October 12, 2022 /CSRwire/ - With economic uncertainty looming, companies may be considering recession preparation measures and discussing which investments will deliver enough impact to help solve their business challenges. At the same time, issues around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), workforce retention and employee disengagement continue to be at the forefront of CEOs’ minds (Gartner). This confluence of factors has created the need to double down on companies investment in their people and the issues they care about, while looking for new ways to drive efficiency, growth and differentiation.

This is where investments in corporate purpose, employee engagement and environmental, social and governance (ESG) become even more critical. In fact, during the Great Recession, the S&P 500 index declined by more than 35% while the stocks of diverse and inclusive companies increased by 14% (Great Place to Work). Doing the right thing is good for businesses and their people.

Read on to learn five ways that Benevity can drive higher revenue, more efficiency and healthier workplaces for organizations — even during challenging economic times.

1. Make businesses more efficient

Organizations may be operating with limited resources or budget cuts, yet the expectations are still high in terms of engaging their people and supporting their communities especially during these times. This can place even more strain on a small team juggling multiple demands and priorities.

HOW BENEVITY HELPS
Benevity helps teams work smarter, not harder. Benevity’s technology makes it easy and efficient to manage the administration of corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs by automating manual processes and streamlining workflows. With Benevity, CSR professionals can:

• Reduce the use of spreadsheets and ad hoc tools to manage volunteer sign-ups, match donations or report on impact.
• Centralize programs so they can be managed efficiently across regions, time zones, currencies and offices.
• Stop cutting manual checks — they can greatly increase errors, time and costs for both the company and the nonprofits. Instead, Benevity sends over 92% of funds electronically, at one-tenth of the cost of paper checks (Benevity).

75% of clients cited business efficiency as the number one benefit of using Benevity.

2. Retain and engage top talent

The percentage of workers voluntarily leaving their jobs has remained steady despite the pressures of an economic downturn. This has made it even more important to keep top talent engaged, connected and motivated. Doing so helps build a better place to work — and high employee engagement is a proven driver of greater profitability and productivity (Gallup).

HOW BENEVITY HELPS
Investing in purpose is really an investment in an organization’s people. Benevity’s technology is designed to drive engagement by giving people the power to support their own passions, all while being supported by their company. To engage employees, companies can:

• Help people act on the issues they care about through giving and volunteering. This has proven to boost engagement and even reduce turnover by 57% (Benevity Engagement Study).
• Show support by offering to match employee donations and reward them for volunteering. This can be an added benefit of a company’s total rewards program.
• Build connection and corporate culture through volunteering and employee resource groups (ERGs).

And the results? 75% of clients reported an increase in employee engagement since using Benevity (Benevity Client Survey 2022).

3. Help your business grow by building trust and loyalty

Investing in social impact is no longer a nice-to-have. It is a growing expectation of investors, customers and prospective employees. Without it, organizations stand to fall behind in the pursuit of top talent, profit and brand loyalty.

People are four times more likely to buy from a purpose-driven brand and 70% of consumers want brands to take a stand on social and political issues (Zeno). Internally, 65% of employees report they would like to work for organizations with a strong social and environmental conscience (Gartner).

HOW BENEVITY HELPS
Benevity helps organizations turn statements into sustainable and social action that will build trust in their brand and their business. Benevity gives organizations the tools to mobilize their employees and customers on the issues they care about and show their commitment to doing the right thing. With Benevity, companies can:

• Easily activate employees and customers by creating giving campaigns in a matter of hours or days to provide aid during social and humanitarian crises.
• Get access to Benevity’s world-leading disbursement platform, ensuring that payments get to nonprofits with nearly 100% reliability, accuracy and efficiency.
• Make impactful corporate grants that build stronger nonprofit relationships, improve brand loyalty, and prove to all stakeholders that they’re committed to more than the bottom line.

84% of clients said Benevity helps them be a force for positive change in the world and 60% said Benevity helps create an attractive employer brand (Benevity Client Survey 2022).

4. Build a diverse & inclusive workplace

During times of economic uncertainty, DEI efforts may be affected. Yet it's more important than ever considering that, in 2021, more than half of people who quit their jobs left because they didn't feel a sense of belonging (McKinsey). And diverse groups are disproportionately impacted during economic and social crises (McKinsey).

Supporting ERGs to help advance an organization’s DEI efforts will lead to higher employee engagement and a more inclusive culture.

HOW BENEVITY HELPS
Benevity helps organizations manage and scale their DEI programs from the bottom up, so they can create a more engaged workforce and foster a culture of diversity, inclusion and belonging.

Benevity’s dedicated inclusion product, Benevity Affinity Groups, helps companies scale, manage and track their ERGs in a single platform that is filled with interactive content, rich discussions, and tools to deepen engagement and connection.

77% of clients said Benevity helped them build a stronger, more connected culture (Benevity Client Survey 2022).

5. Take swift action with turnkey resources and support

The world’s unstable social climate and growing polarization has led to fast-changing crises and pressing social issues — and businesses are increasingly expected to take action. But with limited resources and small teams, many leaders struggle to act fast. What can be done?

HOW BENEVITY HELPS
When the next crisis hits, Benevity can ensure organizations are prepared to step up and take action. Benevity’s team can support organizations with program design, recommended nonprofit partners, content and plug-and-play campaign kits. That’s why 85% of clients said Benevity makes it easy to respond to climate and humanitarian crises (Benevity Client Survey 2022). Here’s what’s possible:

• Efficiently mobilize support in hours or days with Benevity’s easy-to-use technology, recommended causes and turnkey content kits.
• Minimize risk with vetted nonprofits (and know they are in good standing, based on local requirements).
• Access 900+ peers in Benevity's client community to share best practices and ideas with top brands.

Bonus: Make the most of a CSR program with real-time reporting

Can organizations easily quantify the impact of their giving, volunteering and granting initiatives? Having access to this data will help organizations understand their achievements and set benchmarks. Reporting on impact can help build a case for executives and quantify investment in CSR with tangible metrics. Plus, it provides key insights on recruitment, retention and diversity.

HOW BENEVITY HELPS
Benevity offers the industry’s most comprehensive reporting to make it easy to track donations, corporate matching budgets and program performance. Organizations can make strategic decisions about their programs on the fly, and report on their impact to senior stakeholders. With standardized, real-time reports out of the box, companies can:

• Benchmark against other companies, so they can see how their program stacks up and gain insights to inform their program strategy.
• Identify how their employees are giving within the program and determine what key cause areas are most important to their team.
• Access industry-leading research, insights, and content to track trends in the corporate purpose space and inform their program growth.

Benevity helps organizations create impact everywhere they operate, with software available in 22 languages, access to nearly two million vetted nonprofits worldwide and global, best-in-class support.

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Benevity

Benevity

Benevity, a certified B Corporation, is the leader in global corporate purpose software, providing the only integrated suite of community investment and employee, customer and nonprofit engagement solutions. Recognized as one of Fortune’s Impact 20, Benevity offers cloud solutions that power purpose for many iconic brands in ways that better attract, retain and engage today’s diverse workforce, embed social action into their customer experiences and positively impact their communities. With software that is available in 22 languages, Benevity has processed more than $12 billion in donations and 58 million hours of volunteering time to support 418,000 nonprofits worldwide. The company’s solutions have also facilitated 900,000 micro-actions and awarded 1.2 million grants worth $18 billion. For more information, visit benevity.com.

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