A Very Corporate Christmas: Philanthropy & Business During the Holidays

At the close of the fourth quarter, corporate America is wrapping up its philanthropy for the year. Increasingly, philanthropic activities are extending beyond the company’s foundation or corporate contributions program to its employees and consumers. The holiday season presents the perfect opportunity for businesses to engage the generosity of their patrons and employees, and it may not be all that bad for their own images. 

This reality is particularly true for retailers, who make anywhere from 20 – 40% of their annual revenue during the November and December holiday season.  And consumers are progressively more aware of, and interested in, the corporate image of the stores they patronize.  According to a holiday season survey conducted by Cone, Inc. in 2005, more than half of consumer respondents indicated that they planned to purchase a product affiliated with a cause or charity, or buy from a retailer that supports a cause.

Not surprisingly, businesses that directly target consumers are taking notice of this trend.  In recent years there has been a significant increase in the number of companies aligning themselves with a cause or initiative during the holidays.  This is true for both affordable and luxury markets.  From a portion of proceeds from conventional products, including select toys sold at IKEA going to support UNICEF and Save the Children, to lavish auction items whose entire value will be donated to a selected charity, retailers are engaging their customers through cause marketing efforts this season.  Bloomingdale’s, for example, is teaming up with Swiss International Airlines, Leading Hotels of the World, and multiple designers to auction off unique vacation experiences to the highest bidder.  Minimum bids for every package start at or above $25,000, with all proceeds going to benefit AmeriCares. When the auction closed in early December, the seven items up for bid garnered a total of more than $200,000.

Spread that Holiday Cheer - and Get Some In Return

Christmas – time for family, friends, eggnog, gifts, shopping, crowds, lines, credit card bills, no parking spaces….wait, that’s not what Christmas is all about!

Unfortunately, the holiday season in our culture has become less about giving and more about braving crowded shopping malls and maxing our credit lines, just so we can prove our love those close to us.   Psychologists have found that the holiday season is actually a highly stressful time, leaving people tired, anxious, and irritable under the pressures of family, shopping, finances, cooking – the list just goes on and on.

The true spirit of giving has in some ways become obsolete.  So what are we to do? Well, there is always more eggnog, but I think the best choice is to spread the holiday cheer; what better way to do this than by donating to holiday-themed charitable causes?

There are many from which to choose this season.  The most well-known include the Make a Wish Foundation or Toys for Tots.  But don’t overlook lesser-known organizations, such as Angel Tree, which provides gifts to the children and families of prisoners in the name of their incarcerated parent, or Secret Santa, which is an online database that lets you search for toy drives in your area.

One holiday charity that I feel particularly embodies the spirit of the holiday season is Operation Christmas Child. Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, a faith-based international relief organization that provides emergency assistance to victims of natural disaster, war, disease, and famine.  Operating since 1970, Samaritan’s Purse is an exceptional example of fundraising and operational success.  Ranking 57th on the Forbes 200 Largest Charities list, Samaritan’s Purse has increased its fundraising income by more than 150% since 1998.  This threefold increase, now totaling $230 million a year in support, is raised from seven regional offices throughout North America, Oceana, and Europe. With these funds, Samaritan’s Purse provides medical aid, child health, HIV/AIDS programs, community development, and emergency relief to 130 nations. 

Holiday Giving Online: Goodwill and Good Cents

Julie is absolutely right, “The giving season is upon us again!” This begs the question: what makes individuals so much more generous during the month of December?  There is no denying that there is something magical about this time of year that makes people reach into their pockets.  Small acts of giving occur all around with very little expectation of a financial benefit to the giver. Dropping change in a red bucket for the Salvation Army, buying a few gifts for a local toy drive, and volunteering at a soup kitchen are all examples of the goodwill of the season. However, potential financial benefits can abound as well! As individuals meet with their accountants or financial advisers for the final time of the year, added incentives like write-offs and tax breaks may be at the root of this holiday cheer.

Regardless of which aspect is more influential, combined these factors can account for most of the aforementioned increase in giving. With this in mind, organizations must tailor their appeals to reach both the benevolent and the business side in each person. Traditional appeals like direct mail and telethons are customary to the season; however, these campaigns force organizations to make decisions about the focus and message of the appeal. While many organizations have become very good at targeting an audience and creating successful campaigns, it is impossible for them to reach every potential donor with an individualized message.

The December Giving Bonanza

The giving season is upon us again! According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal,  Americans give away “a third of the quarter-trillion dollars we give away each year” during the month of December. Now more than ever charitable organizations are recognizing this trend, and offering socially-conscious individuals a way to further extend their year-end generosity. From making a donation to a holiday campaign to purchasing a product which donates proceeds to an organization, charitable organizations have greatly expanded upon holiday giving capacities. Through online promotions and giving opportunities it is now easier than ever to give the gift of change this holiday season. Now, it is up to the organization to find how to best appeal to new constituencies and strengthen ties with donors.

Some organizations bring attention to their causes through a year-end campaign. For example, Christian Blind Mission International (CBMI) is doing a 100,000 Miracles campaign. The goal of the campaign is to raise enough funds to complete 100,000 sight restoring surgeries to those suffering from preventable blindness. The campaign kicked off in August of this year and culminates in December. Effectiveness of the campaign may not only be attributed to easy online access, but also the low cost. For as little as $35, one can give the miracle of sight. In addition to the 100,000 Miracles campaign, CBMI also offers a charitable gift catalogue, one of the most accessible and effective tools utilized to generate year-end giving.

December: End of Year Philanthropy

At the end of October, we marked a milestone in the life of FLiP. For the first of what we hope will be many times, FLiP brought together a group of readers - young fundraisers and grantmakers - at the Summit onPhilanthropy.

The Summit onPhilanthropy is organized by our parent philanthropy news site onphilanthropy.com. This annual invitation-only conference gathers approximately 200 of the philanthropic sector’s leading CEOs and other executives. This year FLiP was given the opportunity to extend five “scholarships” to FLiP readers. After the conference was over, the five FLiPs in attendance met with our editorial team to talk about the future of FLiP.

As many of you know (because I say it every month), the founding goal of FLiP was two-fold. The first purpose was to create an outreach program to encourage students in college and grad school to work in the philanthropic sector, and the second was to build a community and a network for young fundraisers and grantmakers.