re not sending the same copied-and-pasted message to each person in your contacts. And, as you likely know, targeted messaging can be one of the best ways to develop strengthened, beyond-surface-level donor relationships, build connections with the cause, and ultimately drive more nonprofit involvement among supporters.
Highlighting an individual’s employing company can be a great way to do so, especially regarding getting involved with workplace giving programs. And if you don’t already have your donors’ employment information, that’s where employer appends can help.
Here’s an example: “Jeffrey, the Walt Disney Corporation offers a range of corporate giving opportunities that can benefit our organization in big ways. As a member of the Disney team, you have the chance to participate in matching gifts, volunteer grants, and more.”
Learn more about your supporters —
The more you know about your supporters—donors, volunteers, and prospects alike—the better you can connect with the individuals who make your mission possible. Since most people’s careers are a key component of their lives and what makes them who they are, understanding where they work and what they do can be a key piece of the “getting to know your donors” puzzle. Plus, it can even help shine a light on their own interests and hobbies.
Here’s an example: “As a Petco employee, you likely care about the wellbeing of the little, furry friends in our community. That’s exactly what our organization, the Atlanta Animal Shelter, is dedicated to, as well. Learn more about how you can get involved with the cause here!”
Overall, employer records are an extremely beneficial tool for designing targeted and effective outreach. However, you likely don’t have that information on file for all of your supporters. By leveraging employer appends, you can collect the information you need to guide your organization’s engagement efforts toward success.
Employer Appends Services | What to Look For
It’s possible to conduct donor research on your own; however, your organization is significantly more likely to uncover accurate and up-to-date information about more donors more quickly when you outsource the efforts to a third-party provider. And employer appends services are dedicated to doing just that in the most effective and efficient ways possible.
So how can you select the right employer (or other donor data) appends provider for your needs? Be sure to do your research beforehand.
For example, here’s how it works with Double the Donation:
Other Frequently Asked Questions
Where does Double the Donation get its employer data?
Our propriety screening method combines data from both publicly and privately available sources. These sources include public government records, SEC filings, social media profiles, business registrations, and a variety of other sources.
What hit rate should our organization expect?
We typically see append rates which range from 20%-50%. This is based on a variety of factors such as:
How does Double the Donation determine its “accuracy score” for each record?
Our accuracy score is based on a number of factors including:
Uniqueness of donor names:
With only a name it can be tough to determine whether we’ve identified the correct individual. The number of individuals with the same name plays a role in our accuracy score. A search for a common name such as “Steve Smith” will have a much lower accuracy score than a more unique / one of a kind name.
Level of detail provided on a record:
The more information that you provide on each record, the greater the accuracy score. Even though there may be 1,000 individuals named “Steve Smith” if we’re able to match additional fields such as a phone number or mailing address it increases the accuracy score for that record.
Our data source / date the data source was updated:
We recognize that not all of our data sources are created equal. The data source, as well as the update frequency, plays a role in each individual record’s accuracy score.
Which types of nonprofits see the highest append rates and the most accurate results?
Our ability to append employer data is dependent upon the input file an organization provides to us. Organizations which keep their databases up-to-date see the best results.
For instance:
How complete are the input files that nonprofits normally send to Double the Donation?
It depends. Very rarely does an organization have comprehensive data on all of its donors, especially when you consider an organization which raises funds from multiple channels (mail, online, phone, in-person, etc.)
We do request that you provide us with as much data as you can as it helps us locate and match your records to the appropriate individual.
Are subsidiaries and alternate spelling variations listed separately or all in a single subsidiary field?
Our matching gift database is comprised of the following two tables:
These tables are then joined using a unique ID that ties all the data together.
Can I use employer append files I already have with Double the Donation?
Yes — though this feature is currently exclusive to Double the Donation Enterprise.
Here’s how it works:
You can learn more about leveraging bulk employer appends files alongside Double the Donation with our Knowledge Base article on the topic here.
Concluding Thoughts
The more you know about your donors, the more effectively you can target and attract them to your cause. Not to mention, having employment data on file empowers organizations to seek workplace giving opportunities as well.
You may have a solid base of information pertaining to donors’ employing companies already. However, employer appends can go a long way toward filling in the blanks and connecting the dots. This is especially true in terms of matching gift programs, volunteer grants, and more.
