Benevity - Enabling Corporate Social Responsibility

The importance of CSR is increasing in the minds of CEOs. When asked to indicate how high a priority CSR was to their companies, 56% stated it was high or very high, compared to only 34% three years ago. The expectation of respondents is for even greater priority in the future: 69% of surveyed CEOs project that it will be a high or very high priority three years from now.

Global Business Barometer, survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit on behalf of the Economist, online survey conducted Nov-Dec 2007

That American Express began the first “embedded giving” campaign in 1983, for the Statue of Liberty restoration project. By donating a penny to the project for every cardholder purchase, the company raised $1.7 million. (Incidentally, American Express card use increased 27%, and card applications rose 45%).

Based on a McKinsey study of corporate executives from around the world, 84% believe that society expects a much more active role in environmental, social and political issues than it did five years ago.

When asked about barriers to supporting charities and non-profits, the top reasons cited included not being asked, not liking the way donation requests were being made, and not knowing how to give.

Corporate Social Responsibility Review Autumn 2007, The Conference Board of Canada.

Implementing the Benevity platform can improve a company's ability to attract and retain key employees. Talented personnel weigh a company's CSR policies among other factors when deciding where to work, and how long to stay there. In recent surveys of corporate employees, a consistent 8 out of 10 report being more motivated and loyal the more socially responsible a company becomes.

Corporate Social Responsibility Review, The Conference Board of Canada, Autumn 2007.

Making Benevity a part of your coherent responsible business strategy will improve your reputation in the marketplace. A Globescan study that asked respondents in 1999 and again in 2005 about the factors most influencing their impressions of companies, showed that in the latter year consumers were much more likely to volunteer corporate social responsibility factors, putting these factors well ahead of brand image.

Integrating Benevity's functionality into your systems can protect against future reputational incidents. A Weber Shandwick survey of CEOs in eleven countries found that 79% of respondents thought a strong corporate social responsibility record enables a company to recover faster post-crisis.

Weaving Benevity into your customer-facing processes can increase sales, market share and customer loyalty. A 2006 study by the Calvert Group said consumers were 77% more likely to buy a product or service from a company that is socially responsible, and 71% more likely to buy the stock of such a company. A 2006 poll by Cone Inc., a marketing agency in Boston, reported 89% of Americans between 13 and 25 would switch from one brand to another associated with a "good cause", if products and prices were comparable.

Traditionally, charities have relied on a small support base to survive. The top one-quarter of donors provided 82% of the value of all donations and the top 10% accounted for 62% of all donations.

Caring Canadians, Involved Canadians: Highlights from the 2004 Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating, Statistics Canada, June 2006).

Individuals are a huge part of the philanthropic puzzle. Of the $300 Billion given to non-profits in the U.S. in 2007, only 5.1% came from corporations and their Foundations. Canada's percentages are comparable.

Analysis conducted by "Giving USA", 2007.

Online is the place people want to be: Although still less than 3% of total giving, online giving is growing exponentially; from $250 million in 2000 to more than $6.9 Billion in 2006

e-Philanthropy Report

Online donors contribute more: They give in total (both online and offline) more than 50% more than donors who do not give online

Kinterra/Luth Nonprofit Trend Report.

Easy = Effective: In the January 2008 Keystone Report of online philanthropy markets, 92% of respondents cited convenience as the reason they choose to give online.

Matching programs increase total donations: The existence of a matching gift increases total donation response rates by more than 20%

Analysis conducted by Giving USA, 2007.