On the surface, grants don’t make much business sense. Why would businesses, beholden to their shareholders or the all-important bottom line, give resources to external organizations without any expectation of repayment? Aren’t grants better suited to governments and charitable organizations? The truth is that grantmaking can be in your company’s best long-term interests. There’s no catch, per se, but it is important to have a thoughtful and strategic grantmaking strategy.
In this blog entry, we’ll introduce you to the world of corporate social responsibility (CSR) grantmaking. We’ll cover the fundamentals, ways to convince your company’s CEO to get on board, and provide some tips for making the operation run as smoothly as possible.
A 30,000-foot view of strategic corporate grantmaking doesn’t really reveal a whole lot of moving parts. The grantmaking process really only consists of three phases: planning, distributing funds, and tracking progress. The devil is in the details, though, which is why it’s worth looking more granularly at each phase.
When you begin planning for your company’s grants, it helps to have the intended result in mind.
In an ideal world, what do you want the grant to accomplish? If you want to provide grants to a local food bank, for instance, you might want to know what the grant money purchased, exactly, and the percentage of goods the food bank was able to give away.
Among other things, an effective grantmaking operation requires a robust vetting system, knowledgeable people to review grant applications, and follow-up data collection.
Ensure that you and your co-workers have the time and resources to complete tasks that must be done in-house. Not knowing how much the grantmaking process entails can grind operations to a halt.
The good news is that you’ll have no shortage of worthy grant recipients to choose from. The unfortunate news is that you might have to whittle applicants down to those who align with your company’s larger goals. To ensure that your grantmaking program supports existing initiatives within your organization – like diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts – and is built equitably, consider collaborating with different teams during the planning phase. If your organization has an internal DEI team, for example, or a CSR or social impact team, they should play an active role in program design.
We’ve covered some crucial components of grantmaking, but what is strategic grantmaking, exactly?
Strategic grantmaking and strategic grants come about from thoughtful, data-driven decisions by grantors.
Providing grants is always worthwhile, but it makes sense to be selective if you want the recipients to align with your company’s charitable strategy. Having a specific, measurable, and attainable goal is another critical element of strategic grantmaking.
Strategic grantmaking for companies is not just about giving away money. Corporate grantmaking can develop a loyal customer base, less employee turnover, and improved public reputation.
In 2022, an IBM report revealed that, for the first time, more consumer respondents claimed they prioritize a company’s values over monetary value when buying goods and services. A clear majority—70%—of survey respondents said they wouldn’t mind paying extra if they knew their money was going to ethical companies.
There are more “purpose-driven consumers” than ever before. In many ways, your company cannot afford not to have robust grantmaking and charitable initiatives.
You might agree that strategic grantmaking programs for companies are useful endeavors. What many executives balk at, however, is the need for CSR software. Some worry that CSR software is too expensive or complicated. Groundswell has heard these legitimate concerns and developed a product that eliminates these objections.
Most CSR officers at small and mid-sized businesses don’t have a lot of free time. We understand these constraints, so we made a CSR giving platform that prioritizes ease and simplicity. It only takes a few minutes to create an initiative with Groundswell software, and many of the mundane tasks are automated.
A modern CSR platform needs to work for remote employees. It also needs to be agile and scalable – yet still easy to access.
Groundswell’s platform can be accessed via the web or our dedicated mobile app, which makes updating and entering information painless for participants who aren’t always in front of a computer. Our app has a five-star rating and is available for iOS and Android, so everyone on your team can access the power of giving no matter where they’re at.
Monthly invoices and payroll reconciliation are time-sucks and take the fun out of CSR initiatives.
Groundswell was built to make your life easier. Our software is designed to automate most administrative tasks. Many of our clients have reported 90 percent deductions in their administrative burdens.
With the right mindset, it’s not too difficult to implement an effective and rewarding corporate grantmaking program. Now that we’ve covered the fundamentals of how to design a grantmaking program, here are some tips to take your initiative to the next level.
If you’ve read this far, consider this blog a sign that now is the best time to start thinking about strategic grantmaking for your company. Groundswell is committed to helping organizations of all sizes achieve their charitable goals by providing a simple, effective CSR platform.
In addition to a lighter administrative burden, the Groundswell platform distributes funds to recipients in just 24 hours. A lot of the other guys take their sweet time when it comes to that stuff, but we know how important efficiency is to you. We’d be delighted to show you how our software works; reach out to our team at your convenience to schedule a demo.
