You may have heard about #GivingTuesday, which is on Tuesday, November 27. And perhaps you wonder how to get your business involved. It makes good sense to associate your brand with the most prominent social good day. It provides you with a competitive advantage. Savvy business leaders know consumers want to associate with socially conscious brands and practice some form of corporate social responsibility.
What is #GivingTuesday?
In case you don’t know about the idea of Giving Tuesday, it’s the global day of giving. It started in 2012, and each year it continues to grow exponentially. Last year, Giving Tuesday raised over $300 million from 2.5 million gifts in over 150 countries worldwide. As for as businesses are concerned, companies like TMobile, JetBlue, Amazon, and John Hancock have all supported it.
How can you quickly start on Giving Tuesday to leverage your brand?
Many ways exist for your company to get involved in Giving Tuesday or expand the activities you do. It helps to show you lead in corporate social responsibility and social good. So, what follows are just a few ways to get involved in this year’s global day of philanthropy. Remember, by doing so, you make the world and community a better place.
Encourage your team to use #UNselfie on social media.
An effortless thing for you to consider is to encourage your team to use #UNselfie and #GivingTuesday. If your company supports a particular cause, ask your team to engage in social media actively. And remember to use the relevant hashtags for the cause. They should also make it a point to tag your brand. Your social networking accounts should also promote the cause along with with your team. So, queue up plenty of posts and tweets on Giving Tuesday.
Donate a percentage of profits.
Something that demonstrates your commitment to a good cause in your community is to donate a small portion of your earnings on #GivingTuesday to charity. You can give anything you would like, but often businesses offer five or ten percent. All you have to do is reach out to a nonprofit or favorite cause and tell them that on November 27th, you’ll be donating a percentage of your profits. Then, develop a marketing plan between your company and the organization leading up to and including Giving Tuesday to get the word out in your community about your excellent work toward making a difference.
Day of service.
An awesome way to create team spirit and build morale and energy in your company is to provide a day of service where a portion of the business day, or the whole day in its entirety, will be given to a good cause. Teams love to be part of team-building experiences, and nothing is better than doing something good for other people in need. To get this off the ground, all you have to do is connect with organizations in your area looking for volunteers. A great place to start is VolunteerMatch. Once you’ve got a cause where your team will give of their time, plan to promote it in your community. Encourage your team to do so on social media with your company’s social networking accounts. And also, in partnership with the cause, you’ll support.
Consider workplace giving.
An excellent way to go beyond Giving Tuesday and encourage philanthropy and social good within your company year-round is to have your business participate in workplace giving. When you do workplace giving for a favored cause, you will have a mechanism in place for your business and your team, which demonstrates to them and your community as a whole, your commitment to social good. Several sites can help you get started on workplace giving, including America’s Charities Online Giving Solution or United Way.
#Giving Tuesday is an excellent day to raise awareness for your company’s brand in your community and demonstrate that you understand that consumers are looking for businesses to lead concerning philanthropy and corporate social responsibility. Giving Tuesday is a movement, and on November 27 of this year, you have an opportunity to join that movement.
Author of “Not Your Father’s Charity: Grip & Rip Leadership for Social Impact”(Free Digital Download)
© 2018 Wayne Elsey and Not Your Father’s Charity. All Rights Reserved.