In today’s business world, corporate citizenship is an integral piece of the overall strategic plan to grow and enhance businesses, large and small. Savvy business leaders recognize giving back to the local community is an essential part of a smart business model. It creates consumer confidence, attracts and retains employees, creates positive community impacts, and builds good will for your organization. In fact, there are over 2,600 companies worldwide who believe so deeply in this model they have become Certified B Corporations, meaning they meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance. While you don’t have to become a B corporation to make a difference, the importance of being a socially conscientious business has become an incredibly important piece of the corporate landscape and is here to stay.
The Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa works with businesses across its 20-county region to create the impacts they want to accomplish through corporate charitable solutions. Through charitable contributions, businesses can gain stature and visibility in the community, earn the loyalty of customers and employees, and take leadership roles to address important community issues. There are significant tax advantages available to businesses through philanthropy as well.
According to the 2018 Giving USA report, corporate giving accounted for $20.77 billion of a total $410.02 billion donated in 2017. These corporate gifts were up 8 percent from 2016. This is good news for the nonprofits and projects benefiting from this upward giving trend, and shows corporations and businesses are committed to continued enhancement of giving programs.
Many local businesses are already doing incredible things to give back to our community through philanthropy and volunteerism, but there are many options to consider when creating an effective corporate giving plan. The Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa is a resource for businesses to create corporate giving programs that make giving easy, cost-effective, eliminate the administrative burden, is organized, and meets the needs of the company.
Here are some ways to get your business started:
Giving through the Community Foundation also provides special tax advantages for your business. By establishing a permanent endowment fund, or giving to an existing fund, your business is eligible to receive a 25% state tax credit on the donation through Endow Iowa. This is in addition to the normal federal deductions for charitable gifts.
The new tax law changes including the flat 21% corporate tax rate may have impacted your bottom line. Have you considered using the tax savings for good? We invite you to explore the possibilities of enhancing your corporate giving program. Creating a world-class community includes investing in it and the people who live here. Giving back is just good business.