Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a company’s initiatives to contribute for the welfare of the environment, humanity, and society. This is often integrated into the business model and forms part of the company’s internal regulations. While some companies have their own department that handles their CSR, other companies prefer to work with nonprofit organizations. Nowadays, there are many nonprofit organizations that facilitate different kinds of causes and charities.
CSR projects are an excellent way for businesses to give back to the community by leveraging their company’s strengths and assets. Aside from the satisfaction that giving back provides to the giver, there are other important benefits that businesses enjoy from giving to charitable causes. When a company builds a strategic CSR program, they will begin to see positive effects in several ways.
The Advantages of Giving Back
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Builds a good reputation in the community
When a business helps other people or supports important causes, people will also want to help and patronize the company in return. While it is true that giving back should be performed without expecting anything in return, it is also true that what goes around comes around. The business’s corporate social responsibility programs will help establish the business’s goodwill, and the company will gain respect from the society. After all, building a good business reputation is very important to any organization.
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Marketing and public relations
Good deeds will not go unnoticed, especially if this is done through charitable and social organizations. Media will usually announce philanthropic activities, and those businesses that share in the work will also be put in a good light.
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Tax deductions
One tangible benefit that donors for nonprofits enjoy is the tax deduction associated with donating. Your company will enjoy both the feeling of being socially responsible and being able to save on tax at the same time, because the amount that you donated to Internal Revenue Service-approved charities and causes may be deducted from your business taxes.
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Builds connections and widens the network
Most philanthropic organizations are often built by people who are considered “powerful individuals” — individuals who can become good contacts and members of your business’s network. Being involved with social causes through these organizations can connect you with these people, and such connections are invaluable resource to entrepreneurs and business leaders. This can also help establish mutual trust which can become a good opportunity in doing business.
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Promotes employee engagement
Companies that are active in philanthropic deeds improve employee engagement through letting the employees contribute to the charitable activities. This can help boost the employees’ morale, productivity, creativity, ethical behavior, gratitude to the company, and pride in their work. And the notion that they are contributing to the welfare of the society can truly help with employee satisfaction and happiness.
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Promotes teamwork
Corporate social responsibility programs often bring people together to a common cause, which can result to employees working together collaboratively. This can extend beyond the CSR programs which can greatly influence other aspects of their work. It can also influence the quality of how efficiently and effectively they work together in the workplace.
Working through Donation-Based Crowdfunding
Donation-based crowdfunding is an online fundraising platform that allows individual or corporate donors to donate to projects of nonprofit organizations, usually for charitable activities or social causes. This helps businesses and other busy individuals to contribute to charitable causes without having to undergo a lot of work, especially if their manpower and schedule do not allow them to help physically.
Most nonprofit organizations nowadays use online donation-based crowdfunding platforms to source and accept donations from a wider range of donors. Likewise, companies who have their own corporate social responsibility projects and want to involve private individuals who are willing to donate to their cause may also use donation-based crowdfunding platforms to reach out to a larger network of possible donors. And because it works electronically, it makes it easier for both the solicitors and donors alike to raise and donate funds respectively.
The Art of Giving
Both companies and individuals must be socially responsible to make the world a better place for everyone to live in. When we learn the art of giving from the heart, we no longer mind nor care what benefits we will get from doing so. But knowing what’s in it for us and our business will also motivate us to become more generous and therefore, give more.
