The Australian Charities Fund Operations Limited

When employers invest in their employees and the community it brings a range of benefits for their business.

At ACF, our experience has shown that involving employees through engaged employee giving as key stakeholders in corporate community engagement programs can lead to deeper impact for everyone involved.

Reputation matters

Successful employee giving programs enhance an organisation's reputation by bringing brand values to life, both within and outside the organisation. They can also help to build trust through active working relationships with charities.

According to Edelman's 2009 public survey on trust in business organisations, Australians see corporate investment in the greater public good and the environment as two of the most important drivers of trust in business, coming only behind trust in senior leadership.

Employers who ignore community issues open themselves up to increased risk and criticism from customers, employees and other key stakeholders.

As a result, investing in corporate community engagement programs has become much more strategic in the past decade, with over ninety percent of business organisations developing a clear business case for their programs. (Centre for Corporate Public Affairs 2007, Corporate Community Investment in Australia, Melbourne. www.accpa.com.au)

Engaging employees

Building a good reputation is only part of the picture.

Employees are a key stakeholder in any organisation. Attracting and retaining talent and being known as a great place to work is vital for business success. Sixty-two percent of CEOs say that providing opportunities for employees to be involved in socially responsible activities is key to attracting talent. (PwC's 12th Annual Global CEO Survey)

ACF's 2009 research indicated that employee giving donors were more engaged in the workplace and had greater pride in their employer.

The opportunity to make a difference

Engaged employee giving can be of enormous benefit to employers, employees and charities.
Our research tells us there is huge untapped potential. An additional $260M could be generated each year for the community if just 10% of working Australians donated $5 per week through their pay.

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