Here at TPI, we know what can happen when companies prioritize corporate philanthropy and employee engagement. The short answer? Higher employee retention rates, stronger office morale, increased productivity and profitability, and of course, positive community impact. Our belief in the power of corporate citizenship continues to play a large role in the work we have been doing for more than three decades.
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Max Reyes of the Boston Business Journal to discuss the trends TPI has been seeing in corporate giving. While you can read the full interview here, I want to share a few key highlights from our conversation that can apply to all corporate funders.
- More and more companies are creating philanthropic strategies and signature initiatives that increase social impact while also bringing value back to the company. Finding alignment between these two things is the starting point for much of our corporate work. We are seeing growing interest in this area at all levels – local, national, and global.
- No matter what phase a company might be in, there are always ways to ramp up the impact of corporate philanthropy. Not only is there growing interest among companies when it comes to ramping up for greater impact, but many companies are taking meaningful steps in this direction.
- An important step towards greater impact is finding the right focus. For some, the right focus is a social issue that aligns with the company’s mission, values, and long-term priorities – reinventing K-12 schools, encouraging more youth to consider STEM careers, improving child health and nutrition, protecting the environment. For other companies, focus can be defined differently – perhaps strengthening communities of interest or building capacity of nonprofit organizations. Once a company defines a focus for its philanthropy, it can then establish social impact goals and create a well-designed strategy to achieve those goals.
You can read the full interview here.
To learn more about how TPI supports companies locally, nationally, and globally with their strategic philanthropy and employee engagement efforts, please contact me directly at lpine@tpi.org.
