Employee Giving In An Age Of Skepticism

'Creative' accounting practices ' bigwigs who duplicitously line their own pockets at the expense of workers ' financial mismanagement that leads to reams of bad publicity. If this list sounds like snippets from news stories about corporate scandals a la Enron, think again. It actually refers to public impressions of the charity scandals that have sprung up like dandelions in the past couple of years. And yet, the wave of skepticism that now faces nonprofits feels an awful lot like that generated by their for-profit brethren. So if you're a law firm wishing to institute a workplace giving or volunteering program, what's the solution?

Why not take control of all of your giving activities instead of letting the old opaque 'umbrella' charities tell you what to do?

In their heart of hearts, most people want to give to worthwhile causes. But they must first get past the fear that they're being misled or manipulated ' a fear that's grown exponentially over the past couple of years. Therefore, the corporation that provides its employees with a way to give to trustworthy nonprofit agencies they care about will reap tremendous benefits in terms of community goodwill and worker morale.

Happily, there are now companies who provide on line giving programs for law firms, so that employees can support charities they trust. They help companies create virtual 'giving neighborhoods' for their employees to use and enjoy, and then provide the services necessary to make their company's giving programs successful year-round. 

One such company is called KindMark, which collaborates with the law firm to understand the firm's values, and envisions the delivery of all of its giving programs. They create an online system that reflects those values, supports all the firm's charitable programs, and contains a number of nonprofit recipients of the firm's choosing. Once this 'giving neighborhood' is set up, employees can visit, access information about each nonprofit and make donations, sign up for volunteer activities, apply for matching grants, and more ' all with the click of a mouse and from the privacy of their individual desktops.

So why should you institute an online giving system in this age of skepticism? I'd like to offer the following four reasons:

Transparency & Accountability. One of the reasons why people are so skeptical about giving to big, bureaucratic, 'umbrella' charities is that the structure of such organizations prevents donors from knowing where their dollars are going. An online forum allows employees to choose nonprofits with which they feel a personal connection. Furthermore, because of the nature of online giving, it's easy for employees to look up detailed financial data on specific nonprofits before they make the decision to give. KindMark manages this through an alliance with GuideStar, the leader in online charity information and an organization that provides access to data on more than 850,000 nonprofits. Ultimately, your firm will get the credit for helping employees feel comfortable and confident about giving to worthy charities.

Reduced Costs/Hassles For Your Firm. Online giving integrates multiple giving programs onto a single platform, which brings considerable cost and time reductions to the table. By harnessing all the disconnected paper-based programs together ' workplace giving programs, corporate grant matching, volunteer programs, special events management, political action committee (PAC) membership and fundraising drives ' the firm can cut costs and reduce wasted time and energy.

Good 'Community Involvement' PR. Because online giving helps to customize a slate of potential recipients, it's easy to pick and choose the ones that reflect the firm's unique community interests. This means 'your' nonprofits may include those that directly impact the geographic area/areas in which your law firm is located, as well as those that are inherently linked to the industries your company serves. Not only does choosing such relevant charities encourage employees to give more generously (as it's human nature to want to support causes that are 'close to home'), it also provides an obvious PR benefit for you.

In a time when corporate America is getting more than its share of bad publicity, it's refreshing to know that your firm can get some well-deserved 'good press' for its philanthropic efforts. And when those efforts directly benefit a community- or customer-related cause, you tend to get publicity that supports your image as a corporation. It's a great way to marry branding, publicity and community goodwill.

A Smoother Path To Global Giving. Many corporations now have offices in multiple countries. The benefits of helping your overseas employees donate to causes that are, geographically speaking, 'right next door' ' and helping your U.S. employees give globally as well are obvious. KindMark does have a new global giving tool so that clients can demonstrate their commitment to the countries in which they do business, managing all their programs on a global, national and local basis. By offering employees all around the world a single 'place' to give, the firm can create a sense of unity that may well be missing, which could be a very powerful benefit. 

There's one more point that bears mentioning. All of the benefits of online giving ' but particularly those that directly reflect on employee satisfaction ' are especially timely in our less-than-stellar economy.

Maybe the firm can't afford to give its employees huge raises right now. Indeed, it may have had to lay off some people or even shut down some offices. But instituting an online giving program is an easy, effective, inexpensive way to boost employee morale at a time when it's greatly needed. By giving them a fun and interactive way to do something positive for their fellow man, you really are offering employees a tangible benefit. They will appreciate you for it ' and you will reap the rewards.

Craig Wichner is the CEO of KindMark, a provider of a complete end-to-end suite of Web-based solutions to manage corporate giving activities. KindMark's PowerGiving System' offers solutions for managing workplace giving programs, corporate grant matching, volunteer programs, special events management and political action committee (PAC) membership and fundraising drives. For more information, visit www.kindmark.com.

