Faribault Area BUSINESS GIVESStrategies for Smart Giving:

How to Say “Yes” and When to Say “No”

Sponsored by:Faribault Area Chamber of Commerce

Minnesota Chamber of CommerceMinnesota Council on Foundations

Presenter: Jackie ReisMinnesota Chamber of Commerce

Minnesota Business GivesStrong Businesses, Strong Communities

Minnesota Business Gives is designed to motivate, educate, and recognize local businesses in Minnesota for the valuable

contributions they make to their communities.

The program is managed by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce in partnership with

local chambers and with support from Marquette Financial Companies, Best Buy, Health Partners,

and the Minnesota Council on Foundations.

Strategies for Smart Giving

Agenda

Goals for the workshop

Motivations for giving

Developing your giving plan

Implementing your plan

Telling your story

Being recognized

Goals for the workshop

• To give you the framework for a giving plan

• To give you tools to help implement that plan

• To give you the opportunity to share best practices

Introductions

• Name and company

• # of employees / # of locations

• Questions you’d like answered

Examples of making decisions:

• When is it easy to say “yes”?

• When is it easy to say “no”?

Motivations for business giving

• It’s good for business.

• It’s good for the community.

• It’s a sign of leadership.

• It builds company morale.

• It’s tradition.

Ways that businesses give• Cash

• In-kind contributions

• Products

• Professional services

• Business services

Ways that businesses give• Used furniture/office equipment

• Employee volunteers

• Sponsorships

• Memberships

Why have a giving plan? It can help you:

• Make wise decisions• Strengthen ties to customers & community• Increase satisfaction • Make it easier to respond• Reduce time and effort • Limit number of inappropriate requests• Make contributions more meaningful

“What I’ve discovered is that when I have gone through a process of developing giving goals for my (business) and can be clear enough to explain them inside and outside my (business), I find it much easier to say NO – because I can describe the path that I’m on.

“It doesn’t mean that I’m right and the (person asking) is wrong. It’s about making choices. But when I’m not so clear about the path, I find myself confronting my own confusion while I’m saying NO – and that’s confusing for everyone.”

Steps in developing and implementing a giving plan

• Establishing goals and criteria• Developing procedures• Budget and tax issues• Involving employees• Reviewing requests• Reviewing your plan

Establishing goals and criteriaWorksheets I, IA, IB (Handout D)

• Why do you want to have a contributions program?

• What values are important to you?

• How do you want your contributions to be used?

Writing your plan

Sharing results

Developing proceduresWorksheet III (Handout F)

• Who will manage paperwork?

• Who will make decisions?

• How often will decisions be made?

• How do you want to receive requests?

Sample plans

• Reell Precision Manufacturing

• Heritage Bank

• Insty-Prints

• Otter Tail Power Co.

Approaches to developing a budget

• Percentage of pre-tax earnings

• Past experience adjusted for profitability

• Planning for the year

Tax considerations

• Allowable deduction for businesses

• Understanding what “qualifies”

Involving and supporting employees

Why involve your employees?

• Increase employee morale, pride and productivity

• Build employee teamwork skills

• Improve your company’s image

How can you involve employees?

• Give priority to employee requests

• Involve employees in decisions

• Match employee contributions

• Organize company-wide volunteer activities

• Give paid release time for volunteering

Checklist for reviewingrequests for support

• Does it fit our goals and criteria?

• Have we supported it in the past?

• What is its purpose?

• Is it important to or needed by the community?

• Who/how many will benefit? How?

• How much will it cost?

• How much (or what) is requested?

• Will our contribution make a difference?

• Does it have broad support?

• Does the group have the credibility and capability to be successful?

• Is the approach they plan to use feasible?

• Are our employees involved?

• Are our customers involved?

• If we provide support, how will we be recognized?

• Is this a 501(c)(3) organization (or a

public school, unit of government)?

Another resource:www.SmartGivers.org (Handout H)

Types of “NOs”

• Categorical NO

• Policy NO

• Personal-Judgment NO

“Agonizing over how to explain a NO can be like struggling to get a car out of a tight parking spot. You can get hung up on someone’s bumper and you’re afraid to move, so you just freeze. The key thing is to move and get the scraping over with.”

Telling your story

• Determine your audience

• Select best way to communicate

Being recognized. Participate in your

chamber’s recognition program!

Program Description and Participation Form (Handout J)

Confidential Worksheet and Notes to Worksheet (Handout K)

THANKS!

For participating in this workshop….

For all you do for your community!

Visit: www.minnesotabusinessgives.org

Jackie Reis

(651) 292-4679

jreis@visi.com