I just got home from attending the Denver Business Journal’s 1st annual Partners in Philanthropy event held in the Pinnacle Club at the Grand Hyatt in downtown Denver.  They had a great crowd in attendance which says a lot about the heightened awareness of business and nonprofit connections given our current economic times. 

The first breakout session I attended was “It Pays to Give” with Andy Boian - Dovetail Solutions (moderator), and panelists Rob Cohen - IMA Financial Group, Scott King – ReadyTalk, and Monique Lovato – Xcel Energy Foundation.  It was interesting to hear the differences in focus between the three based on publically versus privately held companies and the oversight involved with regard to their community involvement activities, as well as the differences that are more related to business size.

ReadyTalk was the smallest company represented.  Scott King mentioned they currently have 92 employees and $20 million in revenues - clearly WAY bigger than my company!!  They still view themselves as a young company and have included community involvement from start-up on – wanting to foster a culture of giving and community connection for the business.  ReadyTalk, based on the vision and values of the King brothers, Scott and Dave, is strongly committed to getting their employees directly involved in the community and in fact consider their philanthropic efforts an employee-based program.  Employees present proposals for nonprofit support to an internal committee of their peers that then selects which nonprofits the company will support with cash and services.  Scott mentioned they do not calculate an ROI as giving back is “just the right thing to do” though he has noticed  a strong connection between employee satisfaction and pride in their company and customer satisfaction.  I went to the ReadyTalk website a few minutes ago to learn more…but there is no section on their website that I could find that shares this information externally.  Anyway…they have captured my attention and I am considering changing my web training service to ReadyTalk as my small way of supporting their philanthropic and community involvement efforts.

IMA Financial Group was the medium size business in the group at 511 employees with $1 billion in sales.  Rob Cohen, Chairman and CEO, explained that to the consternation of some business advisors early on, he included a focus on giving back and community invovlement from day one of the company.  To this end, early employee contracts mandated giving back and he created a foundation “on Day One” as well feeling that it was important to build the discipline to give a percentage from the beginning instead of waiting until later when it could be harder due to the larger numbers involved.  IMA has just hired the first Executive Director for the Foundation to continue focusing its efforts to insure the greatest impact.  IMA also selects projects for employee involvement via a Community Action Committee comprised of employees.  Rob emphasized the need to get involved “for the right reasons” otherwise everyone will see through that; it is important to be passionate and really care about the cause(s) the business supports.  While business value is not a motivator in and of itself for IMA, Rob feels their authenticity in giving and being involved has resulted in business coming their way.  IMA did have a community page on their website which gives a paragraph of their philosophy but no details of who they support.

Xcel Energy Foundation respresented the largest and only publically held company on the panel.  Monique Lovato mentioned Xcel has 12,000 employees and 8,000 retirees in 8 states and their Foundation is the largest corporate giver in Colorado.  Xcel Energy focuses mosty of its philanthropy in four areas: education, the environment, economic self-sufficiency, and equal access to the Arts.  Monique explained that Xcel prefers building relationships “with tentacles” or multiple points of engagement as opposed to just writing a check. Xcel makes use of their extensive intranet system to inform employees of opportunities for volunteering.  Xcel matches employee time with dollars and if 6 or more employees volunteer in a group, the nonprofit gets an additional $500 from Xcel.  Xcel also does matching gifts up to $750/year and their employees participate in the United Way campaign, as well. Xcel has several pages on their website about their community involvement.

Great panel and great work!!  Well done all three companies!

My bank, BBVA Compass, launched a new program in 2009 called “The Compass For Your Cause” both to support nonprofit fundraising and grow their customer base.  The concept behind the program was not to ask people to write a check or buy special premium items (who really needs another candy bar??), but to do something they were doing every day already – use their check card for purchases.

So how does it work? A nonprofit signs up for a free business checking account at BBVA Compass (while keeping existing accounts at other banks, if they want). Then, by spreading the word to their networks – friends, family, volunteers, and other supporters, they can earn dollars.  For every person that opens a free individual account at BBVA Compass and specifies the nonprofit they want to support, that nonprofit will receive $20 deposited directly into their account. Then, for every subsequent purchase made by supporters using their BBVA Compass account check card, a $0.25% royalty will also be deposited in the nonprofit’s account. 

I don’t know about you, but I almost never carry cash anymore.  I use my check card instead.  So to have a percentage going to support my favorite nonprofit, EVERY time I buy something, catches my attention!  BBVA Compass has branches in 6 states: Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, and Texas.

Food for Thought:

·     Do you have nonprofits you support that could benefit from the “Compass For Your Cause Program”?  Pass the word! 

·     Can you develop a marketing/distribution strategy for a new or existing product or service that could expand your company’s exposure to new markets and benefit local causes?

Amy Pera, Cherry Creek Branch Manager of BBVA Compass Bank, sent me the following information as an email follow up.

“Thank you again for taking the time to discuss our Compass For Your Cause Program.  We are extremely excited about the opportunity to help the many wonderful non-profit businesses that are in need of additional funding.  This program is an excellent opportunity for them to earn donations without much effort on their part.  It will also provide them with a monthly stream ofl income from the ongoing debit card transactions by their members who open a checking account with Compass.

Here is the link for decision-makers that tells about the program:  http://www.compassbank.com/business/affinity/

In addition, here is the link for members who open a personal account to learn more about what it entails:  http://www.compassbank.com/personal/affinity/”

Check it out and spread the word!!

Last year, the Corporation for National and Community Service (the federal agency promoting service and volunteerism for which I have been a trainer/consultant for 14 years) and the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation launched an exciting new initiative, A Billion + Change to increase corporate pro bono service in support of nonprofits nationally.

I was in DC this week helping run the State Service Commissioner Institute for governor-appointed representatives from Commissions on National and Community Service that promote service and volunteerism and administer AmeriCorps at the state level.  Shannon Maynard,  Executive Director of the President’s Council, did an update on Pro Bono for the commission executive directors that I was unfortunately unable to attend but I picked up one of the extra brochures on the initiative that she left behind.  I am in the process of trying to set up an interview with Shannon who I have known for years to get more specifics of the initiative so I can share the details with you.

In the meantime, here is a brief overview.  The brochure cover gave a definition of pro bono: “Pro bono service uses the specific skills of professionals to strengthen nonprofits and communities in need.  Latin “for the public good,” pro bono refers to professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment as a public service.”

“Why Pro bono?  Pro bono service is a powerful way for companies to increase their value.  Once the sole purview of law firms, pro bono service combines business strategy and corporate giving to achieve meaningful results for communities.  For decades, businesses have given financial contributions and organized volunteer projects, but the concept of providing and applying corporate expertise and intellectual capital to the world’s biggest challenges is gathering tremendous momentum.”

The brochure goes on to state…”extensive research proves that pro bono:

• benefits your bottom line
• attracts investors
• improves your market share
• builds your brand
• expands your ROI on corporate philanthropy
• enhances your recruitment and improves staff morale.”

In my forthcoming book, Strategic Business Philanthropy, I have a whole section which outlines the myriad ways businesses can engage strategically with nonprofits to maximize impact for both organizations.  Pro bono service is of course one important way that companies can share their expertise and perhaps make a greater difference than they could through checkbook philanthropy alone.

What specialized skills do you have as a company that you could offer to strengthen the capacity of a nonprofit whose work and mission you believe in?