For companies today, philanthropy is not a cost of doing business but rather an essential investment that is fundamental to business growth. People want to work for and with socially responsible companies; in a recent survey, 84% of employees reported that they will only consider working at purpose-driven brands. It also affects consumer behavior, with 88% of consumers reporting that they are more loyal to companies that support environmental and social issues.

While corporate philanthropy is important year-round, the Giving Season offers a unique opportunity to reevaluate your philanthropic initiatives and engage your customers, employees and community. However, in order to maximize corporate philanthropy during the Giving Season and into the year ahead, you’ll need to make a plan and source the right tools and technology to get it done.

Beyond the business case for charitable giving, it’s important to focus on the issues you and your employees believe in to build an authentic and impactful giving program. Purpose is profitable, and with the right strategy in place, you can develop a program that is both good for your business as a whole and impactful to the causes you care about.

The Giving Season takes place in the last quarter of the year from October to the end of December, and it is a critical time for both corporate brands and nonprofit businesses. With the momentum around Giving Tuesday (Tuesday, November 29), religious and cultural holidays, and the end of the fiscal year, donors and fundraisers are highly motivated to give back.

For individual donors and corporate brands, the Giving Season is the last opportunity to utilize corporate philanthropy funds before the end of the year- and nonprofits need the money. Over 30% of annual giving occurs in December, and 28% of nonprofits raise between 26-50% of their annual funds as part of their year-end campaigns- emphasizing how important the Giving Season is for nonprofits.

This makes it an important time to establish end-of-year philanthropic initiatives with maintained impact year-round. By seizing the opportunity to be a philanthropic leader within the community, your business can play a role in modernizing how individuals give by engaging and mobilizing your employees and consumers. 71% of employees want employers to provide opportunities to make an impact, and the Giving Season is a great time to engage and empower your employees while the spirit of doing good is top of mind.

The most successful Giving Season campaigns are those that begin preparation months before the season even starts. Kicking off planning at the beginning of Q3 or earlier will allow your charitable giving to be more strategic, intentional and impactful. An authentic charitable giving program will give back to the causes and communities that matter most to you and your employees.

Building a brand strategy around charitable giving and establishing benchmarks for success signifies to your employees, consumers and community that your brand is serious about having a meaningful impact. It proves that your company has taken measures to make donations more accessible and frequent, allowing for both long-term initiatives and campaigns that are reactive to disasters or other world events.

Employees want to be involved in their employers’ charitable giving programs – giving them a say in the causes that are being supported by the company will make them more invested in both the cause and the company. To further increase scope and impact, employee giving accounts and matching programs give your employees autonomy and diversity of choice to give back to the causes and communities that resonate with them. 75% of employees who engage in corporate giving programs tend to have longer tenures with the company, reinforcing the fact that by giving employees these opportunities, you can create a culture of giving that attracts and retains talent – your new brand ambassadors.

To harness the full strength of your community, you should engage your customers and partners as well. Your brand can reimagine your impact and customer experience with custom, on-brand giving opportunities and campaigns that build trust and brand preference. This builds employee and customer loyalty and satisfaction while also mobilizing resources for immediate impact in times of disaster or employee hardship. The outcome is a greater collective impact, an inspiring culture of giving and a community-driven giving network that opens the opportunity to support more causes, more charities and more people worldwide.

Technology is the key to innovation and inclusivity in the giving space, and it can be used to change philanthropy for the better. While larger organizations often have the philanthropic infrastructure in place to execute wide-scale giving programs, small and mid-sized businesses have traditionally been limited by the high costs and administrative burdens of corporate philanthropy. Technology is changing that, making it easy for businesses of all sizes to manage charitable funds and maximize impact.

Givinga’s Philantech® platform and Corporate Giving Funds enable companies of all sizes to unlock their full potential of charitable giving – with customizable tools that meaningfully engage employees and consumers. By helping workplaces and brands create customized, innovative giving programs cost-effectively and easily, we’re working to make giving with impact more accessible.

At Givinga, we believe that the business community, and society as a whole, should take advantage of the current technological revolution to shift how we perceive the act of giving, as well as how we give.

Philanthropy is fundamental to business growth, and companies can utilize our technology to provide employees and customers with simple and straightforward methods to give with impact, creating deeper engagement with their community. By meeting our clients where they’re at in their giving journey, we can customize their giving programs to suit their budget and goals. As philanthropy becomes a core business differentiator, this is a great time of year to consider taking part in Giving Season and implementing new initiatives for year-round and sustained societal impact.

To learn more about our solutions and see how you can maximize your corporate philanthropy, schedule a 30-minute demo of our Philantech® platform.

Dani Engelking is the VP of Strategic Partnerships for Givinga, which empowers companies to develop modern giving solutions that align with and enhance corporate strategy. With nearly 25 years of experience in various positions that include HR technology, voluntary benefits and financial industries, she is responsible for creating meaningful partnerships that help employers customize and streamline their philanthropic goals. To get in contact with Dani, you can reach her at dengelking@givinga.com.

Givinga is redefining philanthropy, providing modern tools and technology that deliver purpose, profitably. Our technology, Philantech®, powers experiences that transform workplace culture, build brand affinity, and cultivate everyday philanthropy.