What does business philanthropy mean?

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What does business philanthropy mean? Well, in a nutshell, it means the charitable giving done by a business. Usually, though, this phenomenon is referred to as “corporate giving.”

This might include a one-time cash donation to a cause, or it could be a commitment the company makes for the long-term to assist a charitable cause. For example, Melaleuca Inc. is the long-term sponsor for an orphanage in Ecuador.

Corporate giving is not only helpful to the recipient organization(s), but it is also beneficial to the corporation doing the giving. Long seen as a great public relations move, providing relief to the suffering is a wonderful way to communicate that your big business actually has a soul.

One of the more popular ways that businesses are engaging in corporate giving is through matching programs. For example, ExxonMobil will match donations 1:1 up to $22,500 for certain educational and cultural programs. Similarly, Aetna will do a $5,000 match on donations.

Corporate Social Responsiblity

Apparently, consumers care quite a bit about a company’s corporate giving. According to givinga.com, 64% of consumers are “extremely likely” to purchase from an outfit that gets involved with social issues. This process of yielding more sales because of corporate giving actually has a name. It’s called CSR strategy. CSR, of course, stands for Corporate Social Responsibility.

Conclusion

Although styles and trends may come and go, and technology fast becomes obsolete, one thing that never gets old is the practice of helping other people. Giving not only is a blessing to those receiving, but it is an uplifting experience for the giver, too. And corporations are entities FULL OF PEOPLE. Let’s give more! If your company doesn’t have a corporate giving program in place, maybe now is the time to talk with your executive team and pitch the idea.