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If you could open your social impact portfolio, what would you see inside? Only your organization can decide which strategies and activities make the most sense for your goals. However, it is true that strategies focused entirely on charitable contributions may not be able to have the same transformational effect as those that are multifaceted. Incorporating social investments into your portfolio could revolutionize the impact you have on your community, both now and well into the future.
But what is a social investment, exactly? How does it differ from a charitable contribution, and why does it matter? Let’s explore the answers to these questions and why social investments can fill in the gaps of an existing strategy. No matter how big or small your team may be, you can leverage social investment approaches to create systemic changes that ensure your business consistently contributes to making the world a better place.
There’s a key question that faces each corporate social responsibility (CSR) team: how are we invested? For many teams, the answer typically involves addressing current issues facing their communities. However, there’s another side of the coin that’s worth considering: addressing the root causes of those societal issues.
Your current strategies may already aim to achieve both of these goals. Seeking to create a meaningful and long-term impact is a common trait of most CSR strategies.
Still, many of the activities that CSR teams engage in to give back tend to directly tackle immediate needs. They may not have the same opportunities to focus on activities that create broad, systemic changes.
Does this mean that CSR teams are simply failing to choose the “right” activities to make a profound impact? Not necessarily. It may just mean that a diversified social impact approach is necessary.
Many of the social impact tactics you’re familiar with fall under the umbrella of charitable contributions. Another type of social impact activity that plays a crucial role in a balanced CSR portfolio is social investment.
Both of these giving and funding opportunities have a different function, but they easily complement each other.
A charitable contribution is, at its core, a gift or payment to a common fund. More broadly speaking, it can describe any role a person or thing plays in bringing about a positive result.
Lots of the activities within the social impact state fit into this category, including employee volunteering and giving as well as corporate donation matching. Charitable contributions help us impact our local communities, but they may not be the best way to target systemic change.
What is social investment, then, if not investing in social causes? Think of an investment not as a financial contribution but as the act or process of devoting time, energy, or effort to a particular undertaking. The goal of doing so is to achieve a worthwhile result.
A social investment, then, is different from simply making contributions. It might involve alternative forms of engagement and giving. Its key trait, though, is an intentional focus on long-term involvement. Unlike charitable contributions, social investments might have a range of beneficiaries.
For example, a social investment made after a natural disaster strikes might look like supporting new sustainability technology or policies. A charitable contribution, on the other hand, might involve donating capital to a relief organization.
Social investment approaches are multifaceted. The aim is not only to leverage finances or capital but also to combine expertise and innovation. They seek to undermine societal problems by digging all the way to the roots beneath the surface.
As a result, an investment approach might recognize that traditional philanthropy might not be sufficient to give complex social and environmental challenges the support they deserve.
There are plenty of reasons to invest in social investments, including their:
In an ideal world, social investment beneficiaries are a mixture of those who take action and those who benefit from it. That means that investing in social entrepreneurs and enterprises can be just as important as supporting vulnerable communities or those impacted by systemic inequity.
While charitable contributions help you achieve an immediate sense of personal fulfillment, connection, and purpose, social investments plant seeds that will eventually blossom into deeply impactful changes over time.
As you shift into brainstorming mode and decide how to make an environmental, social, and governance investment that makes sense for your goals, keep strategies like these in mind:
If you’ve decided to shift gears and adopt a more investment-focused approach, don’t feel like you need to abandon your contribution strategy. Focusing on urgent and pressing needs delivers more immediate outputs, so doing so is undoubtedly part of a well-rounded CSR strategy.
However, it is true that organizations looking to have the most long-term impact possible might also benefit from looking to tackle the root causes of issues. Instead of responding solely with solutions, your business can respond with proactivity and empowerment.
The best approach will likely be one that balances contributions and social investments. As you build your social impact portfolio, make sure you consider how you can drive short-term action and systemic, transformational changes.
Whether you’re launching a new grant program, donating to nonprofit organizations, or hosting volunteering campaigns, count on Groundswell to make it simple to achieve your social impact goals.
Our user-friendly platform is accessible via web and mobile app to allow you to engage employees in your programs at their desks or on the go. With our self-service platform, all it takes to launch a new campaign or track employee contributions is a few clicks.
Plus, Groundswell’s fast distribution timelines ensure that your contributions reach their recipients within just 24 hours, ensuring that those instant outcomes truly are instant!
With significantly lower fees than most legacy platforms, Groundswell empowers you to customize your social impact approach to your needs, no matter how big or small your business is.
Want to learn more about how we can help you launch a social impact program that benefits your team and communities? Reach out today to book a demo and see our platform in action.
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