Interested in further developing your organization’s donor data strategy? Dive into these other forms of data appends services—and how they can benefit your team—below:
Alumni Fundraising: A Complete Guide to Winning More Support
/in Learning Center, Fundraising Ideas /by Adam WeingerFor many students, attending an institution of higher education is a transformative experience. This is all thanks to the professors you hire, the programs you offer, the facilities you maintain, and the scholarships you grant. To continue presenting your students with the resources they need to fulfill all their academic and personal goals, however, you need funding.
Most schools immediately turn to alumni fundraising to acquire these funds—and it’s not hard to see why. Even though they’ve left your campus, your alumni will always have a special connection to your institution. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk through all you need to know to maximize alumni giving:
The more engaged your alumni are, the stronger your school’s community will be. Set your current and upcoming students for success by improving your alumni fundraising strategy.
Why is alumni fundraising important?
Colleges and universities undertake a variety of projects, initiatives, and improvements to create fulfilling experiences for their students. By securing alumni gifts, your school can:
It’s clear that alumni fundraising can have a significant impact on students and your institution as a whole, so much so that there are even higher education conferences dedicated to it. Understanding and communicating why gifts are so important can go a long way toward raising more from your graduates.
6 Strategies to Encourage Alumni Giving
Your school equips its students with the skills, knowledge, and connections they need to thrive in the professional world. After they’ve received their diplomas and launched their careers, invite them to give back and set the next generation up for success. Follow these six strategies for requesting donations from alumni:
1. Conduct prospect research.
Your alumni are just as diverse as your student base. This means that, especially if you’re trying to secure a major or annual gift, some alumni will be more promising than others. Prospect research refers to the process of using philanthropic and wealth indicators to identify individuals who have both an affinity for your institution and the capacity to give.
Typically, you’ll search your alumni database for information such as:
By conducting prospect research, your school will determine which alumni to prioritize for your mid-size or major gift outreach. If this process seems too intensive for your team, there are plenty of prospect research services that can sift through your data and build a list of prospective donors for you to solicit.
2. Segment your alumni.
Before you begin crafting your fundraising messages and reaching out to alumni, take the time to segment your audience. This step involves separating your alumni into various groups based on shared characteristics so you can tailor your communications to resonate with each individual’s giving capacity, interests, and preferences.
An effective way to pinpoint the most promising groups for your segmented alumni outreach is to create a donor persona. According to Fifty and Fifty, a persona is useful for fleshing out your understanding of your target audience and pinpointing common overlapping traits. Here’s an example of a donor persona that could be useful for alumni fundraising:
From this persona, you could reasonably infer that Melanie’s main motivation for giving back is to support the programs that got her where she is today. Also, she would rather attend annual, family-friendly, reunion-style events. This allows her to reconnect with her alma mater while juggling the other important aspects of her life. Additionally, you could recommend that she signs up to donate smaller recurring gifts since they are much more convenient and manageable.
You can make personas like this for all your most influential donor segments. Just ensure you regularly revisit and update them with necessary information as your donor base evolves.
3. Promote matching gifts.
Your alumni give because they want to make an impact on your school and the students attending it. With matching gifts, they can double or even triple their donation amount at no additional cost. Many companies have a matching gift program as part of their corporate social responsibility initiatives, in which they’ll match employee gifts made to your institution at typically a 1:1 ratio.
However, an estimated $6-$10 billion in matching gift funds goes unclaimed every year, simply because donors aren’t aware of these opportunities. Ensure your alumni don’t miss out by promoting matching gifts across your various platforms. For example, consider:
For alumni who are worried that they won’t be able to give enough to make a meaningful difference, learning about matching gifts could provide them with the motivation they need to follow through.
Check out our short video on matching gift best practices to unlock additional insights for improving your alumni fundraising strategy:
As the video suggests, your school can even turn to a matching gift expert for specialized assistance in using matching gifts to boost your fundraising efforts.
4. Invest in tools that facilitate alumni giving.
Modern technology has opened up many possibilities for your school to raise funds. The more options you provide your alumni, the more likely they are to donate. Some game-changing fundraising tools that are worth investing in are:
Review your goals and budget before researching specific software solutions to implement for your institution. Take the time to read online reviews and request demos to determine which options will work best for your needs.
