The idea of engaging with charities as a business and volunteering your time to do charity work can be a bit of a polarising topic. When raised, it’s typically met with a mix of over-enthusiastic do-gooders, or the “too hard basket” (ers).
In an ideal world, there would be enough money and resources to go around for everyone, people wouldn’t require anything from anyone else and we would all truck along happily in life. Unfortunately, we do not live in that world. Wealth is very unevenly spread, and illness, disability and sheer bad luck doesn’t just target those with the resources to manage it.
Now, I’m not here to be a Debbie Downer about how unfair the world is… this is a topic I feel strongly about. Especially when it comes to the benefits to businesses and individuals when they engage in charitable giving! I’m a Recruitment Consultant (sigh, I know – sorry!) and I specialise within the built environment. Those two industries mean that work is a fast-paced, hectic, growing, money-making machine – to the sum of billions of dollars for Victoria. My company and my client’s companies are busy. We get into work early, we’re out late, always hard at it, always at events, always networking, and growing, growing, growing. There’s so much to do already and on top of that, we spend extra time and money spent on charities?! Really?!
Yes, really. And here’s why it’s good for your business.
It’s good to help others
This is obvious, but helping people is good for them and it’s good for you. There’s a lot of research to suggest that people who engage in charitable giving and helping others, are happier people overall. If you don’t feel good about helping others, then please take a good hard look at yourself. A company of generous, giving people is a company of people with higher morale. High morale = more attachment to their workplace = higher productivity = better results! It’s win-win all round.
Branding!
Obviously, PR benefit shouldn’t be the sole purpose for helping out in your community, but the more charities and events your company supports and gets involved in, the more your name is out in the market. Getting your name out there in a positive way is great for your brand, and shows that you are a business filled with caring people. You’re not just a corporate money-making machine. You will, by default, become more likeable. And people want to work with people they like.
Tax deductions (amazing, you can save money!)
Look, I don’t really care about this one from a personal perspective, but it is most definitely a big benefit for businesses and individuals. Charitable donations are actually tax deductible. So, whilst your charity efforts might not result in immediate, tangible results from a branding and marketing perspective, you will quite quickly notice the tax savings. I’m not suggesting businesses should be looking at charities as a way of reducing their obligations to the tax office, but I am shedding light on the the fact it’s a great reward for doing good!
Community wellbeing
There are many reasons for charitable activities, but the most obvious and most important one is clear – your community needs you. If your company is taking part in activities that help improve the lives of others in the community, this will be noticed. There is also an opportunity for employees to get behind charities that are important to them or relevant to their personal lives. As mentioned earlier, this will only increase employee engagement and morale.
Fetch Recruitment is a relatively new company (we just turned 6!), and we really got into charitable giving from a company perspective about 18 months ago. Our goal is to be more than just a recruitment consultancy, and instead become a company that cares not only about each other but also the community around us. Below are some of the charities that we have been involved in and will continue to support.
Mental health awareness is important to us too, especially within the high-pressure industry we work. Please let us know if you have any good suggestions for reputable charities we can get behind!
So, there you have it, help your fellow man guys! Encourage your company to get behind a good cause. Any reason that motivates you and your team is a good one. Get out and about into your communities. It’s good for business and it’s good for you.
Brittany Fisher is a Senior Business Support Consultant at Fetch with a passion for supporting community and health initiatives. You can connect with Britt on LinkedIn here.
