“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others.”- Nelson Mandela
We believe our communities could be so different if we collectively prioritized creating a positive impact as part of our organization’s key objectives.
Having worked for a time in the non-profit sector, I have seen the remarkable impact when the community, many times led by businesses and business leaders, comes together to help build a better society where we all can thrive.
Many times, the clients we work for are businesses or organizations that make a positive impact in our world. Whether they be a developer who is focused on revitalizing neighbourhoods to build community, a society that provides funding to enhance our forests and minimize wildfire risk to keep communities safer, or a foundation whose sole focus is to make healthcare for children more accessible, these are clients with purposes that we can get behind. Others are focused on serving their customers through excellence in their products and customer service, but it’s the resulting business success which gives them opportunities to donation to not-for-profit organizations.
We know that positive impact is achieved in both big and small ways. The key is to prioritize philanthropy into your business model and then take action! We as a company have taken this to heart and have rolled out our own passion project you may have heard of: #Amplifriday.
Amplifriday is where we amplify a remarkable person of impact either through a nomination we receive, or we shine the spotlight on someone who has caught our attention by doing something wonderful in our communities. To further amplify that featured person’s impact, our team proudly donates $100 to a non-profit charity of their choice. We’re not giving away millions annually, but this is our consistent opportunity to prioritize philanthropy and put it into action.
If your business is looking to prioritize philanthropy as a key objective, we have three simple steps to get you started:
Listen to your team: ask your staff and colleagues what cause might be important to them. We have a client we work with that asks their team what non-profit organizations they would like to support. They take a company-wide vote, and then not only does the business donate, but the staff team volunteers together for that non-profit organization.
Help in an area you know: you and your team are likely experts or specialists at something. Perhaps you are a lawyer or accountant – your team can give back by providing your expertise on the board of a non-profit organization. Maybe you are a photographer or an artist – doing a photo shoot for a non-profit organization or donating a piece of art to auction off could be your way to give back each year.
Be consistent: being a consistent and reliable supporter of a non-profit organization or a specific cause is not only great for that organization, but you will start to create a connection between your company and that non-profit. It’s then that your community will start to make the connection of what you do as a good corporate citizen. In the case of Reeve Harrison of 5 Bean Brew Bar, on the 5th of each month, Reeve and his team roll out 5 Bean Cares where proceeds from sales and additional donations go to a different charity each month. The team can switch up the charitable organizations they help, but they have developed consistency in their promotion which people start to remember and get behind.
This corporate social responsibility is important. Not only do people want to work for companies that do good work and give back to their communities, but the impact we can make together makes our communities better places to work, live and conduct business.
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