Consider why

What is the motivation for entering the sector? Here some honest conversations are needed. Is it a marketing exercise for the business? If it is to build a presence to offset profit or potential poor performance in another area, that needs to be put on the table. If an individual is looking to gain a position on the charity board to improve their chances of obtaining a paid position on a commercial board in the future, that too needs to be honestly discussed.

Without the clarity gained from answering the why question, the only way their needs will be met is by accident. If an individual is looking at a place on a charity board as a stepping stone, there will be opportunities that allow for that in a start-up charity that can't offer the compensation that an established charity can. The emerging director may find that the greatest impact they can make in a short period of time, thus meeting their needs, is with such a start-up. Without the clarity on why, finding the right fit may prove difficult.

Define the strategy

Once the question why has been answered, then it becomes possible to build a strategy and allow a team to move forward to execute it. In chapter 12 I look at the decision-making process you might go through in aligning yourself with the right charity partner. Whether as a director or executive or as a corporate charity partner, defining your guiding principles will allow you to filter who it is you want to work with.

Among the biggest things to get right and invest the time in are the two Cs of culture and capacity. These are important considerations from both sides of the equation. The charity that is supporting the rights of women and children in developing countries doesn't want to find that its business partner, through a third party relationship, is involved in the use of child labour in the manufacture of a component it is selling. In the same way, the business doesn't want to find that the charity they thought was selling the dream of clean water for all is syphoning off 80 per cent of its revenue to support a religious agenda. There's nothing wrong with pursuing one's religion, but the business partner should have clarity around that and be able to make an informed decision. It's about full disclosure and ensuring there is a cultural fit between all parties, and for that due diligence is required.

The second C to get clear on is capacity. Many decisions made around charity are based on emotion. A desire to ‘feed the soul’ or ‘make a difference’ lies behind the compulsion to act. I have witnessed many organisations and individuals make commitments based on emotion rather than logic. However, once the emotion is gone, or at the very least is tempered by time and experience, then the capacity they imagined they had to give shrinks. That capacity may be on an organisational level around money or resources or on an individual level around time. Beware of the new volunteer who promises you the world, because often their capacity doesn't go anywhere near matching their intent.

Consider your give

In most cases, what you bring to the table as a business partner and what you could potentially bring to the table are two very different things. Often it starts out with a contribution of money, and as the relationship progresses over time, the opportunity to give more but in different currencies emerges. If we can clarify the potential and realise the true value of what we bring to the table, the relationship can profit from the very beginning.

It's not just about the money, and sometimes it's not about the money at all. The case study of the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit in Bangkok offers a classic example of a company that built a unique offering for their clients that allowed them to give via the hotel to those in need. No money was exchanged between any of the parties involved, yet it remains one of the best programs I have built for a corporate.

The Sheraton Grande mentoring program serves as an example of the types of investment that can be made within the social sector when there is a real desire, commitment and willingness to go beyond what everyone else is doing in just donating money.

Part of the program's magic lies in its simplicity and the fact that it didn't rely on the usual injection of money from the corporate to the charity partner. It challenges the mindset of what CSR is and is a great example of the concept of shared value. It's what doing good by doing good is all about.

Donations

The lifeblood of all charities is money. Donations can take a number of different forms. The easiest transaction is the large one-off donation that involves little more than the shaking of hands and sharing of cake at a cheque-handover ceremony in front of the corporate logo. But although they may be transactionally the simplest, they are also likely to be the least engaging for all involved. When a member of the leadership team hands over a cheque that represents a portion of that company's net profits, who feels good about it and who gets to share in the experience? There will be a photo in the company newsletter or on the intranet, but few get to share directly in the experience; and if the money has come from company profits few in the business will really care.

If the donation is the result of matched dollar-for-dollar programs in which the staff contribute money and the company matches those donations, then the level of engagement will increase somewhat as the staff have some skin in the game and consequently become interested to some degree.

Workplace giving

This takes the form of salary deductions, with small amounts deducted from the employee according to the frequency of their pay cycle — weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Usually it is a scheme that the employee will sign up to when they join the organisation and are going through induction. For example, they will be handed their security pass, locker key, social club deduction form and workplace giving form. The employee will often sign the form (because who wants to be seen as a tight-arse on their first day?) without any real connection to the charity they have just signed up to support.

