Giving Compass' Take:

• Alexandra Colvin, writing for Medium, describes a cause initiative, (a form of CSR that supports a cause)  and how to expand on its purpose to gain benefits for an organization. 

• What are some company's cause initiatives that are prevalent in your community? Which initiatives are successfully making social change or providing social good?

• Read about what to expect from corporate social responsibility in 2019.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) at a company can take many different forms. Sustainability, diversity and inclusion, volunteer initiatives, grants and scholarships — these are all different avenues a company can take with their CSR program. Cause initiatives, in particular, are quickly becoming a popular way to promote CSR at a company to it’s employees, customers, and investors.

What is a cause initiative? A cause initiative is exactly what it sounds like — a form of CSR that supports a specific cause. Typically, a company will choose to support a number of different causes through volunteering, grants, and disaster relief efforts. The key to implementing a successful cause initiative is to address issues that align with your company’s core values while also taking your employees values into account.

Once you’ve gotten input from employees and chosen a cause to support, the next step is creating a partnership with an organization. Ideally this will be an organization that you know well or have worked with in the past, but creating a new relationship is just as effective.

Once you have all the details ironed out, it’s time to create a plan for promotion. Marketing is a vital component of any cause initiative because it depends on the participation of the public as well as the employees.

Another important aspect of a cause initiative is organization and administration of the program. Keeping track of the donations and employee volunteer hours will inform you on the success of your initiative and allow you to track the impact of your partnership.

When implemented correctly, a cause initiative can have tremendous benefits for the company, the non-profit organization, the employees, the investors, and the community.

Read the full article about creating cause initiatives by Alexandra Colvin by Medium.