How Corporates Benefit from Philanthropy
How Corporates Benefit from Philanthropy by ShareLove.Fund’s Rainbow Women Social Enterprise endeavor and sponsored by your generous donations.
There is no denying the fact that with every passing day, more and more corporates are taking a long, hard look at their philanthropy, giving and social responsibility programs. Even companies that haven’t had a history of giving have ventured into these fields. Companies with solid programs are fine-tuning them to ensure that they are prioritized.
Why are corporations suddenly turning to such programs to boost their visibility? What advantages do such programs offer to the corporations that motivate them to pay more attention to them? Let’s take a closer look at what’s going on.
Getting Back
To put it very simply, when a corporation gives it will get back in many different ways. First of all, there are the tax deductions that come along with corporate donations. Secondly, using proficient PR to publicize company philanthropy means a better brand image. This matters now especially because an increasing number of people are becoming more conscious of what a brand represents. In addition, the corporation is actually making the world a better place, so it’s a win-win all around.
Other Benefits
Improved Sales– These days, customers don’t just take the product into account. They also want to know what their money is going to fund. More and more customers are making choices based on a company’s ethical decisions and are choosing those companies with whom they share values. Therefore, a company’s philanthropic decisions can have a direct impact on its sales.
Loyal Customers –Carrying on from the previous point, studies have shown that customers who had to choose between two products were ready to choose the one that has a brand reputation of doing good works. Such customers would then stick to the brands they knew were giving back to the community.
More Hires – It isn’t only the customers who are becoming picky about which brands they support, but also job seekers. The pool of workers a company can hire from will significantly improve if the workers believe that they are applying to a company that cares for the community and world it exists in.
Employee Retention - Companies that engage in CSR (corporate social responsibility) have been shown to have better employee retention than companies that don’t. Once again, people are more satisfied with and want to work for a company that is engaged with the community.
Larger Network - Giving involves reaching out to the community, meeting new people and building new connections – sometimes in places that the regular business of the company wouldn’t have taken it. This means that a company’s network expands exponentially. Also, due to the very nature of the work being done, an enormous amount of goodwill can be built up. Overall, this isn’t just a network but a supportive and loyal network.
For a long time, philanthropy was seen as the domain of individuals rather than institutions. Over the past two decades, however, these attitudes have been changing and, today, a huge part of what people perceive the company to be depends upon the philanthropic work it does. Companies that invest in good works are guaranteed to see both tangible and intangible benefits.