This form of fundraising is a bit like the dollar that is added to the bill when you check out of the hotel. Not a lot of emotional attachment and little opportunity to understand where the money is going or the difference it is making. Such a scheme is most valuable when the company is large and the dollars are spread over a small number of charities. Significant money can certainly be raised, but it requires the numbers for efficiency. The flip side of the benefits from larger organisations and larger funds raised is that the message becomes more generic and it's harder to reach everyone or for them to feel as though they are really making a difference. The thing to remember is they might be small drops in the ocean, but the ocean is made up of lots of small drops.

Fundraising events

This is where we start to move towards a more engaged model and to introduce the experiences. The types of events that can be held to raise money for the charity of choice really are limited only by imagination and desire. They can be small business units within large organisations, or the entire company may choose to get on board. Here are some examples of how easy it is to contribute and bring an experience into the workplace:

• Red Nose Day was one of the first campaigns to invite the general public to get on board. Held annually on the last Friday in June, it is the major fundraiser for SIDS and Kids. Funds raised through Red Nose Day activities assist the charity in providing vital services and programs to the Australian community. SIDS and Kids is dedicated to saving the lives of babies and children during pregnancy, birth, infancy and childhood, and to supporting bereaved families.
• Jeans for Genes Day is a national day when people wear jeans and contribute funds for research into birth defects and diseases such as cancer, epilepsy and a range of genetic disorders. On the first Friday in August each year workplaces, schools and streets become a sea of denim. Money raised on the day helps scientists at the Children's Medical Research Institute discover treatments and cures for childhood disease.
• The Leukaemia Foundation World's Greatest Shave invites everyone to shave or colour their hair for a good cause. The campaign raises about half the money the Leukaemia Foundation needs to fund its important research work and support of people with blood cancer.
• Australia's Biggest Morning Tea is an initiative that invites people to come together for morning tea during the months of May and June to raise money for cancer research. It's an easy one for business groups to pull off, because who doesn't stop for a cup of tea a couple of times a day? And if you don't, it's a great reason to start.

These four national events are examples of really low-effort interaction. Open to all without any barriers based on age, fitness, race or religion, they have been designed as campaigns that will have the greatest reach. The morning tea campaign run by the Cancer Council stretches over two months! Red Nose Day had massive participation in the early years, but here as elsewhere members of the public have shown they will move their support based not on the worth of the cause, but on the level of interaction and engagement they personally experience.

Each of the initiatives invites a team, work unit or business to contribute, and each is aimed at raising awareness of the issue in addition to money. In terms of engagement, the value of these days is greater than the workplace-giving model because they bring people together to share an experience and give them something new to talk about. The fundraising component will be limited to the time around the event.

For organisations looking to step the experience up a notch there are opportunities to take on something bigger, whether in the scale of the event, the fundraising attached to the event, or the level of involvement. Single-day events and multi-day events are increasingly popular. The multi-day events require a much greater level of commitment; in the main they are exclusionary based on ability or fitness, but they raise thousands more per entrant and the level of experience can be massive.

A wide variety of entry-level walks, runs, swims and rides take place across the country throughout the year, offering endless opportunities as fundraising events.

• The MS Society started the Sydney to the Gong Bike Ride 33 years ago, inviting people to ride from Sydney to Wollongong in aid of research and support for those suffering from multiple sclerosis. There are now two rides run in conjunction with each other, offering 55 km and 85 km alternatives.
• The Ride to Conquer Cancer, a two-day, 200 km ride held in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth, steps up the commitment and entry level for riders above that of the Gong Ride. Each ride supports a medical facility or research centre in their respective state.
• Oxfam Trailwalker is an event held across the country in which teams of four walk 100 kilometres through bushland in 48 hours. Each team is required to raise a minimum of $1400. The number of teams ranges from 800 in Melbourne to 550 in Sydney, 450 in Perth and 400 in Brisbane. The events, which sell out each year, require a huge level of commitment and physical endurance.

The increasing popularity of bike riding has seen the rise of long-distance bike rides such as the Tour de Cure, Chain Reaction and Hands Across the Water rides.

• The Hands ride covers 800 kilometres in eight days with a minimum fundraising entry level of $10 000 per ride. It is a very different ride from the Tour de Cure or the Chain Reaction ride, offering entry to those who are not accomplished riders. I like to call it a tour with a challenge. The Hands ride offers sufficient challenge to appeal to those who ride often but is achievable by those who are just returning to cycling, many for the first time since they got their driver's licence.
• The Chain Reaction ride is billed as the ‘Ultimate Corporate Bike Challenge’. It is not a mass participation event and individuals can't sign up on their own. There is a significant buy-in cost for the teams, who ride 1000 kilometres over seven days.
• The Tour de Cure ride is based on a similar model, covering a similar distance, with $10 000 per ride minimum fundraising, but it is open to individual riders.

