Answer
The important thing here is that your nonprofit is aligned with who you are as a company. If you are just starting a social impact program at your company, check out our Getting Started playbook. [Note: some assets and features are only available to Pledge 1% members. Take the pledge today to join!]
We recommend looking at the following:
- Corporate values. Is there anything in your mission statement that lends itself to a particular cause? For example, if you pride yourself on “innovation” you may want to align with a nonprofit exploring new ways of solving existing problems. Think about how your Pledge 1% program can help tell your story and speak to what you do and who you are as a business.
- Industry, product offering, and employee skill sets: Some industries lend themselves to particular causes. For example, financial services firm may use 1% of their time or product/expertise to give financial advice to graduating students, recent immigrants, or other communities who don't readily have access to this level of support.
- Current relationships: Your employees, executives, or board members may already be involved with nonprofits. Try doing a company survey to see what causes resonate most with your team.
- Location: We recommend working with nonprofits in your area so that you can establish a more personal connection to the communities in which you live and work.
- Company culture: Are you interested in doing activities together for social impact? Or are you more interested in empowering employees to support causes they care about? If your culture is more individualistic, you may consider offering programs that let workers support their personal causes (ex. volunteer-time off, grant matching) versus uniting the team around a single event or corporate cause.
Ultimately, you are trying to define what your company means by “doing good.” Try to nail down a sentence or phrase (ex. CompanyName for Good) that encapsulates what that means to your company specifically. You can later use that language in your mission statement or about us page, press efforts, or job postings.
There are a number of third party websites and tools to help you research and vet nonprofits. Here are some resources that can help:
Resources
Research
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TechSoup (https://www.techsoup.org/)
TechSoup is a technology marketplace specifically for nonprofits. You can list your tech product or services at a discount for nonprofits. |
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Charity Navigator (https://www.charitynavigator.org/) Charity Navigator is an online database for nonprofits that details spending, causes, and helpful data for donors. It’s a great place to start your research. |
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Charity Watch (https://www.charitywatch.org/) Charity Navigator is an independent organization that evaluates nonprofits on how they spend their money. |
Projects and Opportunities
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CatchAFire (https://www.catchafire.org/) Catchafire strengthens the social good sector by matching professionals who want to donate their time with nonprofits who need their skills. |
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Taproot Plus (https://www.taprootplus.org/)
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Universal Giving
(https://www.universalgiving.org/) |
Video: Pledge 1% Ask Me Anything (AMA)
Want to learn more? Check out this Ask Me Anything (AMA) with Pledge 1% on how to pick a nonprofit or cause to support.
For similar videos, check out our Events page. You can also download our Getting Started playbook to help you build out your program. [Note: Some assets are only available to Pledge 1% members. To join, take the pledge today!]
Tell Us About You!
What cause or nonprofit organization does your business support? How did your company pick them? Let us know in the comments below!
