8 / 80
GIVING
SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL
8 ·
2018 GG
Crystal Mapp, Barb Houser, Keith Seiwert, Leslie Conklin and Jennifer Schatzer The Power of Corporate Social Responsibility by Crystal Mapp Practicing good corporate social responsibility is important to your business – not only is it essential to the communities you serve, but it also engages your employees and helps with recruitment and re- tention. The best way to illustrate your philanthropic business practices is by branding a company-wide program to organize your efforts. This also offers a method and means to promote non-profits and employee causes, maximize resources, and remain connected to the community by better understand- ing the needs right where you live and work. A few statistics related to this pursuit according to ‘Double the Donation Research’ include: • 55% of consumers are willing to pay more for products from socially responsible companies • 65% of Fortune 500 companies offer matching gift programs • 93% of the world’s largest 250 companies pub- lish annual corporate giving reports There are many ways to develop a program, but following are a few ideas to help establish a solid foundation: • Company expectations – it is important to set company guidelines for volunteer hours, financial commitment, etc. so everybody is on the same page; set a budget for both and track these details; you also need somebody to coordinate your program, so you may keep the details focused and better main- tain resources expended • Employee input – make sure you are supporting causes that are important to your employees – this leads to increased engagement from your most val- ued asset • Serving clients – if you have a non-profit prac- tice, it is important to engage these organizations by helping promote them and further their missions; this results in significant client goodwill and also helps these organizations understand that you sup- port them • Promotions – develop a solid marketing plan around your efforts; this is not just for the benefit of your business but also helps showcase the causes and resources of the non-profits you serve; ideas for this may include: social media channels, employee meetings, website space, event marketing, newslet- ters, and videos • Evolution of programming – be sure to review your programming each year; keep data to help de- termine your impact and decide what you can do to continue to evolve the program and add value There are a vast array of resources available to help you better understand the red flag issues fac- ing our local community. As a business leader, it is important to use your voice to help make our region even stronger. Employees and businesses want to work with companies that have a passion to serve others. KPM CPAs & Advisors SPRINGFIELD, MO 1445 E. Republic Road Springfield, MO 65804 Phone: 417-882-4300 BRANSON, MO 500 W. Main Street, Suite 200 Branson, MO 65616 Phone: 417-334-2987 kpmcpa.com