Addressing Challenges in Corporate Giving

If corporate philanthropy, grants management, or CSR initiatives have fallen into your hands, we know how nerve-wracking it can be. Ensuring you make the best decisions possible and develop the most well-rounded strategy for your organization is a daunting task. More than 85% of Millennials correlate their purchasing power to the responsible efforts a company is making, which means your strategy may have a direct correlation on the type of business the organization generates.

While building your strategy, you can run into roadblocks that may halt the whole process or prevent it from being the best it can be. We’ve put together a list of the most common challenges that come with putting together your CSR strategy.

If any of these sound like something you’re struggling with, complete our CSR Resource Pack form, and we’ll send you customized resources to help you make improvements to your strategy.

Challenge #1 - Managing Multiple Systems Across CSR Efforts

Using different systems to manage multiple aspects of a CSR strategy can be like using tape and glue to repair a crack in the wall. These systems may not talk to each other in order to coordinate efforts and trying to synthesize all the information needed for the overall strategy in one place can be a nightmare. The solution? Simplify your administrative tasks by combining all of your CSR management into one system. By combining all your efforts in one place, you can reduce stress for you and your team with:

• Added security
• Automation for internal distribution
• Expert support
• A single reporting system

Challenge #2 - Getting Management Buy-In

You’re already aware that now more than ever is the time to invest in corporate philanthropy but now you need to convince your boss. How can you get management on board with a tool that covers all aspects of your grant management process?

• Show how CSR software improves the organizational challenges your execs care about most
• Identify the one person you need on your team to get buy-in and how to find and engage them in your plight
• Gather research to show execs exactly how CSR software will affect your organization

And we have the perfect guide to help you coordinate these steps.

Challenge #3 - Driving Employee Engagement

76% of Millennials consider a company’s social and environmental commitments when deciding where to work. Once you know how you want to make an impact, though, how do you actually get your employees involved? Sometimes CSR pros have to get creative in order to kick off engagement. Here are some of our favorite ideas:

• Lead by example
• Make it a fun competition  
• Reward and recognize
• Turn it into a Lunch
• Host an after party

Check out more ideas to increase employee engagement here.

Challenge #4 - Reporting Impact

In 2016, 64% of CEOs said they were increasing their corporate social responsibility for the year. After making investments like these, it’s pivotal to be able to track outcomes. It becomes difficult in this line of work, though, because a great deal of the impact isn’t easily laid out in numbers. You can report CSR impact through social impact, storytelling and more.