Maggie F. Keenan, Ed.D.

What Does Your Company STAND For?

I recently added headers at the top of my website pages and just about each header is a question…to get the reader to think or go “hmmm”. If you are a company that gives back to your community, ask yourself, “What does my giving STAND for?”  If you can answer this firmly without having to think about it, good for you! If you had to pause and can’t readily let an answer roll off your tongue, you need focus. 

Most companies I work with, and I work mostly with small to medium sized companies, do not have a focus for their giving. It generally comes down to giving a little to a lot and it’s all across the giving spectrum. I’ve even seen it --- first come-first serve and when they money is gone, that’s it for the year! Ugh!!! While giving this way seems easier and you like giving to a lot of causes…it may sound like a good thing to do, but it doesn’t convey a clear message or differentiate your company from a competitor.

It’s obvious, your company overall has a mission statement that drives what and why you do what you do everyday. For example, mine is “To inspire others to improve giving to improve lives”. So too, your company’s giving program should have a mission statement that drives what you give to and how you give.

There are several benefits to having a mission statement for your giving program.

1. It maintains the focus of your giving.
2. It conveys what you stand for.
3. It drives what you give to and how you give in your community.
4. It separates you from your competitors.
5. It structures your giving to diminish the times you have to say ‘No’ to a charity.

These are just some of the benefits. So, if your company giving program does not have a mission statement… draft one. Bounce it off employees or better yet, have them be a part of creating it. Post it on your website and add it to your materials. Use it as the focus for making all giving decisions. I promise, this will help you make a difference.

Remember, it’s not how much money you can give. That is not the measure of success for giving. It’s how you make an impact with what you give.

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