How Your Business Can Support Charity By Influencing Public Policy

Building a business takes time, patience, solid ideas, and determination to succeed. Of course, other influencing factors can help a company’s success, including funding, solid planning and timing.

After building a business, keeping it in operation is understandably one of the top priorities for owners. Once a business is established, they may look to support various local charities. There may be stumbling blocks that diminish the impact of a charity. All charities will be influenced by public policy. This is why charities campaign to influence government and business. Your business can look to lobby on the behalf of charities to help push change.

Having the idea of supporting a charity is a starting point. From there, businesses can decide how they wish to show support and how it is an excellent way to get the team involved. Ask employees for suggestions on how to raise money and show support, then put the suggestions forward to the company for everyone to vote on their favourites.

For businesses wanting to give back to others and start supporting charitable causes, here are a few ways to help you get started.

Agree On A Cause

It is worth asking the team what charities and causes they would like the company to support. Some might have charities or causes that are close to their heart due to the work they do. It could be something they have experienced, whether it be themselves personally or someone they know. See if there is one cause or charity that everyone collectively agrees to support. There might be a team member going through a difficult time, and there is a charity that works to support those going through similar situations. The team may not all agree on current public policies, but they will likely want to assist a local charity.

If the team cannot agree on one cause, put forward the suggestions that have been sent in. From there, slowly narrow down the options till you find one that receives the most support. Knowing what charitable cause to support can help you decide the best cause of action.

Lobby For Better Support On A Wider Scale

You may be able to utilise the knowledge and skills you have accumulated throughout the years to help your chosen charitable cause. You should offer the charity support in building their profile as they look for additional support. You may find it best to lobby support to help make meaningful changes across the landscape. Politics may play a major role and you will need support to help enforce change.

It will be best to educate yourself further on the public policies that can influence spending. This will help you understand why certain decisions are made. This information and knowledge will be crucial if you are lobbying for change.

There are plenty of ways that you could learn further about public policy. For instance, look at the courses available from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). They have a vast selection of courses to choose from. The Public Policy Analysis course can help you understand the complex social, political, economic, and institutional factors that can influence public policy.

This could help your organisation understand how it can lobby for better support for those who need it the most. You can use the knowledge and skills taught from an expert course to help offer recommendations regarding policy-related projects to charities the company is supporting. You can also use your business’s political power to influence public policies that could benefit your community and those in need.

Decide On How To Fundraise

With a cause agreed on and skills being utilised, deciding how to fundraise and raise awareness is next. This could be doing a fun run or jumping out of a plane. It could even be climbing a set amount of mountains in so many days. It could be a bake sale or having a collection at a company party. There are plenty of fun and innovative ways for a company to raise money and get the team involved. It’s worth being aware of the current public policies so that you understand what you’re allowed to do. Charities also need to be wary about campaigning. This will avoid them fundraising the wrong way.

Fundraising can be a fun challenge for the whole company to participate in. Aside from raising awareness, it is an excellent way to get the whole team involved and interact with one another. If teams rarely get the chance to mix, charitable events to raise money and awareness can be a fun and effective way for teams to blend and employees to interact with colleagues they do not normally speak to daily.

Understand The Reasons To Start

The best way to help a company kick-start its charity campaign is to have a reason. A reason that motivates them to want to help others and why. This helps a company build a foundation it can build on to ensure that they start a charity or charitable cause in the best way possible. After finding a reason to start, keeping the motivation to continue the support is equally as important.

Companies looking for reasons to start supporting a charity, but most importantly, continue supporting, should keep reading to find out our top reasons. Asking all your employees directly may be the best way to find out what everyone wants to do. You could also ask them to put down a reason.

It Could Help Retain Team Members

Influencing public policy and working with a charity could help retain team members. Making a difference in your local community and lobbying for effective change can boost the morale of your team. This is especially true if they got involved in the fundraising and campaigning themselves. Aside from helping the team feel good about the help they are offering, supporting a charity can also positively impact business. Team members will likely be proud of the efforts they have put in and proud of the company for wanting to do something for a good cause. These proud feelings could help to influence talented team members to stay with the company. It can help to increase their loyalty, which is also noticeable in their productivity levels and quality of work.

Network With Others

Charities will likely have numerous connections they have built throughout the years. Working with a charity offers businesses the chance to network with this broader audience. This could help with meeting policy makers so that they can lobby to enact public policy changes. They might find contacts that could benefit the company in the future. Additionally, working with a charity allows companies to build on their communication skills. Instead of communicating with others to generate sales or to invest in products, they are communicating with others to help them succeed. The communication skills they will learn and build on could then be used to help communicate with clients, investors, suppliers and so on.

The Bottom Line

Showing support for a charity is something all businesses should consider. If in a position where help and support can be offered to others, for good reasons, without expecting anything in return, it should certainly be a trend businesses follow. It’s important to be aware of the current public policies that exist. This knowledge can help a business lobby for change on a charity’s behalf.

Businesses looking to support charitable causes in the new year should remember the tips mentioned above. Research public policy and do what you can.