Coca Cola’s Most Memorable Ads

June 1, 2017 by John Partilla

Coca-cola is a global leader and their might isn’t easily challenged within the beverage industry. They’ve provided the public countless products and brands, including an absurd variety of fruit juices, sports drinks, and other beverages. The refreshment company can credit a great deal of their success to their ad choices and marketing decisions. Read on to learn a bit about some of Coca Cola’s most memorable ads:

Hilltop

This 1971 ad is probably the most memorable Coca-Cola ad there is, featuring a song that is recognizable even to those born after it aired. It, like many successful Coke ads, features a song and is almost music video-like in format. The video shows a lone singer, who is quickly joined by a crowd of people, singing “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke.” The singers, according to the end of the video, are “young people from all over the world.” The ad’s emphasis on community and happiness is also typical of Coke ads. This message has persisted in Coke ads even up until the present day.

Always Coca Cola

This 1993 ad is the only one on this list not to feature characters–neither humans, nor anthropomorphized non-humans appear during it. Instead, it plays a short, catchy song, accompanied by very simple imagery: the coke logo on a flashing background, with projected lyrics. Thus, music–which is already, as stated above, a very important feature in many Coca-Cola ads–is given importance over everything else.

Catch

Here’s a much more recent commercial from Coke. This commercial also doesn’t feature any humans, although it does have humanlike animals: a number of adorable animated polar bears, starring the clumsy but loveable NE_Bear. This was not the first time polar bears were used in Coke advertising, and it wouldn’t be the last. Polar bears were first used in a 1993 advertisement, in an animated TV spot entitled “Northern Lights.” There have also been several polar bear ads after 2012. But “Catch,” is especially cute, simple, and well worth the watch.

Heist

For more animals enjoying Coke, there’s “Heist”, a 2009 Superbowl commercial that won that year’s Emmy for “Best Commercial.” In “Heist”, insects join forces to steal a sleeping man’s Coke, their colorful exploits set to the music of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf. The commercial is bright and cheerful, and though stealing a Coke seems at first to go against the usual idea of “sharing a Coke”, the ad nonetheless touches the usual points of teamwork and community building.

Taste the Feeling

Here’s an ad that strives to recreate the music video-like “Hilltop” with more modern sensibilities. The song, by the artists Avicii and Conrad Sewell, does not sound like an advertising jingle: the word “Coke” itself is only used twice, and the shape of the song does not draw very much attention to this product placement. But given Coke’s recognizability, that’s not a bad thing, and the wholesome, fun-loving qualities that mark Coke advertising are here too, to the cheery sound of dance music.

John Partilla is the CEO of Screenvision, and he’s a veteran of the marketing industry with nearly three decades of experience in a variety of roles. Please read “John Partilla Named Screenvision CEO,” “John Partilla: Screenvision Names Exec CEO – Variety,” “Screenvision Taps John Partilla To Be CEO As It Seeks To Rebuild” and his Screenvision profile to learn more. Also, check out his Crunchbase, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

3 Powerful CEOs in the Philanthropic World

February 3, 2017 by John Partilla

Some of the greatest contributions to worthwhile causes arise in the form of financial aid. Contributions from wealthy individuals are the key drivers of many nonprofit organizations that strive to help the needy. Some influential CEOs have managed to transform the world not only with intelligent, groundbreaking, and entrepreneurial ideas but also through charitable acts. Below are three CEOs who have excelled both in business and philanthropy worlds.

1. Warren Buffet

Warren Buffet is the world’s leading investor, board chairperson, and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway. In 2010, he collaborated with Bill and Melinda Gates to unveil The Giving Pledge, a platform through which the wealthiest individuals and families can donate their wealth to the philanthropic and charitable organization, either in their lifetime or after their death. The Giving Pledge allows pledgers to donate to any organization or group they prefer. The foundation has public pledges amounting to more than $125 billion.

Warren Buffet donates towards causes such as education, children, nuclear threats, health and economic development, and community services. He promised to give 99 percent of his wealth to charitable causes. Upon Buffet’s death, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will receive 83 percent of his pledged wealth and the rest will go to the foundation of his children.

2. Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg is a terrific investor and influential philanthropist. He founded Facebook and currently serves as its CEO. His charitable initiatives revolve around the fields of education, community development, technology innovation, health, and immigration reform. He is the brains behind the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, which started its operation in 2015. The initiative focuses on personalized learning, eliminating life-threatening diseases, connecting people, and establishing strong communities. Zuckerberg made an appearance on the celebrated Oprah Winfrey Show in 2010 and announced a donation of a record $ 100 million to the Public School System of the Newark, New Jersey.

