How to leverage kindness: be proactive

You got to give the people, now

Give the people what they want

This sentiment expressed by 1970s superstars The O’Jays, still rings true today. But you’ve got to know what the people want in order to give it to them, right? Well here ya go!

According to multiple surveys tracked and aggregated by Engageforgood.com this is what the people want:

• Working for a company with a strong purpose is more important to employees (88%) now than ever before.
• 68% of respondents said they wanted brands to donate to programs that provide direct support for medical workers.
• 89% of consumers say they want brands to shift money and resources to produce products that help people meet pandemic-related challenges. 
• 67% of young people want brands to keep them informed on how they’re supporting employees and the broader team. 

And finally there’s this little eye-opener:

• Nearly 75% of respondents report an increase in leaderships’ CSR expectations or demands due to COVID-19.

COVID-19 has rewritten the CSR script. Corporate social responsibility is now on the hearts and minds of every executive around the globe. It’s not just “good for business;” it is a vital part of every successful business.

For reinforcement, allow me to quote Jacob Marley, my least favorite character in my favorite Charles Dickens’ book, A Christmas Carol. “Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence were, all, my business.”  

How to leverage kindness: employee engagement

According to Inc.com, “One way to engage employees to participate is to align the company’s donation choices with causes that have the greatest meaning to your workforce.”

Your Millennial staffers may not have any kids yet, but you can bet they’ve got a pet. No doubt they’d jump at the chance to help a puppy or kitten find a forever home. And that’s where our virtual Happy Tails Charity Team Building Workshop comes in. Your staff and  Magnovo’s facilitators will help a family longing for a pet take that big step when you donate a starter kit. 

Food, food dishes, water bowls, scratching posts, blankets, leashes, flea collars, bedding, toys—pet paraphernalia is pricey. In fact some prospective pet parents who are ready to make the emotional commitment simply can’t afford the financial commitment. Your team can spend an afternoon getting to know each other better while prepping a batch of goodies for a cuddly fur-baby and their new owner.

Of course, the doting parents among your staff may have another passion—kids. With our Mission: Kids Care Charity Team Building Workshop these impassioned parents can chip in and help some other moms and dads. Because although most children are attending school remotely thanks to the pandemic, they still need school supplies. 

Many parents around the country are retro-fitting bedrooms and spare rooms into classrooms for online learning. And they want to provide all the school trappings.  Decorative bulletin boards, cheerful posters, art supplies, along with the basics: pens, paper, calculators, notebooks, highlighters, and staplers. 

During our virtual workshop your team will “compete” for items to donate to a family in your hometown who could really use the support. And as for that competition, well, it’s really just a fun exercise to help your team grow closer while they’re working apart.

How to leverage kindness: make it personal

According to an article by moneycrashers.com, “A study by a University of Oregon professor and his colleagues demonstrates that charitable contributions create a response in the brain that mimics one activated by drugs and other stimuli.”

Charitable giving can lower your blood pressure, improve your cognitive functions, and vastly improve your coping skills. And for Baby Boomers it can even improve joint health, and increase stamina making it’s easier to walk briskly or climb stairs. Positive proof that it really is better—physically, emotionally, and psychologically—to give than to receive.

Kindness is soul food

From Inc.com: “According to a 2016 Deloitte study on volunteering, millennials were “twice as likely to rate their corporate culture as very positive” if their company participated in workplace volunteer activities. Employees respect companies that care for their community—it simply makes employees feel good, and increases the emotional attachment to their employer.”

Charitable giving empowers you. There’s so much going on in the world over which you have absolutely no control. This one act testifies that you can make a  big difference in your community by making a small difference in just one person’s life.  That’s how to leverage kindness!