Do Your Donors Work For Socially Responsible Companies?

In today’s business landscape, more and more companies are prioritizing corporate social responsibility (or CSR) as a core part of their mission. From environmental sustainability to community outreach and charitable giving, socially responsible companies are making a meaningful impact on the world.

As a nonprofit, it’s crucial to recognize how this trend can benefit your organization. After all, your donors may already be working for companies that offer corporate giving programs, like matching gifts or volunteer grants, that can double or even triple their impact. But are you leveraging these opportunities to their fullest potential?

In this post, we’ll explore how nonprofits can tap into relationships with companies leading the way in CSR to maximize their support and engage donors in new and impactful ways. Specifically, we’ll cover the following:

• What Defines a Socially Responsible Company?
• 10 Socially Responsible Companies to Know
• Identifying Socially Responsible Companies in Your Network

Discovering which of your donors work for socially responsible companies could unlock significant support for your mission. Ready to find out how you can do so with ease? Let’s begin with the basics.

What Defines a Socially Responsible Company?

A socially responsible company is one that integrates ethical, sustainable, and community-focused practices into its core operations. These businesses recognize that their success is intertwined with the well-being of society, and they actively seek to make a positive impact on their employees, customers, communities, and the environment.

While there’s no one-size-fits-all model of social responsibility, check out a few characteristics that generally define a socially responsible company:

1. Environmental Sustainability
   Companies strive to reduce their environmental impact by adopting eco-friendly practices. This may involve reducing waste, conserving energy, using renewable resources, and implementing sustainable supply chain management.
2. Ethical Business Practices
   Socially responsible companies maintain high ethical standards in all areas of business, from fair labor practices and diversity initiatives to transparency in governance and decision-making.
3. Economic Responsibility
   Rather than chasing short-term profits, socially responsible companies focus on long-term growth that benefits both the business and society. They aim to create a positive, lasting impact on their stakeholders, which includes employees, customers, shareholders, and the broader community.
4. Philanthropic Engagement
   Many socially responsible companies actively invest in the communities where they operate. This includes supporting local charities, offering volunteer time off (VTO) for employees to participate in community service, and implementing corporate giving programs like matching gifts and volunteer grants.

By embracing these practices, socially responsible companies build trust with consumers and employees, foster loyalty, and contribute to a more sustainable and equitable world. Not to mention, these efforts not only benefit society but often lead to better business performance as well.

10 Socially Responsible Companies to Know

As a nonprofit, familiarity with leading companies practicing corporate social responsibility is a must. After all, understanding which companies make a point to give back allows nonprofits to better engage donors who work for these businesses. And, in doing so, they can more effectively tap into additional resources such as corporate matches, volunteer support, and even broader partnership opportunities.

Check out these examples to get started:

Chipotle Mexican Grill

Matching gifts? Yes
Volunteer grants? No
Volunteer time off? Yes

Chipotle Mexican Grill is a popular fast-casual restaurant chain known for its commitment to using responsibly sourced ingredients and offering fresh, customizable meals. As part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts, Chipotle emphasizes environmental sustainability, humane animal practices, and ethical sourcing.

The company also gives back through community outreach and charitable initiatives, including its standout matching gifts program, which allows employees to double their contributions to nonprofits of their choice. In order to optimize the employee experience within its matching gift program, Chipotle has implemented matching gift auto-submission, too, earning it the CLMA designation for Certified Leaders in Matching Automation.

Furthermore, Chipotle promotes social responsibility through its volunteer time off (VTO) policy, enabling employees to take up to 8 hours of paid time to participate in volunteer work. These efforts reflect Chipotle’s dedication to making a positive impact both in the food industry and within local communities.

Learn more about Chipotle’s socially responsible giving programs here.

Patagonia

Matching gifts? Yes
Volunteer grants? No
Volunteer time off? Yes

Patagonia, a renowned outdoor apparel company, is deeply committed to environmental and social causes, with sustainability at the core of its mission. Patagonia’s CSR initiatives are broad, encompassing environmental activism, ethical labor practices, and sustainable product design.

The company also encourages employee engagement through its matching gifts program, doubling employee donations to environmental, social, and other nonprofits. Meanwhile, Patagonia supports employees in taking action through its volunteer time off (VTO) policy, allowing them to dedicate generous amounts of time to causes they care about, often with a focus on environmental restoration.

