Causecast Blog

America’s Charities - a leader for more than 35 years in employee giving - regularly issues data-driven reports that identify trends in corporate giving and volunteering. Over the years, this Snapshot series has become a critical bellwether in employee-led corporate philanthropy, spotlighting exactly how the field is evolving. Since the Snapshot reports began in 2000, America’s Charities - a partner of Causecast - has documented above all how corporate giving and volunteering have shifted from being an outpost of HR to a central feature of employee engagement.

Somewhere along the way, the shopping frenzy of Black Friday and Cyber Monday became as synonymous with Thanksgiving as turkey and pumpkin pie. So, six years ago, the bright minds at Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact at 92Y in New York City launched #GivingTuesday as a counterbalance to the rampant consumerism that now surrounds a holiday founded on gratitude and community.

Something truly disruptive has been emerging in the world of social impact: the rise of digital currencies and blockchain technology as tools for accelerating change.

The onslaught of major natural disasters in the past month is forcing companies to consider how they can and should respond to such overwhelming need. Hurricanes Maria, Irma and Harvey have literally rained down devastation, an earthquake in Mexico has left hundreds dead, and wildfires in California rage out of control.

With so many social issues competing for the philanthropy attention of companies and individuals, how can nonprofits successfully break through the noise to draw attention to their missions? What can activists do to galvanize urgent momentum around the issues they care about?

Dropbox isn’t interested in lip service. It wants citizen philanthropists.  

That’s why the company has applied considerable energy and resources towards community impact in ways that can be embraced by all of its employees. The company’s “Dropbox for Good” program - with chapters in 13 global offices - has donated $1 million collectively in employee donations, donated 8,900 provisioned licenses to nonprofits, and logged more than 4,000 hours of volunteer time over the past three years.

But what works best for nonprofits? We asked leaders at several top nonprofits - International Medical Corps, Feeding America, Save the Children, UNICEF and America's Charities to list the top three things that they wish donors knew about how they could be more impactful with getting more money to nonprofits faster. Here’s what we heard:

Can CEOs avoid taking a stand on social impact issues that are considered “political”? These days, that’s a tall order. We live in particularly divisive times, and many social issues across the spectrum have become tagged as political.

Corporate giving programs are an effective and popular way to connect your employees to causes while making a real social impact. But creativity is key to participation, and too many campaigns lack the pizzazz and tools needed to grab anyone’s attention.