This guest post is by Tracy A. Barfield, PAS, Novus Global Marketing Communications Executive Manager
I like to help and I believe in giving back. As a result I get roped into committees, like the Food Drive Committee. And, because I simply can’t help myself I start saying things like, “What was last year’s goal?” “Why can’t we beat that?” and getting all pushy and driving to topics like employee engagement and participation in helping our community and keeping it in line with our vision at Novus. And if you are looking for ways to get past “giving fatigue” and meet your goals with a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) event I have some ideas for you.
Keep it inclusive and invite committee members from all parts of your organization. We have great success when we get representatives from Accounting, Marketing, Legal, Research, Operations, etc. all working cross functionally together and more creative ideas are generated by getting folks out of their daily roles.
Set a realistic goal. Lofty objectives beyond the capabilities of your giving base actually serve as a disincentive potential volunteers and givers. We took our total goal and broke it down in $20 increments for giving suggestions. Our total goal for the 2013 Food Drive was $4,000 from employee giving.
Make it personal. We chose the St. Louis Area Foodbank because of all the good it does in our local area. The St. Louis Area Foodbank began serving the community in 1975. It has grown into the bi-state region’s largest nonprofit 501c3 food distributions center dedicated to feeding those in need.
Independence from Summer Hunger– The St. Louis Area Foodbank had recently reported that 148,730 children in the local bi-state region were at risk of summer hunger due to the lack of subsidized school meals during the months of summer vacation. The Novus Food Drive Committee took that message to heart and focused the entire theme of our giving efforts on “Independence from Summer Hunger.”
Thinking Globally/ Acting Locally —Statement of Opinion/Solution—
We’re fortunate to work for a company that has a well-defined vision To help feed the world affordable, wholesome food and achieve a higher quality of life. The Food Drive ties directly to our global thinking, while enabling us to act locally to help the communities where we are headquartered.
From June 25th through July 9th Novus International headquarters employees gave over $4,000 in monetary contributions and 69 lbs. of food donations surpassing our goal. That translated to 37,444 for the bi-state region, when the Novus match was added in to total $10,000 donated to the St. Louis Area Foodbank.
It’s simple, really. –For more ways to help out the St. Louis Area Foodbank check out www.STLFoodbank.org and start a food drive or fundraiser of your own. The focused contribution of a workforce together can make a world of difference on hunger in our community. I love that we surpassed our goal, and would love to hear stories from other organizations on how they help too.
By Tracy Barfield, PAS, Novus Global Marketing Communications Executive Manager