Patagonia’s commitment to CSR is rooted in its mission to preserve the planet, and it actively partners with organizations that align with this goal.

Learn more about Patagonia’s socially responsible giving programs here.

Danone North America

Matching gifts? Yes
Volunteer grants? No
Volunteer time off? Yes

Danone North America is a multinational food and beverage company known for its dairy products, plant-based alternatives, and bottled water brands. The company is dedicated to promoting health through food while driving environmental sustainability and social equity. Danone North America’s CSR efforts include a strong emphasis on environmental stewardship, sustainable sourcing, and community involvement.

To encourage employee involvement in philanthropy, Danone North America offers a CLMA-designated matching gifts program, amplifying employees’ charitable donations to eligible nonprofits. Plus, the company supports community engagement through volunteer time off, allowing employees to contribute up to 16 hours each year to causes they are passionate about.

Learn more about Danone’s socially responsible giving programs here.

CVS Health

Matching gifts? Yes
Volunteer grants? Yes
Volunteer time off? Yes

CVS Health, a major pharmacy and healthcare provider, integrates social responsibility into its mission of promoting health and wellness. The company’s CSR efforts focus on expanding access to healthcare, addressing public health challenges, and supporting underserved communities.

CVS Health also enhances its social impact through matching gifts and volunteer grants, allowing employees to increase their donations and volunteer contributions to nonprofits. Additionally, CVS promotes employee involvement in community service through volunteer time off, providing paid time for employees to engage in volunteer work.

Learn more about CVS Health’s socially responsible giving programs here.

Walt Disney Company

Matching gifts? Yes
Volunteer grants? Yes
Volunteer time off? Yes

The Walt Disney Company is a global leader in entertainment, known for its iconic films, theme parks, and media networks. Beyond entertainment, Disney’s CSR efforts are comprehensive, with a focus on environmental sustainability, charitable giving, and promoting education.

Disney offers both matching gifts and volunteer grants to encourage employees to support causes they care about. The company also promotes community engagement through volunteer time off, allowing employees to give back during paid work hours.

Disney’s wide-reaching CSR initiatives include funding for children’s hospitals, environmental conservation programs, and educational outreach, all of which align with its mission to create positive change in communities worldwide.

Learn more about Disney’s socially responsible giving programs here.

Warner Media

Matching gifts? Yes
Volunteer grants? Yes
Volunteer time off? Yes

Warner Media is a leading media and entertainment company recognized for its extensive film, television, and digital content production. As part of its CSR strategy, Warner Media prioritizes diversity, inclusion, environmental responsibility, and community engagement.

The company also offers matching gifts and volunteer grants, empowering employees to increase their financial contributions and volunteer efforts to nonprofits. Warner Media also provides volunteer time off, encouraging employees to give back to their communities while receiving regular pay.

Through its CSR programs, Warner Media fosters a culture of giving, social responsibility, and sustainability, aligning its corporate values with the interests of its employees and society at large.

Learn more about Warner Media’s socially responsible giving programs here.

ActiveCampaign

Matching gifts? Yes
Volunteer grants? No
Volunteer time off? Yes

ActiveCampaign, a marketing automation platform, is committed to making a positive impact through its CSR initiatives, which focus on community development and employee engagement.

The company encourages its employees to give back through a CLMA-designated matching gifts program, doubling charitable donations made to eligible nonprofits more easily than ever before. In addition, ActiveCampaign offers volunteer time off, allowing employees to dedicate paid time to volunteer with organizations that align with their values.

These programs reflect ActiveCampaign’s belief in the power of community and its desire to empower employees to contribute to causes that matter to them, both financially and through volunteer service.

Learn more about ActiveCampaign’s socially responsible giving programs here.

Toyota Connected

Matching gifts? Yes
Volunteer grants? No
Volunteer time off? No

Toyota Connected is a division of Toyota that focuses on creating innovative connected technologies and data-driven solutions for the automotive industry. While Toyota Connected has a technological focus, it also embraces corporate social responsibility.

One way that it does so is through its matching gifts program, which doubles employee donations to qualifying nonprofits. This initiative has auto-submission enabled, allowing employees to complete their matching gift requests straight from their favorite organizations’ giving pages!

Learn more about Toyota Connected’s socially responsible giving programs here.

