Have you ever considered why supporting charities is good for your business? As well as helping to make a difference in the world, there are many other benefits to digging deep for worthy causes.
Making charity donations can enhance your brand’s identity, letting customers and clients understand what your company stands for. Research has shown 82% of consumers would choose the more philanthropic company if faced with two businesses offering identical products or services.
© PeopleImages.com – Yuri A / Shutterstock.com
Another study found 70% of Millennials tended to favour businesses that will donate to charity and were likely to spend more if this was the case.
Considering the research, it’s worth recognising the impact of your philanthropic activities and how this affects your public image.
Why do businesses donate to charity?
Donating to charity strengthens your brand’s core values, helping to establish your business as ethical and trustworthy. The most popular causes include animal welfare, children’s charities and medical research, which are supported by 27%, 24% and 22% of the public respectively.
Women are more likely than men to support animal charities and young people’s welfare, while men prefer donating to medical research. In the over-65s demographic, 20% of people donate to disaster relief and overseas aid, compared with 15% of younger people.
Core values of business
Customers can gauge a greater understanding of what your brand is all about by learning that you support philanthropy and which causes you donate to. This can enhance public relations by giving a good impression of your core values.
It can also expand your audience reach by creating business connections with more people, such as communities who may not have been aware of your brand, had you not donated to a certain charity they support.
This improves consumer perception of your brand and gives you greater recognition within the community, creating a positive impact and showing how you’re contributing and making a difference.
Enhance employee engagement
Taking part in charitable activities can also enhance employee satisfaction and engagement by promoting teamwork and creating a sense of fulfilment, making the workplace more positive and boosting morale.
Team building exercises work to foster a sense of camaraderie, encouraging employees to collaborate on an event or activity to aid a chosen cause. One of the most popular is a charity scavenger hunt, when corporate teams can make a difference by working together and having fun.
The idea is to go around the local area with a set budget, sourcing items needed by charities, from toiletries and clothing to food and drink. Negotiation skills will be at the forefront as your team aims to acquire the necessary items within budget.
Seeing their employer supporting charitable causes makes people feel proud to work for such a philanthropic company. In addition, many people have causes or charities that mean a lot to them, but don’t have the money or time to support them individually. A company that offers a work-based charity scheme, giving employees a few days off annually to volunteer, can increase loyalty.
BE Offices’ charity work
We’ve worked with many charities over several years and have donated more than £1.5 million to worthy causes. While our chosen recipient is Rays of Sunshine Children’s Charity, we also support other good causes within local communities. This develops our team and helps charity campaigns to move forward, which is integral to our core beliefs.
One of our many fundraising events is participating in London’s leading corporate running challenge, the annual Great City Race, while another BE Offices’ team favourite, the Paddington Dragonboat Race, raises funds for the Children of St Mary’s Intensive Care.
Launched in 2011; our fundraising work includes Charity Days, which enables our team to take three days’ annual paid leave to volunteer for their own chosen charity, donating hundreds of hours’ time in total.
In the past we’ve also sent team members on all-expenses paid once-in-a-lifetime trips to help communities in other parts of the world, volunteering on charity projects in Belize, Thailand, Nepal, Cambodia and Costa Rica, where they have assisted with turtle conservation.
Firmly believing in making a difference to our communities, we also sponsor local events and sports teams.
© PeopleImages.com – Yuri A / Shutterstock.com & BE Offices
