It’s a big pivot for organizations that traditionally create high-visibility fall projects to call attention to volunteerism and community service. In the process, they help dozens of neighborhood groups and scores of not-for-profits, from the United Way of Central Indiana to Keep Indianapolis Beautiful.
Giving by businesses increased by 11.4% from 2018 to 2019, once adjusted for inflation. Giving by foundations reached a record high of $75.7 billion.
The Local Initiative Support Corp. of Indianapolis is not trying to mandate solutions, Grain told IBJ. Instead, it aims to connect corporations and organizations that have resources with neighborhood leaders who have ideas about what people in those areas need.
Passageways announced it would make its employee and board collaboration software free to aid not-for-profit organizations and government agencies challenged by the coronavirus pandemic. This week, Passageways expanded the offer to Indiana Chamber of Commerce members.
This week, Indianapolis tech firm Selfless.ly partnered with Serve Indiana—the state commission on volunteerism and service—to launch an initiative to identify a cadre of ready volunteers and match them with volunteer opportunities that can be accomplished while social distancing.
Fishers-based Sahm’s Restaurant Group has teamed up with OneAmerica Financial Partners Inc. and the not-for-profit food relief organization Second Helpings to launch a meal-preparation operation.
The Indianapolis-based Center for Leadership Development, which promotes personal development and educational attainment for minority youth, said the grant announced Tuesday morning is expected to be “transformational.”
Through a Butler University program dubbed Bulldogs into The Streets—or BITS—more than 1,250 volunteers who contribute 3,750 hours worth nearly $100,000 descend on the school’s neighborhood for projects.
Washburn oversees the company foundation’s grant-making strategy for Indianapolis as well as for Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Paul and Toronto. That means he’s looking for opportunities to translate the foundation’s larger goals into programs and strategies in those local communities.
Growth in charitable giving in the United States slowed in 2018, possibly as a result of the 2017 tax reform bill, according to an annual report that tracks American giving patterns. But the decline wasn’t as big as many predicted.
Josh Driver, founder of Selfless.ly, which sells cloud-based software for managing corporate social responsibility programs, says volunteer PTO is an increasingly important part of benefits packages. In fact, nearly one quarter of companies now pay employees to spend their time and energy with a not-for-profit.
Employees are not always fulfilled by their work. That can lead to expensive turnover, poor performance or disengagement. Empowering your staff to find purpose during work time creates loyalty to your company and helps fill the gaps their employment may not be creating at the moment.
“Our central focus as a company is always to make lives better. … It’s a value that is core to every single employee who works here. So if we can have programs that reinforce that we are a company that is focused on making lives better, then we are doing something that connects to our mission and reminds our employees what really matters to us as a company.”
Business leaders recognize today that they and their companies have the ability to positively impact their community through volunteerism efforts. Many see it as a responsibility.
Experts in corporate social responsibility, or CSR, say such programs are at least in part driven by millennials in the workforce and are almost necessary today to attract and maintain top talent.
IU Kelley School of Business professor Amrou Awaysheh says the term corporate social responsibility is often misunderstood. It’s not just philanthropy or volunteerism. It’s how companies treat their employees, how they interact with the environment, and the care they take with their supply chains.
Super Service Challenge, a national not-for-profit aimed at helping charities raise money and in-kind contributions, is launching a new e-platform designed by Indianapolis-based Sells Group meant to connect companies, volunteers and not-for-profits in a whole new way.
The program, which Cummins is describing as its “most ambitious community initiative ever,” is called Cummins Powers Women.
An Indianapolis law firm is hoping to boost what’s known as “social entrepreneurship” in central Indiana by bringing together people who want to both generate a profit and improve society with their business endeavors.
For Indianapolis to thrive, its businesses need to share their resources for civic-minded efforts, N. Clay Robbins told attendees Friday at the Engage Indiana event for corporate philanthropy.