5. Provide a variety of opportunities to contribute.
Not every one of your graduates will be a major donor. However, that doesn’t mean many of them aren’t willing and eager to contribute in other ways. Keep these alumni involved by sharing a variety of opportunities for them to support your school, such as:
To open up more opportunities that appeal to your alumni, consider sending out a survey to find out what they’re most interested in. You could ask them about the types of events they prefer or what skills they would like to apply as volunteers.
6. Focus on building strong alumni relationships.
At the heart of it, alumni fundraising is anything but transactional. The key to success lies in building strong, meaningful relationships with your alumni. Start by collecting information on and abiding by their communication preferences. Hanover Research found that 7 in 10 alumni donors want to hear from their institution at least quarterly.
Stay connected beyond fundraising appeals by sharing relevant news, updating donors on the impact of their gifts, and interacting with graduates on social media. Remember to practice frequent, thoughtful recognition to demonstrate just how much alumni mean to your school. Rather than sending generic thank-you emails, consider these popular ideas to appreciate your alumni:
Whatever thank-you methods you choose, remember to emphasize how your alumni have made an impact on your institution and the lives of its current students to keep them continually invested in your success.
Alumni Fundraising Letter Template
When it comes time to reach out to your alumni, what do you say? Use this template as a jumping-off point for your alumni fundraising letter:
[School Letterhead/Logo]
Dear [Recipient’s Name],
We hope this letter finds you well. As a cherished alumn(us/a) of our [Institution Name] family, you know that we’re on a constant journey to provide our current and incoming students with the highest quality of education. In our pursuit of excellence, we’ve accomplished quite a lot in the past few years, including [one or two recent accomplishments].
This year, we’re taking on a new initiative to [fundraising goal]. By raising $[fundraising goal amount], we’ll be able to [impact on the institution and students].
Today, we kindly ask you to take a moment and reflect on your time at [Institution Name]. Will you join in our efforts to create more valuable experiences for our students, so that they can go on to pursue their career aspirations and lifelong dreams?
Any gift, no matter the size, will leave a lasting impact on our students, faculty, and institution as a whole. To make a contribution, [specific instructions on how to donate, such as visit your online donation page]. If you’d like to learn about other ways to support our initiative, please visit our website to explore volunteering opportunities, upcoming events, and more.
Thank you for being an integral part of our institution’s history and helping us shape a brighter future for [Institution Name] and our students.
Sincerely,
[Signature]
[Name]
[Title]
Popular Alumni Fundraising Ideas
Once you’ve developed a foundation of strong alumni relationships for your institution, get creative to maximize participation. Some popular alumni fundraising ideas to consider include:
After each fundraiser, review key metrics such as your attendance rate and average gift amount to determine which ideas resonate most with your alumni. Use these insights to tailor your alumni fundraising strategy to increase participation moving forward.
Wrapping Up: Maximizing the Potential of Alumni Fundraising
The success of your alumni fundraising efforts depends upon building relationships that harken back to the value you provided graduates during their studies and call attention to the impact they can have on the students who come after them. Make all your alumni feel included by sharing a variety of ways they can contribute to your goals. Then, as they continue to grow and flourish in their lives, they’ll be able to respond to more opportunities to give.
To learn more tips and best practices for connecting with your alumni and raising funds for your school, check out these additional resources:
How to Master the Art of Nonprofit Financial Statements
/in Learning Center /by Adam WeingerWell-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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
Donor Stewardship: How to Retain Support Effectively
/in Learning Center /by Adam WeingerAccording to OneCause’s Fundraising Outlook Report, the percentage of organizations that identify donor retention as a critical priority has decreased from 57% to 51%. While it’s concerning that fewer nonprofits are trying to reduce costs and form lasting relationships by focusing on donor retention, this insight reveals an opportunity to get ahead and stand out from other organizations vying for attention in your sector.
While the average donor retention rate hovers around 40%, there are strategies your organization can implement to increase this number and secure more long-term support. The top way to keep donors coming back is to create a donor stewardship plan.
We’ll help you dive into donor stewardship by reviewing the following topics:
With a better understanding of donor stewardship and a dedicated plan, you can make stewardship an ongoing, iterative process at your organization and consistently build enduring donor relationships.
What is donor stewardship?
