Corporate giving is on the rise. A 2014 report by The Conference Board and The Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) shows that 66 percent of companies increased giving as a percentage of revenue, demonstrating that engagement is widely considered sound business strategy. Of the more than 200 companies studied in the report, the median total giving per employee for all companies was $644.

You don't need a large budget or Fortune 500 environment to encourage giving in your organization. But the point of the study is that it's important and it pays off, not only in helping your community but in further growing employee engagement.

Are you ready to start a giving program at your organization? Promotional Consultant Today shares the following tips.

1. Executive Support: Inspiring Employees Starts In The C-Suite

A genuine commitment from the C-suite and active involvement toward pursuit of the right desired outcomes is key for successful workplace giving programs. So identify an executive team member who is excited and committed to the cause. The person's enthusiasm will be transferred throughout the organization, and this visible support gives employees the "permission" to dedicate time and dollars as well.

2. Empower Employee Choice

Enabling and encouraging employees to easily and conveniently donate to the causes they care about (not just the causes you choose for them) is a clear best practice for workplace giving programs. Giving is personal and different people have different causes. Make it easy for your teammates to contribute to their personal causes. You'll see an increase in total contributions which leads to increased business impact on your community and increased value creation.

3. Engage Employees In Featured Causes, Campaigns and Crisis Giving Under Your Brand

While empowering choice is critical, it is also important for companies to be aligned with community causes as an organization. These causes should:

  • Align with corporate goals and pillars

  • Support general cause areas that resonate with most employees, such as education, health or the environment

  • Provide need in times of crisis, such as supporting local food banks during times of need, hospitals, American Red Cross, etc.

If you let people give to any charity through your program, more will use it, so provide choices that align with your corporate mission, vision and values. Give choices but create a bias to corporate-supported charities through matching. Most people today— especially younger ones— don't want someone else deciding where their money goes.

Read PCT tomorrow for three key presentation tips.

Source: Jana Taylor is vice president of marketing for Benevity, the developer of microdonation software that engages customers and employees in optional charitable giving. Benevity's platform helps companies build authentic and impactful cause marketing, workplace giving and other social responsibility initiatives that increase engagement, brand differentiation and return on investment.