'Creative' accounting practices ' bigwigs who duplicitously line their own pockets at the expense of workers ' financial mismanagement that leads to reams of bad publicity. If this list sounds like snippets from news stories about corporate scandals a la Enron, think again. It actually refers to public impressions of the charity scandals that have sprung up like dandelions in the past couple of years. And yet, the wave of skepticism that now faces nonprofits feels an awful lot like that generated by their for-profit brethren. So if you're a law firm wishing to institute a workplace giving or volunteering program, what's the solution?

Why not take control of all of your giving activities instead of letting the old opaque 'umbrella' charities tell you what to do?

In their heart of hearts, most people want to give to worthwhile causes. But they must first get past the fear that they're being misled or manipulated ' a fear that's grown exponentially over the past couple of years. Therefore, the corporation that provides its employees with a way to give to trustworthy nonprofit agencies they care about will reap tremendous benefits in terms of community goodwill and worker morale.

Happily, there are now companies who provide on line giving programs for law firms, so that employees can support charities they trust. They help companies create virtual 'giving neighborhoods' for their employees to use and enjoy, and then provide the services necessary to make their company's giving programs successful year-round. 

One such company is called KindMark, which collaborates with the law firm to understand the firm's values, and envisions the delivery of all of its giving programs. They create an online system that reflects those values, supports all the firm's charitable programs, and contains a number of nonprofit recipients of the firm's choosing. Once this 'giving neighborhood' is set up, employees can visit, access information about each nonprofit and make donations, sign up for volunteer activities, apply for matching grants, and more ' all with the click of a mouse and from the privacy of their individual desktops.

So why should you institute an online giving system in this age of skepticism? I'd like to offer the following four reasons:

Transparency & Accountability. One of the reasons why people are so skeptical about giving to big, bureaucratic, 'umbrella' charities is that the structure of such organizations prevents donors from knowing where their dollars are going. An online forum allows employees to choose nonprofits with which they feel a personal connection. Furthermore, because of the nature of online giving, it's easy for employees to look up detailed financial data on specific nonprofits before they make the decision to give. KindMark manages this through an alliance with GuideStar, the leader in online charity information and an organization that provides access to data on more than 850,000 nonprofits. Ultimately, your firm will get the credit for helping employees feel comfortable and confident about giving to worthy charities.

Reduced Costs/Hassles For Your Firm. Online giving integrates multiple giving programs onto a single platform, which brings considerable cost and time reductions to the table. By harnessing all the disconnected paper-based programs together ' workplace giving programs, corporate grant matching, volunteer programs, special events management, political action committee (PAC) membership and fundraising drives ' the firm can cut costs and reduce wasted time and energy.

Good 'Community Involvement' PR. Because online giving helps to customize a slate of potential recipients, it's easy to pick and choose the ones that reflect the firm's unique community interests. This means 'your' nonprofits may include those that directly impact the geographic area/areas in which your law firm is located, as well as those that are inherently linked to the industries your company serves. Not only does choosing such relevant charities encourage employees to give more generously (as it's human nature to want to support causes that are 'close to home'), it also provides an obvious PR benefit for you.

In a time when corporate America is getting more than its share of bad publicity, it's refreshing to know that your firm can get some well-deserved 'good press' for its philanthropic efforts. And when those efforts directly benefit a community- or customer-related cause, you tend to get publicity that supports your image as a corporation. It's a great way to marry branding, publicity and community goodwill.

A Smoother Path To Global Giving. Many corporations now have offices in multiple countries. The benefits of helping your overseas employees donate to causes that are, geographically speaking, 'right next door' ' and helping your U.S. employees give globally as well are obvious. KindMark does have a new global giving tool so that clients can demonstrate their commitment to the countries in which they do business, managing all their programs on a global, national and local basis. By offering employees all around the world a single 'place' to give, the firm can create a sense of unity that may well be missing, which could be a very powerful benefit. 

There's one more point that bears mentioning. All of the benefits of online giving ' but particularly those that directly reflect on employee satisfaction ' are especially timely in our less-than-stellar economy.

Maybe the firm can't afford to give its employees huge raises right now. Indeed, it may have had to lay off some people or even shut down some offices. But instituting an online giving program is an easy, effective, inexpensive way to boost employee morale at a time when it's greatly needed. By giving them a fun and interactive way to do something positive for their fellow man, you really are offering employees a tangible benefit. They will appreciate you for it ' and you will reap the rewards.

Craig Wichner is the CEO of KindMark, a provider of a complete end-to-end suite of Web-based solutions to manage corporate giving activities. KindMark's PowerGiving System' offers solutions for managing workplace giving programs, corporate grant matching, volunteer programs, special events management and political action committee (PAC) membership and fundraising drives. For more information, visit www.kindmark.com.