The New Year is traditionally a time of good resolutions, but instead of thinking about ourselves how to lose weight, how to save money why not think about how your company could benefit others in 2006? Corporate philanthropy does not necessarily involve making large cash donations; staff time and business-related gifts-in-kind are not only hugely valuable, but have the advantage of enhancing a company's image and improving staff morale.
Contrary to popular perception, companies do not need to enter into a formal partnership with a charity or non-profit organisation to help, says Sarah Murray in the FT. Doing something as simple as donating items that are no longer required, such as office furniture and equipment that is going to be discarded after an office refurbishment or IT upgrade, can be extremely useful. Of course, identifying charities that could benefit can be time-consuming, especially for small businesses that don't have the resources, but growing awareness of in-kind donations has spawned a host of services to help out. Professionals4free.org.uk, for instance, a web-based service developed with Government funding, hosts a database of professional organisations offering services such as accountancy, marketing, design, IT support and auditing that charities can exploit. There are also organisations that broker donations of physical assets. One such outfit, Green-Works, does good in many ways, providing schools, charities and community groups with cheap furniture while saving companies the trouble of getting rid of it, and minimising potential landfill. In 2003, the firm helped HSBC redistribute 3,000 tonnes of unwanted furniture in this way. InKind Direct acts in a similar way, taking millions of pounds worth of end-of-line products, seasonal items and returns off companies that would otherwise have to pay for storage and disposal costs, and delivering them to non-profit organisations for a handling fee. FareShare is a UK charity that collects surplus food, which cannot meet distribution deadlines, and uses it to provide about 12,000 meals for homeless and needy people.
As an employee, you may think you can't make much difference. In fact, says Gill Plimmer, also in the FT, it is employees who are most able to influence how corporations give and to which causes. Take the aftermath of the Boxing Day tsunami, when corporate Britain was forced to stand with the public mood; in addition to its £1m donation, Vodafone even agreed to match all staff donations. On a more personal level, if you're wondering what to do with unwanted Christmas gifts (there are apparently some 15 million of them), do something positive with them, says Guy Capperton in The Observer. Aside from taking them down to the local charity shop, you could give something to a stranger as an unattributed act of generosity (visit Giveitforwardtoday.org) or sign up to Freecyle.com and find a willing recipient who will come and collect the gift.
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For more information, contact Business in the Community (0870-600 2482, www.bitc.org.uk), a UK organisation that works to improve business impact on society.
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