Sustainability/CSR

Successful Give Back Events: Top Tips From the Experts

May 1, 2023

How to ensure CSR events are meaningful for your organization and impactful for your selected charity.

Founded in 2005 specifically for the meetings and incentive industry, Impact 4 Good offers national, international and virtual delivery of CSR teambuilding activities. With facilitators in cities across the US and a worldwide network of partner community service organizations, they have assisted planners in organizing thousands of give back events.

Impact 4 Good’s recently published Top 10 Tips to Make Your Give Back Event a Success starts off with with a recommendation to connect attendees with knowledge about the charity they are supporting. “Although it’s the first point on the tips list, Connect to the Cause is sometimes overlooked,” says Impact 4 Good Co-Founder and Managing Partner Alan Ranzer, “which can lead to participants feeling that the experience was more to check off the ‘we gave back’ box than to really make an impact. Give back events must include background on why the cause is important, who the organization is that will benefit, and how participant’s efforts translate into impact.” To kick off the event, share an overview of the charity being supported and stories to help the team understand the importance of the cause and the impact they will make.

5 Top Tips for Give Back Events

Among Impact 4 Good’s other recommendations for a successful CSR event:

Timing Counts. Block off a concrete time for people to get involved, such as at lunch hour. For larger groups, consider offering two sessions to accommodate schedules.

Food Always Helps. Offer food and snacks as an incentive for people to attend the activity and keep the team’s creativity fed.

Support from the Top. Underscore the importance of the effort to your team by having an executive highlight their support. This can be an email invite, a video or better yet an onsite visit to participate in the event.

Show the Impact. Ask a contact from your beneficiary organization to write a short letter or video to be shared at the event.

Add a Little Competition. Offer a superlative award for the best donation or event activity. For example, reward the person with the most creative support message or the cutest donation creation.