Harvard University Employees Credit Union

Matching gifts? Yes
Volunteer grants? No
Volunteer time off? No

Harvard University Employees Credit Union (HUECU) is a member-owned financial institution serving the Harvard University community and its affiliates. As part of its CSR efforts, HUECU focuses on financial education, community development, and charitable giving.

The credit union also supports employee philanthropy through a matching gifts program, enabling employees to increase their charitable donations through corporate matches. Its CLMA-designated matching gifts initiative demonstrates a commitment to supporting the causes that matter to its employees and fostering positive community impact through financial contributions.

Learn more about Harvard University’s socially responsible giving programs here.

BerlinRosen

Matching gifts? Yes
Volunteer grants? No
Volunteer time off? No

BerlinRosen is a strategic communications firm known for its work in public affairs, advocacy, and social impact campaigns. The company’s CSR efforts are rooted in its dedication to promoting progressive causes, diversity, and social justice.

Additionally, BerlinRosen encourages employee giving through its matching gifts program, multiplying employee donations to a wide range of nonprofits and schools. And with auto-submission functionality enabled, it’s quick and easy for its employees to get involved!

Learn more about BerlinRosen’s socially responsible giving programs here.

Identifying Socially Responsible Companies in Your Network

The above companies form a representative sample of socially responsible employers. But there are tens of thousands more businesses participating in CSR⁠—and it would be impossible to list them all.

That said, there are a few strategies that can be employed in order to uncover top companies devoted to CSR with existing connections to your donor base. These include the following:

Manual Research

The first step you might want to take is to perform a series of manual research tasks. For example:

• Screening publicly available donor information to uncover employment insights (often using LinkedIn or other online resources).
• Reaching out to donors directly to request employer information (e.g., sending an optional survey via email).
• Visiting the websites of identified companies to explore their CSR or corporate philanthropy sections.
• Engaging with donors to request information about their employers’ giving programs, community engagement efforts, and more.

While it requires significant investments of time and resources to conduct this research on your own, keep in mind that it’s possible to uncover some invaluable insights this way.

Workplace Giving Software

The next option involves automating the processes of collecting and leveraging employment information using the right tools in your tech stack. Specifically, by implementing (and integrating) a workplace giving platform like Double the Donation’s 360MatchPro, you can glean employment insights directly as donors give.

From there, the solution automatically screens against the industry’s leading corporate giving database to flag opportunities for matching gifts, volunteer grants, VTO programs, and other corporate giving initiatives.

In order to drive supporter engagement with the tool, you can even embed the company search tool directly into your website, donation forms, volunteer registration pages, and more.

Employer Appends

Even after incorporating workplace giving software to collect employment information as supporters engage with your cause, there’s a good chance you’ll have some gaps in your records. For this, we recommend outsourcing your research process to a third-party data enhancement service provider like NPO Info by Double the Donation.

Here’s how it works:

• You’ll provide the data enhancement company with the information you have about your donors (names, engagement histories, contact details, etc.).
• The enhancement company will scan the information you provide against a series of publicly available and privately held data sources to uncover relevant information and fill in the gaps.
• Your organization will receive the finalized employer append record, along with information about the uncovered companies’ matching gifts and other giving programs.

Once you have the information, your team can use the uncovered insights to tailor your outreach efforts and grow your relationship with the appropriate donors and their employers alike.

Final Thoughts & Additional Resources

Partnering with socially responsible companies opens up a world of possibilities for your nonprofit or school. Whether through matching gifts, volunteer grants, or other corporate philanthropy initiatives, these opportunities allow your donors to do more with their contributions.

Don’t miss out on the potential for additional funding and support. Start building stronger relationships with your corporate partners⁠—and their employees⁠—today. Your donors are ready to amplify their impact, and with the right tools and strategies, your organization can thrive.

Interested in seeing how your team can benefit from socially responsible companies like these? Check out the following materials to learn more:

• How Donor Employer Information Boosts Fundraising + Workplace Giving. Knowing where your supporters work can go a long way in uncovering workplace giving and corporate partnership opportunities. Find out how to collect, manage, and leverage this data here!
• Your Ultimate Guide to Employer Appends for Nonprofits. Gather employer information and fill in the gaps in your existing donor records with a dedicated data enhancement service. See how your organization can get started with this guide to employer appends.
• How to Identify Corporate Partnerships [With 360MatchPro]. Build better, mutually beneficial relationships with the companies in your network. Learn how to identify invaluable opportunities for support with Double the Donation’s workplace giving platform, 360MatchPro.