Have you heard? Today is National Philanthropy Day! This day was created by the Association of Fundraising Professionals and aims to celebrate philanthropy, whether it be volunteering or charitable giving. While we are thrilled to celebrate philanthropy today, we believe in incorporating philanthropic efforts in the workplace year-round.
In fact, Weinstein’s Spira’s Human Resources Manager, Elizabeth Harkness, and Marketing Manager, Katie Butler, make it a priority to ensure team members are able to participate in volunteerism throughout the year. Below you’ll find Elizabeth and Katie’s five reasons why your business should engage in philanthropy year-round, as well.
1. Take care of the logistics, and they will come.
Most employees feel they should be or truly want to be volunteering, but finding the time and organization to volunteer with can be a hindrance. To combat this, Weinstein Spira sets everything up and makes it simple for everyone to participate. In order to encourage participation from your team, follow suit and take care of the administrative side of things, so it frees up team members to simply go out and give back, which is what they really want to be doing, after all.
Likewise, by encouraging your team to take part AND paying them to do so, you’ll see even more success engaging your employees in philanthropy.
2. Philanthropy breeds camaraderie.
Volunteering as a team provides unlimited opportunities for teambuilding and friendship. Often, while volunteering, team members get to work with people they wouldn’t normally work with and to see them in an environment that they wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to experience.
Furthermore, Elizabeth shares, “when you volunteer, everyone is the same.” She continues, “levels aren’t important, as it’s just about everyone pitching in for the greater good.”
3. Supporting what matters to them is good for employee buy-in and retention.
Katie takes pride in the fact that we give back in ways that are meaningful to our team members. She shares, “we support and find organizations that are important to our people, our clients, and the company as a whole.”
For instance, Weinstein Spira Shareholder, Brian Franklin, is a Goodwill Industries of Houston and Periwinkle Foundation board member. This year, we picked Goodwill to be part of our year-long giving back campaign. We make it a priority to support the organizations that are important to our team members.
Instead of finding one-off opportunities, support the organizations and causes that matter most to your internal team members or stakeholders. Developing your company’s philanthropic priorities based on their passions will result in increased buy-in and could mean top talent stays with you longer.
Taking it one step further, you can poll team members to find out which organizations they’d like to support moving forward. It was through one such poll that our team learned about Dress for Success Houston. We had two teams work at Dress For Success and some of our team members now volunteer on an ongoing basis.
4. Philanthropy provides the purpose team members crave in their careers.
With headline after headline reporting that millennials want purpose in their jobs, engaging in philanthropy in the office should be a no-brainer. Team members are looking for more than a 9-5 job; they want a bigger purpose. In knowing this, do more than just sponsor events. Instead, it’s important to truly create opportunities for team members to volunteer their time.
5. You provide a catalyst for even more philanthropy down the line.
When you give your internal team members the opportunity to volunteer, you’re also opening their eyes to how they can give back without your facilitation.
Providing opportunities to give back throughout the year creates a trickle-down effect that your business and your team members will benefit from for years to come. Happy beneficiaries and happy employees? What’s not to love?!
Weinstein Spira has been a part of Houston’s culture of caring for 55 years and we’re proud to give back to the community that has given us so much.
