Smart Giving Is Good Business

Answers to the 12 most common and critical questions about corporate giving

In this groundbreaking resource, Weeden shows how to strategically plan, manage and evaluate corporate contributions. Questions include: Why Should We Give?; How Much?; Who Decides?; Does a Company Need a Foundation?; How to Give Products or Services?; How Do We Know What Works? The book covers a wide range of topics including: The case for conditional corporate philanthropy; increasing stewardship to give more; assigning responsibility for signature programs; how CEOs leverage contributions programs for maximum benefit; effectively staffing corporate contributions programs; the pros and cons of corporate foundations; and more.

• Offers benchmarks for determining if a business has a meaningful philanthropic program that fosters constructive corporate citizenship
• Reveals how an effective philanthropic program and commitment can be incorporated in any organization
• Contains a comprehensive review of the information corporations need to make informed decisions about giving

The author offers a prescription for linking businesses with causes and the nonprofits addressing critical issues in a way that will preserve or restore services and activities essential to our quality of life.

Introduction: Why More Corporations Are Giving Less v

1 Why Should a Business Give at All? 1

2 What’s the Right Amount to Give? 23

3 Who Decides What Gets Funded? 42

4 What’s the Right Role for the CEO? 58

5 Who Should Administer Company Donations? 77

6 Does a Company Need a Foundation? 91

7 Should a Company Donate Products or Services? 105

8 How Much Should a Company Donate for Dinners and Events? 131

9 Should a Company Fund the United Way, or Are There Better Alternatives? 143

10 How Should a Company Respond to a Disaster? 163

11 Can a Company Measure What Works? 187

12 How Should a Company Communicate Its Contributions Commitments? 206

13 What If a Company’s Profits Tank? 223

14 Conclusion: The Nun’s Tzedakah 234

Bibliography 241

About the Author 251

Businesses Index 253

Nonprofit Organizations Index 255

Subject Index 259

THE AUTHOR

Curt Weeden is president of the consulting firm Business and Nonprofit Strategies, Inc. and a popular writer and speaker on the topics of philanthropy and corporate social responsibility. He founded and served as CEO of the Association of Corporate Contributions Professionals, a national organization representing corporate contributions, community relations, and employee volunteer executives. Weeden is a former Johnson & Johnson vice president who managed that corporation's philanthropy program.

SMART GIVING IS GOOD BUSINESS

In this groundbreaking resource, Curt Weeden—a noted expert on corporate giving—shows how to strategically plan, manage, and evaluate corporate contributions so that giving not only serves society but also delivers a return to the companies doing so. Throughout the book, Weeden makes the case for corporate responsibility with a common sense approach that's relevant to any business.

Weeden addresses questions commonly asked by decision makers, explaining that there are thirteen hurdles that conspire to put a damper on a corporation's decision to give. Smart Giving provides clear answers explaining why a business should carve out a portion of its revenue and resources to assist causes and the nonprofits that support them. The book answers how much of a company's pretax profits should be used for such purposes and what conditions should be in place in order to justify the use of corporate resources for support of nonprofit organizations. It outlines the circumstances needed to ensure a corporation's philanthropy is properly aligned with its business purposes, and how to put in place a clear strategy and process of corporate giving. The book shows why CEOs and other senior executives should openly endorse smart giving that yields a beneficial ROI for society and the business itself. Weeden also describes how to provide competent oversight once a strategy is in place. These are the essential lynchpins that can make the difference between a lackluster, largely irrelevant giving program and a vibrant, meaningful venture.

Smart Giving Is Good Business offers a potent prescription for linking and aligning business to causes that, when served well, will preserve our essential quality of life.