In 2014, the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy, known as CECP, engaged in more than 1,000 individual conversations with CEOs at the world’s leading companies, analyzed nearly 300 corporate giving surveys, and published key reports on corporate societal engagement. Here are some of the biggest trends the membership organization for CEOs identified in 2014.
Purpose leads to performance: Companies are evolving their culture and community investment strategies to reflect the notion that leading with values and a purpose that aligns with those of their employees and customers accelerates business performance and societal impact. Redefining corporate purpose beyond profitability is the way forward. CECP research found that companies that have increased giving by more than 10% since 2010 also increased median revenues by 11% from 2010 to 2013, compared to a 3% decline in revenues for all other companies.
Focusing for impact: Companies are adapting the same management best practices to corporate societal engagement as they do in other areas of their businesses to drive more effective and efficient social impact. The result is more strategically driven programs tied to their core business and employees’ values. CECP also sees fewer and deeper corporate-nonprofit partnerships, with more rigorous measurement and evaluation goals for the social and business impact of a company’s community investments. This trend is reflected in the significant percentage of companies (76%) that reported measuring societal outcomes and/or impacts of their community investments in 2013.
Evolution of employee engagement: CEOs at CECP’s 2014 Board of Boards voted employees as the most influential stakeholder group when deciding to expand their companies’ investments in the community. As the demographics, priorities, and expectations of employees evolve, the ways in which companies support and invest in communities are becoming essential in developing a meaningful culture that attracts and retains top talent.
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