Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal just announced its 2009 honorees for “Best Places to Work.” The award recognizes companies “that go above and beyond the everyday when it comes to offering benefits and building a positive culture for workers.”
Five MCF members are among the 45 honorees:
The results are based on tallying employee surveys on a variety of topics. While I don’t know the specific survey questions or if they touched on each company’s corporate giving and philanthropic endeavors, there’s plenty of research out there that supports the notion that corporate philanthropy positively impacts employee retention and satisfaction.
Corporate Services at the national Council on Foundations gives these statistics in response to the FAQ, “Why should companies engage in philanthropy?”
- Employees who have a favorable impression of their company’s philanthropic program are four times more likely to be truly loyal employees than those who do not. (National Benchmark Study-Measuring the Business Value of Corporate Philanthropy)
- All things being equal, employees who have a favorable impression of their company’s philanthropy are five times more likely to remain with their employer. (National Benchmark Study-Measuring the Business Value of Corporate Philanthropy)
- 77 percent of respondents to the 2002 Cone Corporate Citizenship Study said a company’s commitment is important to social issues when they decide where to work.
In the spring 2009 issue of our MCF publication Giving Forum, which focused on corporate philanthropy, an article on corporate volunteerism noted, “In a 2007 Cone Cause Evolution Survey, 89 percent of those familiar with their companies’ cause programs feel a strong sense of loyalty to their employers, and 93 percent said it is important for their companies to provide them with opportunities to become involved in social issues.”
So, it appears that doing good work beyond company walls affects those who work within them as well.
- Chris Murakami Noonan, MCF communications associate
