We Manage Good.
Seven Steps to a Successful
Corporate Donation Program
Whether you’re launching a new program, revitalizing a stale one, or just want to make
sure you’re following best practices, take a look at this checklist to maximize the impact
of your corporate donation program.
WHY SHOULD YOUR COMPANY HAVE
A DONATION PROGRAM?
91%
of people
surveyed expect
companies to
do more than make a profit. They
believe companies need to act
responsibly and address issues.
The benefits of a philanthropy program
far outweigh the costs:
Support the business goals of your organization

Source: Cone Communications 2015 Global CSR Study.
 Community & stakeholders value –
and expect – good corporate citizenship
Oakley donates products to sportsrelated fundraising events for nonprofit organizations and builds solid
brand reputation as supporting local
communities where they live and work.
Investment in communities delivers
business value

Build employee & customer loyalty
& retention


Reinforce positive brand values

Gain tax advantages & benefits
SAP focuses on STEM education and
entrepreneurship. They fund nonprofits and deploy volunteers
with relevant skills
who can support
those community
Consider how
key causes map
organizations.
1.ESTABLISH MISSION & GOALS FOR
YOUR PHILANTHROPIC INITIATIVE

Mission: What do you want to support?
What cause(s): environment, health &
wellness, arts & culture, education?
Broad-based or focused support?
Region and location: Where are your
employees & customers?

Goals: What do you want to accomplish?
Employee & customer goodwill
& loyalty
Reinforce brand values & build brand
to the interests
of your employees
& goals of your
business.
Wegman’s
provides
donations to local
communities and
empowers employees
in those stores to make giving decisions.
This commitment to philanthropy is a key
reason that Wegman’s is one of the most
loved grocery chains in the country.
Strengthen relationships with
community partners
Level of financial contribution
Distribute excess or perishable
products
Number of organizations or
people supported
Employee participation in
giving programs
Encourage employees
to promote your giving
program, recommend
non-profits to support and
volunteer for programs.
Authentic
philanthropy
programs support
company values
& aren’t just
PR-driven.
Brand impressions
2.PLAN YOUR PHILANTHROPY
INITIATIVE

How will you provide support?
A crossfunctional team
brings varied
perspectives.
In-kind products & services
Gift cards, vouchers, coupons
Cash contributions
Plan for a system
that supports the way
you work. Eliminate
inefficiencies so you can
focus on your mission,
not administrative
tasks.
Sponsorships

Assemble your team
Who reviews & manages requests?
Who makes giving decisions?
Who will fulfill the requests?

Evaluate your processes
How will requests move from submission to
final decision, follow-up & reporting?
What should decision making process and
criteria be?
How will you fulfill all that you approve?
What are the business critical reporting
requirements?

How will you engage with submitters?
Clearly communicate mission, criteria for
support & response processes
Decide when & how will you add a personal touch
Be timely in your responses
Provide support & answer questions

Think about what you can provide.
Wyndham Hotels donates hotel reward
points, Kohler donates plumbing fixtures,
Waste Management donates garbage
disposal services to fundraising events and
SAP donates software to schools.
Be flexible as your giving program evolves
The Safeway Foundation’s website details
their focus areas for support, what they
can’t support, general guidelines for the
donation/funding process and how to
apply online. They ensure that all criteria
are available upfront to all submitters.
How often should you meet to discuss
program changes?
What systems are in place that will
need to be changed and how?
3.BUILD YOUR IDEAL SYSTEM
A personal
phone call
or letter can
make a big
difference to
a non-profit
partner.
Streamline your program with an
online system

Standardize how & where you receive requests
Eliminate ad-hoc spreadsheets, emails
& paper proposals to reduce errors and
unnecessary steps
Set goals for
response regarding
decisions. Don’t
leave submitters
hanging!
Logistics of how to best follow up with each
approved recipient

Don’t wait to
start until you get
every detail just right.
Jump in, learn &
adapt as you go.
Ask the right questions & set expectations
Use an initial eligibility quiz to ensure
requestors fit your criteria and to save their
time & yours
Discover asks all submitters to fill out
an eligibility quiz including a number
of questions. When organizations are
found to be ineligible, customized
messages explain the reason support
can’t be provided. Discover is up front
with its criteria for support and clearly
communicate with submitters.
Develop an online questionnaire for
donation requests to collect the right
information to show you’re meeting goals
Confirm submission & set parameters
for timing
Route information to the right team
members for review & response

Individuals or commitees
Corporate or regional
Automate your processes to reduce
administrative tasks

Increase responsiveness with submitters
to build brand trust
Know the status
of any request or
donation & who
is responsible
Free up time to focus on programs, not
program management
Filter & score requests to increase quality &
accountability
Educate
submitters;
provide guidelines
and resources to
ensure a smooth
process. Let
community partners
know what you’ll
need from them at
every step in the
process & what they
can expect from you.
Make better decisions and be more
consistent
JetBlue’s philanthropy program has
three key elements: engage employees,
support local charitable organizations
and provide ticket vouchers for
fundraising auctions to increase
visibility for their philanthropy
program. JetBlue receives thousands
of requests for ticket voucher
donations. They rely on online tools
to “score” proposals, saving time &
improving decision-making. Their
online system cuts out the noise & lets
the requests that fit their criteria filter
to the top for review.
4.ESTABLISH YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE
& BUILD AWARENESS
A dedicated web page tells your
philanthropic story & enhances your brand

Mission & clear criteria for support
Consistent look & feel
Support overall brand messages
Tell stories & give examples of your work

Make it easy to find your program
Link to your dedicated page on
your website
Promote your dedicated page on
social media
Educate your employees to encourage
them to spread the word

In person or video
Incentives
Add links on
your Community
Relations page,
Contact Us page
or FAQ section.
Help them share stories on social media
5.
Go
Live!
Don’t worry if you
don’t have everything in
place. With the right system,
you can make changes &
additions as you learn & your
program grows. The important
thing is to get started,
even if it’s small steps.
6.UNDERSTAND & COMMUNICATE
YOUR RESULTS
Follow-up after each donation
for results

Send any
stories to your
communications/
marketing team
for promotion.
How many people were helped and how?
How much money was raised?
How many people attended an event?
How was your product used (raffle, auction,
etc.)?

Tell a great story
Collect pictures, quotes, videos, etc.
Communicate to your team, management
& community

The power of a good report
Gain insights on your results
The Safeway Foundation uses “story
banking” to collect photos, videos and
quotes from their community partners
in an online system. These media
pieces are used to supplement the
results & tell a powerful story about
Safeway’s support.
Where are you having the most impact?
Which opportunities are aligned most
closely to your goals?
7.INCORPORATE WHAT YOU LEARN
TO IMPROVE YOUR PROGRAM
Make better decisions on who & what
to support

Are you starting to create the change you want?
Are you accomplishing your goals?
Are your employees engaged with the program?
Requests in
via consistent
format
Report
across entire
portfolio
Do your employees and customers recognize
the good work you are doing?
Maximize the benefits of your
philanthropic investment

Measure
performance/
impact
Route to
teams/regions
Philanthropy
Lifecycle
Are there other ways you can provide support?
Are there other processes that can be improved?
Can your online system be streamlined further?

Increase your impact!
What other results would you like to collect?
How else can your results be communicated?
877-712-9495 • www.versaic.com
Track
post event
results
Improved
visibility/
decisions
Filter for top
opportunities