Changing the World Through Your Workplace

By Idealist.org with Stephanie Land , Penguin Books. Posted March 6, 2009.

The following is an excerpt from The Idealist.org Handbook to Building a Better World by Idealist.org with Stephanie Land by arrangement with Perigee, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., Copyright (c) 2009 by Action Without Borders.

Maintaining a healthy work/life balance is a challenge for many idealists, even when we love our work. When you're getting up at the crack of dawn to get ready for a long commute, then scrambling to get your job done while juggling meetings, emails, clients, and your supervisors' demands, before making the long commute back, it can be hard to fit in other things you enjoy doing, like exercise, hobbies, seeing the latest movie, and yes, do-gooding. More and more time spent at the workplace means less personal time to use for volunteering, board service, or philanthropy.

Luckily, more and more companies are recognizing the morale-boosting effects, not to mention the public relations value, of setting up opportunities for employees to volunteer and donate to various organizations. Even if you don't work for a big company, your employer may contribute to your community more than you realize, and we'll point out some of the ways you can make the most of those contributions by getting involved. If you find that your workplace in fact doesn't participate in any charitable or philanthropic activities, this chapter will offer a number of ways in which you can help get them started, even if you're not the owner or an executive.

How Companies Contribute

The Fortune 500 firms get a lot of press for their charitable and philanthropic efforts throughout the world, and rightfully so. But small- and medium- size businesses -- the ones many of us work for -- contribute a tremendous amount to their local and statewide communities.

Without the generosity of American businesses, in fact, most nonprofit organizations simply wouldn't look the same. Some of the ways in which companies engage with local or regional nonprofits are:

Sponsorship

Often when you go past a ball field, you'll see a group of kids wearing matching uniforms with, say, Pino's Pizzeria emblazoned on the back. The ball team needs uniforms, the pizzeria needs name recognition, together they provide a mutual benefit -- the kids get the uniforms, the pizzeria gets some advertising. You might also notice that local businesses often sponsor citywide events, such as parades and festivals, or contribute food, T-shirts, or supplies to neighborhood cleanups. Again, the businesses' participation makes a win-win possible for everyone involved -- the city boosts civic pride, the community comes together, and local business profits from the marketing, advertising, and goodwill stemming from the event. In addition, there's media sponsorship, where radio, TV, or newspapers will promote an event in exchange for mentions in press releases or space on banners.

Corporate Volunteerism

Corporate volunteer programs have become increasingly popular in the American workplace, especially since the benefits of volunteerism to the company, in addition to the nonprofit or the employee, are now well documented. There are three benefits that are universally cited:

1. More loyal, more productive employees

2. A positive public image

3. Improved management, leadership, public relations, and marketing opportunities for the business

In addition, many companies have learned that employees who are given the chance to participate in skilled volunteering actually enhance their value to the business because they are able to develop leadership techniques and practice their skills in ways they might not be able to at the office.

Corporate volunteer programs can take many different forms:

1. Employees independently volunteer and seek individual support from their employer.

2. The company allots each employee a select number of paid hours to be spent volunteering at the employee's nonprofit of choice.

3. The company chooses a select number of nonprofits to support and announces volunteer opportunities to employees.

4. The company establishes a formal volunteer program and coordinates volunteer opportunities with a select number of nonprofits.

5. The company decides to support one particular organization and encourages employees to contribute their time and skills to that nonprofit, promoting and acknowledging their efforts through the company newsletter or website.

6. The company offers pro bono services to a variety of nonprofit organizations.

Corporate Philanthropy

Corporate America donates billions of dollars to charitable causes and organizations every year. Just about every company has money available for charity. So why not try to reserve some of your employer's funds for your favorite organization? Whenever you are considering making a philanthropic donation, look into whether your workplace has any of the following programs in place that can help maximize your giving capacity.

Company Match. A simple way to double your donation to a nonprofit is by taking advantage of your workplace's company match program. Once you have determined where you want to make a financial contribution, check with your Human Resources Department or company website for a list of non-profits the company supports. If yours is one of them, simply fill out the relevant paperwork and send it in to the appropriate party. If your nonprofit isn't among the company's selection, and especially if you are donating in response to a natural disaster or other unique circumstance, find out who is in charge of deciding which organizations the company will match and petition for the one you wish to support. (Many companies will provide matches to any nonprofit in the community, but some give you the option of donating only to a predetermined list of organizations.)

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