Giving back to the society is slowly being sewed into the fabric of the corporate world nowadays. Across the business world, companies are setting up charitable foundations for a cause they believe in. Even start-ups can take part in backing a charitable cause. If you are new to this, here are some steps to set up a charitable foundation:
Find a cause you care about, and come up with a vision for it
Take a considerable amount of time figuring out the vision of your charitable move. In fact, give it the effort and thought that you would give when developing the business vision of a company. Obviously, the charitable cause should be something you are passionate about or you feel connected to and which you believe you can make a difference.
Research and evaluate legitimate opportunities
This is mostly the hardest part of the process. The thing is, many groups in the world are looking for charitable help. However, the rule of thumb is that there are specifications that organizations need to meet before they can receive or manage charitable support and funds. You should do due diligence just as you would, assessing a business deal. Research should enable you to shortlist the groups that are into the same causes as you are interested in. Get much information on the groups before requesting for in-person meetings. You can also hire a professional with vast experience working with charities to help you with vetting.
Determine the amount to contribute
If it’s your first time getting into charity, make small steps in the early years. However, before you sign a check, research first to establish how much to contribute.
And by research, you learn the amount of money that you can inject into a group to make a difference. In other cases, you might even discover that the organization only needs your resourcefulness and creativity.
Meet with the top candidates
You should be thorough when you meet with the key players. You should establish whether there is chemistry between you two, what their vision is towards the funds and in working with your foundation among other things. Take this opportunity to speak to them about how you envision seeing your money being spent, what you hope to achieve and the level of involvement they should expect from you.
Companies can make a significant impact through charitable work, and those four steps should get any business owner started on making a difference.
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