Why Corporate Social Responsibility Makes a Difference

“Good Works = Good Business… Not only is it appropriate for the company to give back to the communities in which it operates, it is also smart business.” 

(Harvey Golub, Chairman and CEO of American Express)

Corporate Social Responsibility, commonly known as “CSR” is highly important to a business’ success because the way a business practices, is directly linked to the way it is perceived by its stakeholders including the largest stakeholder group - customers. 

Volkswagen in one of the world's largest examples of corporate fraud failed to uphold their own social responsibility charter. The company also cost itself $17 billion in fines and settlements for fraud, disregarding ethics and the environment in the process.

On the other end of the CSR spectrum is Fortescue Metals, an example of positive and meaningful corporate responsibility practices. Fortescue Metals has a number of CSR policies in place, notably their policy regarding Aboriginal employment. Fortescue recognises its responsibility to the Aboriginal communities it is a part of and works hard to preserve their heritage while employing and up-skilling members of the community.

Recently the founder and CEO of mycause, Tania Burstin, spoke at the Debit Success annual business conference about the necessity of corporate social responsibility for the success of a small to medium enterprise (SME).

Corporate social responsibility is an organisation’s responsibility to the social, environmental and economic impacts it has on its stakeholders and the wider communities it is a part of.

When talking about CSR, there are four key tenants -  Economic, Legal, Ethical, and Philanthropic.

Tania focused on the key tenant of philanthropy.

PHILANTHROPY

Company donations to charity, including cash, goods, and services, and fundraising.

1. Cause-related marketing

2. Cause promotions

3. Fundraising and Donations

Cause marketing is where you sell a product and donate part of the proceeds to charity. An example is the pink product campaigns for breast cancer

You could give a portion of your membership to diabetes Australia for example

Cause promotions are where a brand advocate for a cause like a chicken company advocating for animal rights or a vehicle manufacturer advocating for the environment

SME’s can fundraise for a charity or cause that they believe in by hosting events and starting crowdfunding campaigns to let their community know about their social responsibility. Sharing links to these campaigns on social media is important in order to spread the word. The more people who know about what the business is doing, the more help the charity or cause can receive. With this method of fundraising, businesses can manage their portfolios and get more donations with every campaign they run, learning and growing along the way to achieve better CSR policy.

Hope Horizons is a charity that has dedicated itself to helping those with cancer in their community. A fitness business, Complete Body created a fundraising event Hop On For Hope, to raise money for this local cancer charity.  This is the right cause for this business... and the right event. It's fitness based and the cause is local to them. With almost $2000 raised their effort is clearly positive for their stakeholders including the local community.

Fernwood Foundation is a charity started by the women’s gym of the same name to raise money and awareness for women experiencing mental health problems. The foundation holds events and fundraisers often for its cause. The Fernwood Yoga Day raised money for the cause whilst also holding true to the brand values of Fernwood Fitness,

Love Me Love You is a non-profit organisation started by an ex AFL footballer Lance Piccione, that strives to empower and build resilience in young adults so that they may overcome the stigma surrounding mental health and other life hardships.

Paramount Fitness sent all their staff along showing that it doesn’t have to be your own event - they sent all their staff and as many clients as wanted to go along

Fundraising is a must in order to achieve a positive impact on society as a whole while maximising the creation of shared value for the business, its employees and stakeholders. When corporate social responsibility is upheld, there is a run on effect which leads to a more successful business overall.

At mycause, we can help you and your business develop amazing philanthropic opportunities for your chosen charity.

Simply visit our mycause products hub for corporates and get started today.