Donor stewardship is the process of extending a relationship beyond the donor’s gift. The ultimate goal of donor stewardship is to encourage them to give again by building a deeper connection with them. Developing that sense of loyalty will make your fundraising efforts more seamless in the future because you’ll have a strong supporter base to tap into.
For stewardship to be effective, nonprofits must form mutually beneficial relationships with their donors. While nonprofits receive financial support, donors get to feel good about the impact they’ve made and join a community of people passionate about your cause. To create these relationships, nonprofits implement stewardship strategies that keep donors updated on the impact of their gifts and provide them with additional engagement opportunities.
What is the relationship between donor stewardship and retention?
Donor retention is a measure of how many donors come back to contribute to your organization after their initial gift. You can calculate your donor retention rate by dividing the number of donors who gave again this year by the number of donors who contributed last year, then multiplying that number by 100.
In recent years, donor retention has been on the decline, with an overall donor retention rate of 42.6% in 2022, which was 3.5% less than the previous year. There are costs associated with acquiring new donors, and when your donor retention rate is low, your organization has to continuously maximize the time, effort, and resources it pours into donor acquisition.
Donor stewardship helps your organization conserve resources and build a more reliable donor pool. You need regular communication to remind donors of your cause and how vital their support is, and with a dedicated donor stewardship plan, you can keep in contact with donors and ultimately retain them.
Additionally, retained donors are more valuable to your organization because they give more, more often, and are more likely to engage with your nonprofit in other ways. Considering 94% of recurring donors prefer to give to their causes of choice monthly, stewarding these donors enables you to build a consistent community of supporters rather than a sporadic, constantly shifting list of one-time donors.
Lastly, you already have data stored for previous donors in your database or constituent relationship management platform (CRM). You can use this information to reengage and steward these relationships because you know more about their interests and preferences. With a data-driven stewardship approach, you can meet donors where they are and personalize your communications to retain their support.
What is the donor pyramid?
The donor pyramid is a visual representation of different donor giving levels. Since first-time donors are likely your largest donor group, they occupy the bottom of the pyramid whereas the few major donors you have reside at the top. When you understand which category of the pyramid each donor fits into, you can better steward them up the pyramid and increase their support.
The main categories of the donor pyramid include:
To form your nonprofit’s own donor pyramid, draw supporter insights from your donor database. This information will help you determine which categories to include, roughly how many donors are in each tier, and how to best steward each group to higher levels of the pyramid or larger commitments at their current tier.
How does donor stewardship fit into donor cultivation?
Donor cultivation is the process of acquiring new donors and strengthening relationships with them. While donor stewardship is the last step in the cultivation cycle, it’s important to understand each step in the process and how it informs your stewardship efforts:
1. Identification
The first step in the donor cultivation cycle is to identify potential donors. This step may involve reviewing your CRM for supporters who may be interested in donating, identifying previous or lapsed donors, or conducting outreach to those who are completely new to your organization and mission.
Some strategies for identifying prospective donors include:
In this stage, it’s important to emphasize your nonprofit’s mission and let potential donors know the impact their contributions could make.
2. Qualification
Now that you’ve identified potential donors, it’s time to narrow down that list further to prioritize those with the highest giving likelihood. Some factors you may assess to determine the most qualified potential donors are:
While some of this information may be stored in your CRM or found in public records, it can be helpful to work with a fundraising consultant or data provider who can acquire this data for you.
3. Cultivation
The cultivation step involves laying the foundation for a long-term relationship with prospects. Before soliciting a donation, introduce potential donors to your organization and invite them to get involved with:
Personalizing your communications with prospects is also a powerful strategy for developing relationships with them. Use data from your CRM to learn more about your prospects and tailor your communications accordingly. For example, if a prospect recently volunteered with your nonprofit, thank them for their support and follow up with additional volunteer opportunities they may be interested in.
4. Solicitation
After getting to know potential donors and informing them about your organization, you can begin soliciting donations. When making your initial asks, keep these tips in mind:
As the video states, raising awareness for matching gifts is key. Once potential donors know about the power of matching gifts, you can make the process easier by researching their eligibility for them or providing them with a matching gift database where they can easily find their employer’s matching gift policies.
If a prospect says “no” to your first ask, that doesn’t mean you’ve failed to garner their support. Continue cultivating a relationship with this individual until it’s appropriate to make another donation request. Even if they don’t end up contributing monetarily, they can still become an active member of your community by volunteering, attending events, and engaging with your content online.
