The Giving Season is most commonly known to take place in the last quarter of the year, from October to December. Between the end of the fiscal year, seasonal holidays, and the movement behind Giving Tuesday, both companies and individual donors are driven to give back. As it approaches, it’s a great time to reflect on your current charitable giving initiatives and think about the new ones your company would like to start.
It’s vital to establish specific end-of-year initiatives to mobilize the goodwill of your stakeholders and maintain your campaign impact throughout the next year. Over 30% of annual giving occurs in December, with 28% of nonprofits raising between 26-50% of their annual corporate philanthropy funds during their year-end campaigns. This time of year is a critical fundraising time for nonprofit organizations to receive much-needed financial support.
The establishment of Giving Tuesday has helped open up more opportunities for donors to support nonprofits during the Giving Season. Held each year on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, it is a global day of giving, meant to encourage everyone to give back in whatever ways they can. With the 10th annual Giving Tuesday approaching, there’s no better time to reevaluate your company’s social and philanthropic impact and consider additional methods of engaging with your employees and community.
Let’s review 3 key ways your company can easily set up charitable initiatives for Giving Season and into the year ahead while also juggling your year-end corporate activities:
- Plan out your charitable giving
- Engage your employees in charitable strategy
- Use technology and tools for infrastructure
We’ll also address some common misconceptions around corporate philanthropy and how planned charitable initiatives create a positive, sustainable, and year-round societal impact.
Plan Out Your Charitable Giving
Many companies review company finances and plan their upcoming budgets, including philanthropic efforts during Giving Season. This is a great time to kick off corporate giving or restrategize corporate giving programs. A strategic plan to allocate donations all year round helps these programs have an impact during Giving Season and into the year ahead.
Planning for year-round giving increases engagement and participation, produces excellent results and impact, and establishes a stronger everyday giving culture at your company. Properly planning out your charitable giving also allows companies to react immediately to disasters and other world events and help their communities (whether local or global) and employees without having to wonder if there’s money for it.
Engage Your Employees In Charitable Strategy
During the giving season, it’s easy for charitable initiatives to be measured by their marketing value. When planning out your company’s charitable giving, ensure it is genuine. It should be a natural extension of your already established brand mission. You can do so organically by involving your employees as they are your brand.
Employees can be the best brand ambassadors when they feel heard. Listening to them encourages not just a positive workplace culture but also their desire to give back and engage their communities.
You’ll be able to support more causes as well as your employees, who tend to become more invested in their daily work when seen as a “whole person.” It lends authenticity to your strategy, and focusing on issues your team cares about is more easily maintained in the long term. Establishing a brand strategy around charitable giving and tracking successful impact signifies to your communities that your company wants to pursue consistent, meaningful impact and create opportunities for others to contribute.
For example, many companies will set up employee match programs after they define the brand strategy they want to take for corporate philanthropy. These match programs inspire more sincere giving, a real positive impact, and more employee engagement. Employee match programs increase the diversity of support for different charities and communities and help everyone see themselves as philanthropists. Plus, 75% of those who engage in employee match programs have longer tenures with their companies. Knowing this, your company can create more robust messaging to increase participation by incorporating the program into your overall year-round employee retention and engagement strategy and communications.
In summation, an engaged workplace culture that wants to give back with purpose makes the Giving Season more meaningful.
Use Technology and Tools For Infrastructure
Technology is revolutionizing the field of philanthropy by providing companies and donors with more accessible ways to give. Innovative technology allows businesses to set up trusted charitable initiatives quickly and makes year-round giving more easily achievable. It also unlocks the potential for companies to expand Giving Season and Giving Tuesday into everyday philanthropy.
Deciding on the right tools and technology for your company to use for Giving Season allows you to maximize corporate philanthropy now and into next year. Charitable giving doesn’t need to be another to-do list item for your team. Usually, the first step in kicking off a year-round corporate giving strategy is establishing a corporate giving account. Luckily, the right technology solution lets smaller companies easily set one up without needing the resources or time of a bigger organization or needing to disrupt daily operations. This accessibility removes the traditional limitations of high costs and administrative duties that typically hinder small to medium-sized businesses. No matter the size of your business, you can increase your impact.
Technology allows companies to rally their communities when disaster or hardship strikes. Even reacting to a world event becomes proactive with the proper planning for infrastructure and budget to quickly stand up custom, on-brand public and internal charitable campaigns. Technology effortlessly allows wider communities to participate, driving a greater collective impact and potential for more causes to receive support.
Givinga’s Technology Makes Proactive Philanthropy Easy During the Giving Season and Beyond
Givinga’s Philantech® platform and Corporate Giving Funds enable companies of all sizes to unlock their full potential for charitable giving. Smaller companies can even establish a charitable giving fund in our platform that is quick to spin up and tailored to their needs and goals without the administrative burden of running a foundation.
Our streamlined tools and philanthropic experts empower companies to engage their employees and consumers meaningfully. By helping workplaces and brands create customized, innovative giving programs that are both cost-effective and easy to implement, we make giving with impact more accessible.
As Giving Season approaches, let us be your philanthropic advocates. With over 30% of charitable giving occurring in December, we’re here to help you make the greatest impact possible. To learn more or schedule a demo, contact us below!
