Understanding Measurements & Metrics for ROI on Corporate Giving

ROI (return on investment) may not initially seem like it belongs in the same sentence as corporate giving, but a closer look at the benefits of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reveals that it’s not such a far-fetched idea. After all, modern consumers and younger employees have shown that they’re willing to look more favorably on businesses that have robust and visible CSR initiatives.

Indeed, your company may financially benefit in several different ways from corporate giving programs. Having the right measurements and metrics for ROI on corporate giving in place before your program starts can inform your C-suite about its tangible benefits. Being able to show these tangible benefits in front of executives can increase the chances of implementing long-lasting, effective corporate giving endeavors.

Table of Contents:

• Defining Corporate Giving Programs and Employee Donation Matching
• Quantitative Metrics for the ROI of Corporate Giving Programs
• Qualitative Metrics for the ROI of Corporate Giving Programs
• The Advantage of Using the Right Technology for Your Corporate Giving Efforts
• Reduce Admin in CSR Programs While Increasing the ROI of Corporate Giving

Defining Corporate Giving Programs and Employee Donation Matching

Corporate giving programs can describe nearly any charitable initiative originating from the private sector that provides financial benefits to nonprofit organizations or otherwise worthy recipients. One key area in corporate giving that Groundswell’s platform supports is employee donation matching. 

Employee donation matching, or employee giving, refers to situations in which employees donate a portion of their paychecks or personal funds to a charity that’s meaningful to them in some way, and their employee matches all or a part of that donation. Corporate donation matching can be a great way to get your co-workers motivated and engaged with CSR.

The Costs Associated with Establishing Corporate Giving Programs

Unless your company wants to start a foundation or a new nonprofit organization, the only costs of starting a corporate giving program may be the CSR software you use to execute the campaign. Many CSR software vendors, especially legacy ones, are not transparent on pricing and may caryy hefty contract fees and tack on ad-hoc fees for seemingly basic features.

It might be hard to justify keeping CSR programs around if your company ends up spending half of its budget on the CSR software itself. CSR initiatives might also not seem so great when you have to spend hours on administrative tasks. Groundswell noticed that many companies ran into those two problems when trying to set up CSR programs, and we set out to find a solution.

Quantitative Metrics for the ROI of Corporate Giving Programs

It’s often difficult to directly connect corporate giving programs with increased revenue, but you can measure how impactful these programs are. In that way, you can calculate the ROI of corporate giving with the following quantitative metrics.

1. Employee engagement. Perhaps the most obvious metrics for employee giving initiatives have to do with the amount your employees donate and the amount your company matches those donations. It may also be important to determine the percentage of eligible employees who end up donating through the program. If you’d like to take things a step further, you could compare the turnover rates or employee satisfaction rates of engaged employees versus employees who did not give. 
2. Financial impact. How much did your company and employees donate to charity last quarter or last year? What’s the ratio of that donation total to the software and administrative expenses? By how much did your business reduce its tax burden in its last return? These questions are all worth answering.
3. Matching & nonprofit disbursement speed. Some CSR software vendors can take up to 90 days to disburse funds to charities. These relatively slow timelines may create administrative headaches and require monthly invoicing and reconciliation. Groundswell, however, matches donations instantly and sees that nonprofits get their funds within 24 hours. 
4. Utilization of matching funds. Your company probably sets a budget for its corporate giving programs. Using up every penny probably means that your employees are engaged and enthusiastic about CSR initiatives. Having leftover funds may indicate the need for increased employee engagement and awareness.
5. Growth in participation and donation amounts. A great way to continue justifying a corporate giving program is to show that employee engagement rates and donation amounts increase year to year.

Qualitative Metrics for the ROI of Corporate Giving Programs

Relative to the quantitative metrics we just covered, these qualitative metrics may actually show tangible benefits for your company’s financials. Here are a few examples of metrics that can show how much your business can benefit from corporate giving programs.

• Improvements in brand perception. Survey results couldn’t be clearer: Consumers, especially millennials and Generation Z, look more favorably upon companies that give funds to charity. You could attribute a percentage of year-over-year growth to corporate giving programs. More specifically, you might ask your marketing team to track mentions of the company’s charitable campaigns on social media or compile a list of awards.
• Employee satisfaction. Hiring and retaining top talent is one of the most difficult undertakings for modern businesses. When you need every competitive edge you can find, CSR programs can come in handy. Employees who believe in their employers’ philanthropic missions are less likely to look for other jobs. Less turnover means fewer expenses for your company. Satisfied employees can also translate into higher productivity. At this point, can your company not afford to start a corporate giving program?

The Advantage of Using the Right Technology for Your Corporate Giving Efforts

Managing a CSR program manually can be complicated and frustrating. And not using the right technology or CSR software platform for your corporate giving program can create a bunch of paperwork for you. Administrative burdens can make corporate giving programs cost-prohibitive for many small and mid-sized companies.

Having the right CSR technology also means having an easy-to-use platform. If your employees can’t grasp the software in a short amount of time, your company is simply losing money. Seeing positive ROI from corporate giving is less likely when your CSR platform doesn’t make your work life easier.

Reduce Admin in CSR Programs While Increasing the ROI of Corporate Giving

Over the years, Groundswell has identified common pain points that users of legacy CSR platforms share. Administrative burden, hard-to-use-platforms, and low engagement rates are common. We found that corporate giving ROI goes down when vendors charge fees for extra features, offer platforms that are complicated to use, and create mountains of paperwork for CSR professionals.

Simply put, we think we’ve created a better way forward. Compared to many legacy players, our CSR platform reduces administrative burdens by around 90% — and often more. No more monthly invoices, no more reconciliations, no more "where is my donation" emails. Charities get their funds as quickly as possible. Employees can track their donation from their account to the nonprofits. And employees are actually motivated to get involved because the platform is intuitive and actually fun to use. 

All of that translates into higher ROI for your next corporate giving initiative. Contact our team at your convenience to book a demo so we can show you how easy corporate giving can be. The cost of CSR should always be worth it.