5. Stewardship
You should begin the donor stewardship process immediately after a prospect becomes a donor. Follow these steps to kick off your stewardship efforts:
While these steps are a great start to donor stewardship, you’ll need a dedicated stewardship plan to effectively sustain your relationships with donors.
Creating a Donor Stewardship Plan: 5 Steps
A systematic approach to donor stewardship ensures no donor gets left behind and that your team knows exactly how to uphold donor relationships. To create a donor stewardship plan, follow these essential steps:
1. Determine your donor stewardship goals.
The beginning of any plan should start with goal creation, and donor stewardship is no different. Goals developed using the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) goal framework allow you to measure the success of your stewardship plan more easily.
For example, your nonprofit may want to grow its recurring giving program. Here’s how your team could incorporate each element of the SMART goal framework into your objectives:
Other common goals may include increasing your donor retention rate, bolstering your major gift fundraising, or improving your post-event outreach. No matter what your goals are, setting clear objectives allows your team to stay on track and create progress benchmarks so you can make adjustments as needed.
2. Segment your donors.
While reaching out to each donor individually would be ideal for stewardship, it’s often unfeasible. When you segment your donors into relevant groups, you can personalize the donor stewardship process more efficiently.
Common ways to segment donors include grouping by:
Then, you can reach out to each group with communications and engagement opportunities that they’ll resonate with. For example, you may create a special newsletter for monthly donors that lets them know about upcoming events and volunteer outings happening each month.
3. Develop an outreach cadence.
Using your segments, create an automated outreach cadence that keeps donors’ shared characteristics in mind. New donors should receive more in-depth information about your organization and mission that they may not have received in the initial cultivation process. Then, you can automate more specific communications to your segments to streamline your donor stewardship.
By integrating your email marketing software and your donor database, you can create personalized campaigns depending on donors’ interests and current stages in the stewardship process. For instance, during the cultivation stage, you may send prospects within a ten-mile radius of your organization’s headquarters information about in-person events and engagement opportunities in their community.
4. Offer additional engagement opportunities.
To maintain relationships with donors, you’ll need to offer engagement opportunities other than simply donating. While you may already have general fundraising events and volunteer opportunities planned, take the time to develop additional opportunities for donors to engage with your cause, such as:
When you share activities with your donors that are unaccompanied by a donation ask, you prove to donors that you’re committed to providing them with a positive experience with your nonprofit. Through a variety of engagement opportunities, you can build a strong community of supporters and advocates for your cause.
5. Collect feedback.
You can (and should) measure progress using the key performance indicators (KPIs) and goals you identified early on in the stewardship process. However, qualitative data in the form of donor feedback can give you insight into what your donors enjoy about your stewardship efforts and what your team could improve.
Send regular surveys to your donors to gather feedback about your donor stewardship plan. The questions you may ask include:
Analyze donors’ responses with your team to glean any insights you can apply to your donor stewardship plan. For donors with multiple ideas or many points of feedback, consider calling them to hear more about their experience and gain an even more in-depth understanding of your stewardship efforts’ efficacy.
Wrapping Up
With a comprehensive donor stewardship plan, your nonprofit can build strong donor relationships, increase donor retention, and earn more for your cause. Whether you’re trying to grow your recurring donor program, acquire more major donors, or follow up with event attendees more effectively, a dedicated plan will assist you in reaching your goals and stewarding donors to higher levels of the donor pyramid.
To learn more about elements of the donor stewardship process, check out these resources:
Mandatory Volunteering: Unique Tips for Boosting Impact
/in Volunteer Grant Companies, Learning Center /by Adam WeingerWhether it’s a sorority, a food bank, or a socially responsible business, some organizations require their members to volunteer to build their skill sets and give back to their communities. Many nonprofits benefit from the temporary extra hands that mandatory volunteering provides, but there are many ways that you can convert these short-term volunteers into committed supporters, even after they’ve hit their hourly quota.
In this guide, we’ll go over the basics of mandatory volunteering programs and how your nonprofit can leverage them. Specifically, we’ll cover:
Let’s explore how your nonprofit can help your mandatory volunteering program reach its full potential.
Mandatory Volunteering FAQ
What is mandatory volunteering?