As the entry level rises for these events, so too does the levels of experience, engagement and funds raised. The harder they are to participate in, the more exclusive they become. Chain Reaction relies on strict entry criteria as a drawcard to corporates who see the advantage of this model.

What is interesting, though, is when you start to consider the funds raised per campaign. When you look at similar-sized organisations, output in running the events and reach, there isn't a lot of difference. For an event such as Australia's Biggest Morning Tea, huge numbers participate across Australia, exceeding 35 000 during the last tea-break; and more than $12 million is raised. Break that down to state level and it is comparable to the money raised by the state rides conducted by Chain Reaction, but they will have about forty riders on the road.

Figure 2.1 shows the correlation between the number of participants and the entry requirements against the money raised per campaign. The higher the number of participants, the lower the entry requirements. Jeans for Genes Day and Australia's Biggest Morning Tea have very high participation rates with little to no entry criteria. Conversely, the Hands and Chain Reaction rides have very high entry requirements and low participation rates. But across the various campaigns there is not a major differentiation between the dollars raised.

From an engagement point of view, forgetting for a minute the money raised, which campaign is more likely to bring benefits to the business — the morning tea, which will touch many over a very short period of time, or the rides, which touch a few in a deeply engaging way? The morning tea reaches far more people but their experience is short-lived and, it's probably fair to say, not life-changing for those participating. The long-distance bike rides take a 12-month commitment by the riders in fundraising, training and time. Many of them will achieve ‘firsts’ during the ride. They will be fitter and healthier for the experience and you can't participate in such a gruelling, week-long event and not be changed. But the change, although very deep for each rider, is restricted in large part to the riders.

As to which is likely to bring more benefits to the business, each campaign has its place in helping the corporate engage with the community and their charity partners. Each will appeal to a very different market, and all these considerations must be taken into account when planning the strategy for engagement. What is clear is that when it comes to involvement there is an option to suit everyone.

If corporate donations, or corporate philanthropy, are seen as the traditional way of supporting charity, sitting next to that are the companies who allow their staff to take a day's leave to volunteer with their charity of choice. This can be effective but unless it is engineered appropriately, it is a waste of time for the charity partner you are hoping to support. There are two ways in which this can play out positively. A staff member is already actively engaged with a charity in their own time and the company allows them a day off a year to continue that support. Is it making a big difference to that employee? I'd suggest not, as they were going to spend the time with the charity anyway — their track record has shown that. Now they just get to do it one day a year on company time.

The other way it can work well is when the resources are pulled together and there is a slight twist to the day. The Jellis Craig Group, a leading real estate network in Victoria, does this particularly well by visiting the Red Cross to donate blood as a company. Clearly it doesn't take a full day to do this, but what it does is allow the staff who participate a way of making a valuable contribution of their time.

The volunteer day goes a little astray, in my view, when the company gives someone time off to volunteer with a charity for a single day rather than as part of an ongoing commitment. Consider the productivity of someone stepping into your business for just one day. You take them through the induction, show them a video of what you do and what you stand for and then … what? The real risk is they become a burden to the charity, their personal experience is not an engaging or rewarding one, and the experience is quite negative for all involved. Once again there needs to be proper planning and purpose, otherwise you may as well give the staff a ‘beach day’ and call it what it is — just another day out of the office.

What about when you bring the resources together? When you have an organisation that has a workforce of more than 250 people you can start to leverage your volunteer days in a more effective way. Rather than every staff member taking their one annual day off, how about if those days were pooled and through a reward and recognition program a number of the team could take off one day per week to work with a charity partner who is part of the company's CSR program? If you had 50 staff donate their one day off and one of their team was able to combine those days, then you start to talk leverage. Now you have the same team member turning up to the same charity partner once a week for a year. Now there is real value for the charity partner and a meaningful opportunity for the volunteer. With a workforce of 250 plus, you can effectively do this across four charity partners, and now we are talking real change. What is the cost to the business? Well, it's the same as giving everyone in the business one day off — you are simply combining those days.

The other variation on volunteer days is to bring the team together for a combined purpose. Again this needs structure and respect. You may be a great accountant, salesperson or lawyer, but those skills won't qualify you to build houses for people in need. Would you be happy to have your home built by hairdressers or accountants? These types of programs need to delineate clearly between ability and ambition. But get them right and they can be the most amazing experiences you can have as a group.