Businesses are beginning to understand that they need to have a corporate mission and a philanthropy to compete in today’s world. In addition to solving an immediate problem, younger generations insist that the companies they choose play a role in helping better the world in some way. And having a giving philosophy helps motivate employees to bond behind a shared cause.
When deciding which philanthropy or philanthropies your company will support, however, there is a right way and a wrong way to proceed. One of the most important factors to keep in mind is ensuring that your giving program supports your overall brand.
SignUpGenius.com offers 20 Tips for Establishing a Corporate Giving Program. My takeaways for ActionCOACH are:
1) Start at the beginning – when you create your company, determine what the mission of your company will be. This will help embed your core values into every decision that your company makes. For ActionCOACH at large, that vision includes alleviating world abundance. The mission incorporates the 14 points of culture.
2) Go local AND think globally – if your company sells services or products locally, then by all means make sure your giving program benefits your local community. If you have a national or international customer base, on the other hand, then a national or international charity might be more appropriate. Many coaches focus on their local or regional market, while sharing the vision of world abundance. With a nonprofit like ActionCOACH Foundation, you can get free training for a school or other group in your community AND help provide financial support for worldwide endeavors.
3) Avoid mission creep – if someone in the company has a pet project, good for them. Encourage them to pursue it personally. It should only be part of your corporate giving IF it aligns with the company’s brand and mission. Doing anything else waters down the company’s brand and can eventually create confusion in your marketplace. If your ActionCOACH brand revolves around business education, finding ways to promote the value of free or pro bono business training or coaching is a great way to align with and magnify the value of your service while demonstrating a giving heart to the community.
4) Be selective with your cause – whatever cause, or causes, you select, make sure your employees can connect with them. Then you will be able to build momentum within your organization and you will have successfully created a natural morale-booster. Of course, if your employees are on board with the company’s values when they accept employment with you, then it will be natural for them to get behind a charity that embraces the same values. Either way, make sure you do your homework before aligning your company with the charity so that your company’s mission and values align. Within ActionCOACH, we have the ActionCOACH Foundation. The Foundation offers free business education to young adults to help educate future entrepreneurs and employers. It also supports coaches with content that customizes the ActionCOACH model for nonprofit coaching.
You also want to ensure that your employees’ contributions, as well as your corporate donations or sponsorships, make an impact. It’s a good idea to check out your potential partner with one of the charity watchdog groups like charitynavigator.org or charitywatch.org to ensure that the funds are supporting the cause and not a bloated infrastructure.
If you are looking for a philanthropy that supports ActionCOACH values, I can’t think of an easier or more impactful choice than the ActionCOACH Foundation. Of course, I might be a little biased. Obviously, your company can build a corporate giving program with more than one nonprofit, again, based upon your core values and service offering.
Regardless of which charity or charities you choose, create a formal plan to support the nonprofit(s). Incorporate employee and client giving options into the plan with a possible match program from the company. Find ways to make an impact locally, as well as globally. And share stories of the impact made so everyone can feel the glow.
When we share the results of the giving by all ActionCOACHes and Master Licensees in the ActionCOACH family, we can see the full impact of our joint giving. This kind of impact fosters a positive response locally, regionally, globally and within each of our companies. No one by themselves accomplishes as much as we can when we stand together.
To learn more about ActionCOACH Foundation, visit the website at www.actioncoachfoundation.org
ActionCOACH is the largest and most successful business coaching franchise in the world. With more than 27 years of experience, ActionCOACH has more than 1,000 coaches operating in more than 70 countries who work with more than 18,000 business just like yours every day. Learn more today. Actioncoach.com.
Author:
Karen Callahan is the Program Coordinator for ActionCOACH Foundation (photo attached). Link name to the Leadership page: https://actioncoachfoundation.org/board/
Reason #1: Different styles and methods of business coaching don't work for everyone
It's important to be honest with yourself and conduct a realistic assessment when it comes to business coaching. Though business coaching can have many benefits, it might not work for everyone.
Every individual brings their own experiences and values to the coaching dynamic, so results will vary. Additionally, some individuals might need more than just a coach. They might also need specialised knowledge or communication strategies specific to their industry or target audience. Below are a few key factors to consider:
Reason #2: There is no clear focus or vision (talk about time dedication here too)
cIt's important to be honest with yourself and conduct a realistic assessment when it comes to business coaching. Though business coaching can have many benefits, it might not work for everyone.
Business coaching is an effective tool for developing a clearer focus and vision for growing your business. A good coach will help you to take a comprehensive look at your strengths, weaknesses, and available resources that can be used to reach those goals. They will also help you draw up action plans with step-by-step instructions to get there.
By providing honest feedback and being patient throughout the process, a business coach can make sure that you’re on the right track. This will enable you to set realistic milestones and tasks.
These tasks may need dedicated time outside of coaching sessions. For example, a coach might help a client develop a marketing strategy or implement new systems for managing employees. However, if the client does not have enough time to devote to these tasks outside of coaching sessions, progress will likely stall.
Both the coach and the client must have enough time available to reflect on past experiences, brainstorm new solutions, and test out different strategies. If either party is rushed or distracted during coaching sessions due to other commitments or obligations, they may struggle to fully engage in this process.
Effective business coaching also requires a commitment to regular meetings and ongoing communication. If either the coach or the client does not have enough time to dedicate to these meetings, progress may be slow or nonexistent.
It's important to recognise that business coaching is an ongoing process that takes time to yield results. While some clients may see improvements after just a few sessions with their coach. Others may need months or even years of consistent effort before they begin seeing real changes in their businesses.