You’re interested in having an impact outside your organization, but where do you start?
Canopy defines external impact as the activities related to the business’s social or environmental mission that are tracked, measured, and supported with recommendations for improvement. External Impact demonstrates that you’re a business who takes an interest in wider social issues, rather than just those that impact your profit margins, which will attract customers who share the same values.
Three common and easy ways to track (and inspire) your external impact work are through:
- Programs/Policies/Initiatives
- Dollars spent on the program
- In-Kind Donations
- Number of paid hours spent on the program
- Number of people that benefited from the program
- Philanthropy
- Dollars spent
- Organization
- Volunteering
- # of hours company employees volunteered
- Organization volunteered with
Here are some ideas:
Programs: Creating initiatives like financial literacy courses or matching mortgage down payment dollars aimed at helping your employees and local community
Philanthropy: Donating to local nonprofits fighting racial injustice like the Urban League (Louisville), Bail Funds, and black-owned business funds.
Volunteering: Incentivizing employees to take some volunteer shifts with Feed the West (Louisville)
Tip: Try to get employees and leaders to feel connected and engaged in your community work. This will help create internal champions that want to continue and build on the great work you are doing.
