Giving Compass' Take:

• Marketing director Roxanne Williams shares ideas for charitable giving initiatives that she started at her former workplaces that were successful. 

• How can businesses partners with philanthropists, nonprofits, and government to make an impact?  

• Learn more about how to plug the experience gap of corporate social responsibility.

I grew up fairly poor. My family could afford the necessities, but that was that — no extras. My mom sewed our clothes. We got one present at Christmas — that kind of stuff.

Growing up like that softened my heart quite a bit, and altruism is somewhat of a must for me. This same requirement is something I seek in the companies I consider working for as well. One of my favorite questions to ask a potential employer is “What do you do to give back to the community?”

Without further ado, here’s a short list of charitable events you can host at your workplace.

Blood Drive
I’ve run a few successful blood drives with OneBlood. You can contact them and get in touch with the territory coordinator and let them know you want to run a blood drive.

Pet Food and Supply Drive
Pet food and supply drives have by far been my most successful charitable endeavors — because who doesn’t love fluffy kittens and puppies? One thing I’ve done is add raffle prizes where the entry ‘tickets’ are cans of pet food — ie, one can = one entry, etc.

Toy Drive
Partner with an organization like Toys for Tots and get collection bins set up in your office. You can either drop the toys off yourself or get in touch with your local coordinator and schedule a pickup date and time.

With how easy charities make it to contribute to their cause, I challenge you to be a changemaker in your organization.

Read the full article about charitable giving in business by Roxanne Williams at Medium.