3. Marc Benioff

Benioff is a leading American entrepreneur, accomplished author, and passionate philanthropist. He launched Salesforce in 1999, and he is the current CEO and chairperson. Salesforce is one of prominent cloud computing companies in the world. He funds the UCSF Foundation that raises funds to further research and treatment at the Children’s Hospital that is centered within The University of California San Francisco (UCSF). Recently, he donated a whopping $100 million to finance the construction the hospital’s new headquarters at the Mission Bay-based UCSF campus.

Philanthropy is a valuable fragment of a democratic society. It focuses on improving the well-being of people by preventing and coming up with lasting solutions to social problems. Wealthy entrepreneurs engage in charitable acts to support programs and endeavors whose aim is to make the world a safe and better place.

Top Philanthropic Companies in the Ad World Right Now

January 18, 2017 by John Partilla

Perhaps President John F. Kennedy said it best:

“The raising of extraordinarily large sums of money, given voluntarily and freely by millions of our fellow Americans, is a unique American tradition… Philanthropy, charity, giving voluntarily and freely… call it what you like, but it is truly a jewel of an American tradition.

When it comes to major companies and the money generously given back to the community, there are super star philanthropic players who stand high above the rest. These a-list companies donate millions of dollars annually all over the world.

1. Walmart. The neighborhood store has developed into a global household name, known for its “every day low prices” philosophy. Their other mission is creating “opportunities so people can live better.”

Walmart remains a powerful leader in the charity arena via the Walmart Foundation. The latest numbers tell the store giant’s story. In 2014, Walmart donated $1.4 billion in cash and in-kind contributions around the world. Global in-kind donations accounted for $1 billion, while $309 million was given in cash globally.

Walmart also boosted employee starting wages from $9 to $10 per hour.

2. Exxon Mobil. The iconic oil and gas company continues riding the wave of success and giving back to others in three key areas under the Exxon Mobil Foundation. The company is focusing on education, malaria prevention, and economic opportunity for women.

Exxon Mobil’s 2015 cash contributions amounted to $268 million. Vital Voices, the international women’s group founded by Hillary Clinton received $1.9 million. A sum of $500,000 went to Medicines for Malaria Venture and $80,000 to numerous science camps at colleges and universities scattered across the country.

3. Bank of America. The major financial institution retains a strong commitment to fighting hunger, collaborating with the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity, Feeding America. Every dollar donated helps provide 11 meals to men, women and children facing hunger in the U.S.

In addition, Bank of America made cash contributions to the tune of $168.5 million in 2015. Last year, the company spent just shy of $50 million on workforce education, $33 million on community development, and another $33 million on hunger and other critical needs.

5 Ways Ad Agencies Can Create Meaningful Corporate Social Responsibility Programs

January 15, 2017 by John Partilla

In today’s world, consumers value corporate social responsibility. If your company gives back, you are much more likely to gain customers. This applies with ad agencies because when an agency develops a CSR program, that mentality can be passed on to clients. In the past agencies haven’t worked hard to help their clients develop corporate social responsibility programs. This needs to change. In this day and age, a client’s brand needs a CSR program. Here are four ways that an ad agencies can help refresh CSR programs in their own companies and for their clients:

1) Put the client’s brand at the center

Corporate social responsibility efforts must be in line with overall business goals, experts say. This is definitely a key part of the process, but it is equally important to make sure a company’s brand is at the center of its CSR efforts. The brand should me more about meaning than marketing. Bring the meaning to life by thinking about how to execute a CSR effort for best impact. A client can use their product and brand to better the lives of others, thus showing what they’re all about.

2) Empower consumers to take action

As an agency, you’re used to engaging, inspiring and motivating consumers to take action. So why not push your clients to do the same with their CSR efforts? Allow your clients to not only tell consumers about CSR initiatives but to directly involve the consumers. This could come in the form of inspiring consumers to make suggestions for new initiatives, or simply providing them with a vehicle to make donations. When you bring the consumer in, you’ll be able to bring the experience to life.

