Welcome to 2016 – I hope you have had a fantastic start to the new year. I am very excited to announce that one of my priorities this new year is building the NZ Businesses Giving Back online community which I am launching today!
The goals for the NZ Businesses Giving Back community include:
- Support, promote and celebrate businesses big and small throughout our country making a difference in their own way
- Educate consumers that by researching who we do business with we can positively impact more lives in one transaction when purchasing from businesses that give back
- Encourage and inspire businesses without a focus on giving to rethink their current situation
- Highlight causes, charities, social enterprises etc doing great work and needing help spreading the word about their projects
- Share articles, blog posts etc related to philanthropy in New Zealand
Here are a few important points and statistics I wanted to share with you as we head into a new year:
- New Zealand businesses contributed just 3 per cent of all charitable giving in 2014, about $77 million, which was 22 per cent less than they gave in 2011 when businesses were generous in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes.
- Nearly one-third of all New Zealand children (approx 300,000) are living in poverty and more than half of those will never escape it.
- Nielsen’s 2014 Global Survey on Corporate Social Responsibility shows that 55 percent of global online consumers across 60 countries are willing to pay more for products and services from companies that are committed to positive social and environmental impact.
- According to CECP’s Giving in Numbers Brief 2015 companies across America with the strongest growth in giving for community-related programs also had the strongest financial growth
- “Snapshot 2015: The New Corporate DNA—Where Employee Engagement and Social Impact Converge,” reflects upon the evolution of employee volunteering from a small, isolated outpost of the employee experience to one that has become a central component of employee engagement – a development the report sees as a “dramatic shift” in just two years. As companies have begun to recognize that giving back is not an optional perk for employees but an expected cornerstone of every company’s DNA, employers are substantially integrating this ideology into their corporate goals and messaging. (excerpt taken from Forbes article 6 Major Shifts In Corporate Philanthropy, New Report Finds)
I regularly hear from small business owners that their tight margins don’t allow enough profit to be able to donate to charities etc. My response to this way of thinking is that all businesses can contribute and it doesn’t need to be a monetary donation. Consider giving time, products or resources. As a small business Biz Support Solutions gives to one charity – The Life Flight Trust, and we created a product that gives back. We are donating 20% of the purchase price from our ebook Connect. Engage. Grow. to The Global Women’s Project. Their goal is to support 200 mothers and their newborns in Nepal displaced by the devasting 2015 earthquakes over the coming year. This will cost approximately AU$200,00o.
I will also be writing regular blog posts and email newsletters throughout 2016 to share our journey with you. If you would like to support our community please like our Facebook page (which also has an email newsletter sign up prompt). Please spread the word about our Facebook page and blog posts. By working together we can make a difference – in our own country and far beyond!
Avelyn
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