In recent years, we have seen distinct shifts in how corporate philanthropy is being done in Arizona (and throughout the U.S.). Donations and volunteerism are still at the heart of what corporate philanthropy is about.
Donations
Donations are at the root of what helps keep the nonprofit missions alive and their organization healthy. A growing corporate philanthropy trend is the conscious choice to narrow in on specific nonprofit focus areas, such as the environment, to determine how their monetary giving is distributed. While this can reduce the number of grant requests received, businesses may be missing additional ways in which they can strategically support the nonprofit community.
Monetary support from businesses and corporations can be incredibly impactful for a nonprofit organization. Nationally, corporations provide less than 1% of pre-tax dollars for giving, according to the Giving USA 2023 report — a statistic that most find astonishingly low. When the recession hit, corporations significantly cut back on philanthropic giving out of necessity and, while it has mostly returned to pre-recession numbers, many have revamped how they are giving back to the communities in which they live.
Included in this shift was the development of more robust employee matching-gift programs. These programs encourage employees to submit information on the amount they have personally given out of their own pocket and allow the corporation to match their donation at an established percentage. It is a win for the nonprofits, the employees and the business.
Volunteerism
When it became increasingly difficult for businesses to provide monetary donations to nonprofits during the recession, many corporations turned to a “volunteer only” model in which businesses organized group volunteer projects (in-house or externally). Some have even placed more emphasis on volunteerism by creating volunteerism awards.
Currently, Independent Sector equates the hourly value of volunteerism at an average rate of $31.83, $30.13 in Arizona. Many large nonprofit organizations could not provide their services, dare exist, without volunteers’ support.
Even though volunteering is one of the most rewarding ways to give back to the community, there are many nonprofits that will never benefit from these types of corporate philanthropy programs simply because they do not have viable volunteer opportunities. By choosing this type of corporate philanthropy only, businesses significantly reduce the number of organizations they can have an impact on.
Donations & Volunteerism
The best well-rounded approach to corporate philanthropy is through a combination of monetary giving and volunteerism so that all nonprofit organizations can benefit and there is not such a reliance on employees to give back. The most common example of this is businesses encouraging board service and volunteering for their employees and senior leaders while also providing some monetary support to the organizations they serve.
A newer and growing trend in corporate philanthropy can be seen through numerous and varying “Dollars for Doers” programs in which employees are given the opportunity to submit the number of hours they have volunteered for a nonprofit, including board service, and the business then provides a donation based on an established dollar-per-hour figure.
Regardless of the type of corporate philanthropy your organization currently has, these should be evaluated frequently to allow for modifications based on the market, employee input and your company’s desire to give back to the community in a meaningful way. If your business does not have a corporate philanthropy program, we encourage you to use the above information to get started or reach out to AZ Impact for Good for informational resources!