Mandatory volunteering is when an organization requires individuals to volunteer for a certain amount of time to receive benefits. Some examples of mandatory volunteering in practice include:
Chances are, your nonprofit has an organization in your area that mandates volunteering. Volunteers for these organizations can make great additions to your program—we’ll explore the benefits in-depth in a later section.
How does mandatory volunteering work?
Before you add mandatory volunteering outreach into your nonprofit’s recruitment strategy, you should understand how it works. While each organization is different, most mandatory volunteering programs function like this:
As you can see, mandatory volunteer programs benefit from open communication and mutual understanding between nonprofits and the organizations that mandate volunteering.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of mandatory volunteering for nonprofits?
Recruiting mandated volunteers isn’t the best solution for every nonprofit. Before deciding to add it to your outreach strategy, take these pros and cons into account:
Pros:
Cons:
How can you gauge if recruiting mandated volunteers is right for your nonprofit?
Adding mandatory volunteering to your recruitment strategy can be a big decision. Use this decision tree to evaluate whether your nonprofit would benefit from recruiting mandated volunteers. Any “no” answers mean it might not be right for your nonprofit currently and any “yes” answers mean you should proceed to the next decision.
Please note that this is only a baseline decision tree. Each nonprofit is unique, so you should incorporate your own needs, goals, and preferences into account and adjust accordingly. Also, work with your legal team to review any potential legal issues or risks.
How to Turn Mandatory Volunteers into Lifelong [or Long-Term] Supporters
Accepting mandated volunteers into your program provides new opportunities to convert casual audience members into passionate donors and volunteers. You can convert them, boost fundraising, and secure your long-term success with these tips.
1. Spread awareness of volunteer grants and other CSR programs.
Many companies that mandate or highly encourage volunteering also offer other corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs, like volunteer grants and matching gifts. Mandated volunteers can amplify their positive impact by contributing volunteer grants to your nonprofit
Volunteer grants are a CSR program in which corporations promise monetary donations if an employee volunteers for a certain amount of hours with a nonprofit. Here’s how your nonprofit can promote and collect volunteer grants from mandated volunteers:
Besides volunteer grants, you can also promote other CSR programs to boost support for your mission. For instance, you can spread awareness of matching gifts, a CSR program in which employees can get their charitable contributions matched by their employer if they meet the program’s criteria. Research the types of CSR programs that your mandatory volunteers might respond well to and spread the word at an upcoming shift.
2. Focus on making lasting connections.
While their reasons for supporting your nonprofit may differ, mandated volunteers should be treated the same as other volunteers, which means you should strive to forge a personal relationship with them. Furthermore, mandated volunteers who feel welcomed and valued are more likely to continue working with your nonprofit. Here are some ways you can make mandated volunteers feel like part of the team:
Genuinely showing that you care about your mandated volunteers as people is the most important component of motivating them to stick around after they’ve hit their quota. Take every opportunity to talk to them, compliment them on a job well done, and integrate them into your volunteer community.
3. Show your appreciation.
Your nonprofit relies on the help of your volunteers to execute your programs and give back to your beneficiaries at a high caliber. Showing your appreciation for their efforts isn’t just a nice thing to do—it also improves volunteer satisfaction and retention. Try these strategies for showing your gratitude to mandated volunteers:
Thanking volunteers is a simple gesture that makes their work feel valued by your team and beneficiaries. Also, remember that not everything has to be a planned gesture—simply thanking volunteers verbally at the end of a shift can go a long way.
Wrapping Up + Additional Resources
Now that you know the details of mandatory volunteering, it’s time for your nonprofit to decide if adding it to your volunteer offerings is worthwhile. Once you’ve reviewed the pros and cons and conducted a needs assessment, evaluate your current community connections to gauge if you could easily forge any partnerships.
If you decide to integrate mandatory volunteers into your nonprofit’s ecosystem, personalize your stewardship approach and focus on providing a rewarding experience.
Looking for more information about how to incorporate corporate volunteerism into your nonprofit’s volunteer strategy? Start with these additional resources:
One-Off Matching Gift Programs | What to Know For Your Org
/in Learning Center, About Double the Donation, Matching Gift Companies, Learning Center /by Adam WeingerCompanies Committing Social Good: Real-World CSR Examples
/in Learning Center /by Adam WeingerTrends 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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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: