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2024 Trends in Corporate Philanthropy: What to Look Out For
Corporate philanthropy plays a pivotal role in supporting nonprofits’ revenue-generation efforts—and contributing to overall growth and impact. As the corporate giving landscape continues to evolve, it’s essential for fundraisers like yourself to both understand the current state of nonprofit-corporate relations and anticipate upcoming developments.
Thus, organizations must stay informed regarding emerging trends in the philanthropic sector.
This article will walk through key findings from recent corporate giving research and explore how these insights can impact your own nonprofit’s corporate engagements.
Staying attuned to evolving trends in corporate philanthropy is imperative for any cause striving to maximize its funding channels. In doing so, your team can strategically position itself to maximize your impact and foster meaningful partnerships with businesses committed to making a difference.
An Overview of the Current Trends in Corporate Philanthropy
In recent years, corporate giving has become one of the most prominent sources of nonprofit support. According to recent studies from Double the Donation, companies donate between $20 and $26 billion in charitable funds each year.
This figure continues to grow, too, as employees and consumers demand increasing social responsibility from the businesses at which they work and shop. The percentage of total corporate giving climbed steadily from 2022 to 2023 (an estimated 4% to 6%), as well as from 2021 to 2022. And 6 out of 10 companies reported giving increases of more than 15%!
When asked, the most commonly cited reasons for companies’ growing giving budgets included:
- An enhanced focus on strategic programming
- Adjustments in employee-directed philanthropy (i.e., workplace giving programs)
- Expansion beyond geographic borders into international giving
- Other changes in the business
And in terms of nonprofits that benefit from these giving programs, the health, social services, and education verticals continue to lead the way. However, organizations working in disaster relief saw the most significant increase in corporate philanthropy funds.
Each year, a significant portion of corporate funding is contributed through employee donation-matching, too, coming in at approximately $2 to $3 billion. However, an additional $4 to $7 billion in available matching gift revenue goes unclaimed annually, mainly due to a lack of awareness.
Upcoming Corporate Giving Trends to Expect This Year
As we head into 2024, we’re anticipating trends that signify a shift toward more tactical, tech-savvy, and socially conscious efforts that benefit both the companies contributing and the nonprofits receiving support.
These include:
New and Expanding Workplace Giving Programs
According to Nonprofits Source’s research on trends in corporate philanthropy, workplace giving is on the rise. In fact, an estimated $5 billion is donated through employee giving programs each year, with 39% of companies planning to grow their workplace philanthropy in the next two years.
In other words, the importance of employee involvement in corporate giving is growing. This is leading many companies to prioritize philanthropic giving programs that directly engage their workforce rather than other, more hands-off forms of giving. It also means that a company’s employees can be some of your most valuable assets—especially when they already support your organization.
Keep in mind that there are a few forms of workplace-giving programs you’ll want to consider:
- First, where only the employee contributes funds to charitable causes (for example, automatic payroll deduction programs)
- Second, where only the company contributes funds (for example, charitable giving stipends), though the employee plays a role in selecting the cause
- Lastly, where both the employee and the employer give charitably, ultimately resulting in twice the support (for example, matching gifts!)
We recommend tailoring your strategy to focus primarily on the final category for maximum impact. However, a well-rounded fundraising strategy will allow your team to benefit from all three.
More Proactive Strategy Execution By Nonprofit Fundraisers
Nonprofits are no longer willing to sit back and wait for corporate philanthropy avenues—like matching gifts and more—to come to them. Instead, fundraisers actively seek the most impactful opportunities to engage with companies and pitch potential partnerships. And when it comes to employee-directed giving, nonprofits are taking a proactive approach to informing their donors about how they can get involved!
This might include:
- Mentioning matching gift potential within fundraising appeals
- Collecting donor employment data within the giving process
- Integrating matching gift opportunities throughout donor communications
- Providing tailored information regarding matching gift eligibility and submission instructions
- And more!
Meanwhile, investments into innovative software can also play a key role in identifying and following up on corporate giving opportunities within your network. And groundbreaking technology like matching gift auto-submission is expected to grow matching gift funds for nonprofits by an additional 80%!
Increasingly Personal Nonprofit-Corporate Partnerships
Whereas the corporate philanthropy landscape in the past may have extended only as far as a company sending a check in the mail, today, nonprofits and companies each benefit from forming more personal relationships with their partners.
One example of this is custom matching gift programs. These initiatives—which involve a specific company incentivizing its staff to support a particular cause by amplifying their donations—establish an intimate connection that positively impacts both parties.
We also encourage organizations to leverage their donors’ corporate connections in order to effectively grasp prospective partners’ attention. For example, if you know that Donor A works for Company B, asking Donor A to make a warm introduction on behalf of your team can add a personal touch to your partnership proposal. The donor might even be willing to advocate for such a partnership between your organization and their employer, immediately demonstrating the value of a partnership and allowing your team to get its foot in the door.
Heightened Opportunities for Corporate Volunteerism
Corporate giving isn’t just about dollars, either. Volunteerism is a critical aspect of many companies’ philanthropic initiatives, with this being a hands-on way for businesses and their employees to get involved with nonprofit causes.
This includes:
- Team volunteer events (i.e., a company gathers a group of staff to volunteer with a nonprofit organization at a specific date and time)
- Volunteer grants (an employee volunteers on their own time and requests corresponding grant funding from their employer on the organization’s behalf)
- Paid Volunteer Time Off (employees are offered additional PTO during which they volunteer within the nonprofit sector)
- Virtual volunteer opportunities (employees remotely participate in a charitable activity or program)
Corporate volunteerism continues to expand, too, encompassing various new forms and programs every day. And the companies that participate are able to foster a sense of purpose, community, and shared values among their employees and the causes they support.
Conclusion
The better you understand the corporate giving landscape, the better you can prepare your team for the opportunity as it evolves. Considering it’s a continuously growing, multi-billion-dollar industry, it’s something you do not want your cause to miss out on. As a result, becoming familiar with ongoing and expected trends in corporate philanthropy is a must. This not only enhances your fundraising success but strengthens the impact of your organization on the causes you champion.
Don’t overlook the importance of investing in the right tools and resources to power your efforts accordingly, either! The right technology can streamline operations and maximize your effectiveness in engaging with corporate partners in a myriad of ways. And for that, consider Keela’s seamless integration with the leading corporate matching gift software provider, Double the Donation.
Learn more about how you can easily manage and track your corporate giving initiatives with the help of Keela!
See how you can use Keela to accept and manage donations, track your fundraising progress in real-time, and more!
