A standard element in a company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) is disaster response. Disaster response varies in helpfulness, though. Fortunately, experts suggest that avoiding a few common mistakes will help ensure that your company’s disaster response is truly helpful:

• Operating without a plan. Effective disaster response starts well before disaster strikes in the form of a plan. For guidance on developing one, see a prior post.
  
• Making unhelpful donations. Donating the wrong in-kind products or volunteer help can do more damage than good by taking up valuable time in those delivering assistance. Donate only what respected organizations suggest and remember that the most effective donation immediately after a disaster is almost always cash.
  
• Overpromising. Minimize the risk of good intentions leading to promises that your company can’t keep by committing only what you’ve establish as feasible (ideally in the disaster response plan, per bullet one).
  
• Short-termism. Disaster recovery lasts years. The most effective assistance, therefore, does as well.

In summary, whether your company is responding to earthquakes in Europe, floods in South America or famine in Africa, try to start with a plan, donate what is known to be helpful, commit only what you can deliver and remain involved long-term. These tips will help your companies CSR be truly helpful. As always, feel free to contact us for further assistance.

Being a corporate social responsibility (CSR) professional involves answering many questions. Is involving 40% of employees in volunteering good? Is it vital to offer volunteer grants (making monetary contributions to the organizations where employee have volunteered)? Should community engagement be discussed at the company board level?

Good news! We just published a report on how the Civic 50 Colorado and the Civic 50 US, companies honored for their exceptional community involvement at the state and national levels, answer these and many other questions. The Civic 50 Colorado 2022 Report presents dozens of CSR data points over the last four years. These quantitative benchmarks from the best performers in CSR can help CSR professionals find answers to their questions.

For example, the Civic 50 honorees answers to the above questions follow:

• Yes! Involving 40% of employees in external volunteering (as opposed to internal engagement such as employee resource groups) annually is excellent. The Civic 50 Colorado involve, on average, 34% and the Civic 50 US involve 22% of employees in external volunteering. Additionally, Civic 50 Colorado involve 58% and the Civic 50 US involve 45% of employees in volunteer efforts that are part of the company’s internally oriented community engagement (e.g., employee resource groups, company-sponsored issue education, training and awareness building).
• No, it doesn’t appear essential to offer volunteer grants for a CSR program to reach excellence. Forty-six percent of Civic 50 Colorado and 32% of Civic 50 US companies don’t offer volunteer grants.
• Yes, presenting on community engagement to the company’s board is a best practice applied by 62% of Civic 50 Colorado and 90% Civic 50 US companies.

​Have other CSR questions? Download the free The Civic 50 Colorado 2022 Report! As always, feel free to contact us for assistance with your CSR.