As companies grow and flourish, the resolve to give back to the community becomes stronger. Philanthropy is a deep-rooted practice that focuses on promoting the people’s welfare and driving social change. The practice is well-entrenched in the American social structures and business culture. According to P5Performance, today’s corporate philanthropy goes beyond monetary donations to include matching gifts, individual volunteer gifts, community grants, and employee fundraising. Community grants are offered by corporations looking to positively impact the community. Corporations are at liberty to choose the best timelines to support the causes they care about.

For instance, support can be channeled monthly, seasonally, annually and so on. Corporations that support matching gifts can choose to support a nonprofit venture chosen by employees. Under the scheme, the company commits to matching the contribution made by workers. In the case of individual volunteer grants; respective company employees are given time out of work to volunteer at non-profit organizations or communal causes the company chooses. Corporate philanthropy can also take the shape of employee fundraising. All the company needs to do is to encourage employees to give back to the community or volunteer for a cause. The employee’s contribution can be made in kind or via automatic payroll deductions.

What companies gain from corporate philanthropy

The benefits of corporate philanthropy aren’t just tied to the target community because corporations also benefit immensely from the initiatives. According to corporate fundraising venture Frontstream, the benefits include:
• Opportunity to boost the brand and name recognition – as companies assert themselves on communal issues, the brands grow and the company’s become household names. These benefits are crucial in gaining a competitive market advantage. Some marketing studies also suggest corporate philanthropy is more effective than advertising since it helps build a positive reputation and good-will on the mind of consumers and business partners.

• Grow company base – the support that goes to improve the social, educational and the economic well-being of the community is reciprocal. This support has a way of building the customer base as it often translates to higher sales and access to skilled labor in the future.

• Improve the quality of life – the support provided by corporate entities to host communities can help improve the quality of life. This is true because people living in the community constitute company workers and customers, who buy goods and services from the supporting companies.

• Drive recruitment and retention – long term commitment to corporate philanthropy can go a long way to boost employee retention and staff recruitment. For instance, most millennial’s prefer working for companies with shared values. The morale of workers is also enhanced when they know the company cares about the things they hold an ear to their hearts.

Corporate philanthropy champion

Because of the many benefits of corporate philanthropy, it comes as no surprise that more companies are working ways to strengthen their corporate philanthropy programs. Economist and finance expert, Rusty Tweed understands this fact and has done a lot like a corporate leader to entrench the virtue. He actively supports efforts aimed at uplifting the society such as youth empowerment, health, and education.

One of the charities that have benefited from his volunteer efforts is Detox Center, New York, and Orleans. Several college youths have also benefited from the annual Rusty Tweed Drug-Free Scholarship. Rusty Tweed also uses his immense experience to train investors on topics like financial management, taxation, and real estate investment. He operates from his office in the Greater Los Angeles Area