3) Emphasize leadership

The most highly visible people in a company are the top executives. They speak at conferences and talk to the press. They need to articulate the vision behind all of the company’s CSR initiatives. These higher-ups as a result need to be directly and visibly involved. Advertising professionals are not only in the business of strategy and media, but also in the business of building relationships. Utilize the relationships you’ve built over the years to get the leaders of clients’ companies deeply engaged in CSR efforts. You can’t bet on every consumer knowing who the CEO of a company is, but all of the employees will. Studies have shown that when leadership, especially the CEO, is involved in societal issues, there is an increase in employee advocacy and engagement, motivation to perform will and desire to stick with the company.

4) Create a culture rather than just building a program

If a program is administered by a select few, it’s nothing more than a program. But if it is opened up to every employee, and leadership recognizes employees’ contributions, every aspect of the organization will be affected by the power of purpose. Since ad agencies are used to collaborating quickly and cross-pollinating ideas among departments, the CSR culture can spread just as quickly as any other well-implemented system. As a result, the agency as a whole will be inspired to produce more meaningful campaigns.

As an ad agency, you have the power to influence your own company as well as your clients. Adding a culture of corporate social responsibility to the way you work will allow your company and your clients to gain more respect and more enthusiastic consumers.

5 Tips for Making Your Charitable Donations Count

November 20, 2016 by John Partilla

There is a lot of talk about American consumerism. This article from the Huffington Post goes as far as labeling the country’s affinity for buying things, a crisis. Perhaps there is some merit to the conversation, especially as we head into Black Friday (historically the biggest day of the year for the retail industry); yet Americans aren’t only concerned with acquiring things, hoarding goods for themselves. As a country, America is also quite generous. The most philanthropic nation on earth (tied with Myanmar), giving more than $373 billion to charity in 2015–a record amount, according to data from Giving USA.

This year, however, I think it’s important to encourage attentiveness with regard to giving. Being philanthropic is more than writing a check to whomever or whatever, it should involve strategy and, to a greater extent, concern for whether or not your gift is making a difference. Here are five tips for ensuring that every dollar you give to charity counts.

Narrow Your Scope
There are 1.5 million registered nonprofits in the U.S. alone. It can seem impossible to choose which organization to help, but doing so is an important part of making your donation count. As a start, look within yourself for guidance; in other words, ask yourself which causes matter most to you? Perhaps you want to honor a family member who lost a battle with cancer, or you grew up without food, or have a soft spot for homeless youth. Whatever it is that gets you moving, find organizations that advocate for and serve the cause that aligns with your values.
Donate for Impact
Determining how much to give is another difficult task for some donors. There is no one size fits all amount. Instead, do your research and find out exactly how much is needed to: feed a child for a year, send someone to college, or help a military family avoid eviction. Many organizations have gotten more specific in recent years, making it easier to give in a way that will ensure a positive outcome for the beneficiaries.
Pool Money Together
If the amount you want to give to make an impact is not enough, consider getting help from friends. In our current era of online crowdfunding, this is not an uncommon practice. Bring people together to maximize the amount of your donation and thusly the amount of help for the cause about which your are passionate. If you want to take the extra step, consider starting a giving circle, which would become more like a grant or a foundation.
Make it a Family Affair
Speaking of working together, get your children involved. What does this have to with making your donation count? It’s an example of generosity and values that are good for children to develop, and it sets a precedent for giving that will likely to continue after your gone–a legacy, if you will.
Avoid Scams
Lastly, don’t be naive. Not every organization set up in the name of charity is actually doing the work. It doesn’t take much to set up a website or a few social media pages, and scam people out of money. Check the organization’s tax-exempt status, then assess their public financial records, which will show how donations are used. This will require a little more time on your part, but it’s better than throwing your money away.

These last few months of the year are considered giving season. Share this blog with others to creative a more effective donating process for everyone. If you have other examples of ways to make an impact that are not included in this list, contact me via Twitter; I’d love to include your tips in my next post.

High Net-Worth Individuals Have the Power To Change The World

August 11, 2016 by John Partilla

No matter how much financial success you have, the best entrepreneurs are those who give back to their communities. Instilling philanthropic values in the people around us is crucial in bettering our society. The best way to reach success and to be a well-rounded business professional is to incorporate philanthropic values into business planning from the very start.

The key to philanthropy is to make it engaging. For example, partners show their children the importance of helping others through hands-on activities such as donating toys or helping elderly neighbors. This makes philanthropy engaging and even more likely to make a difference in the lives of everyone involved.

If you’re a high net-worth individual, you have the opportunity to connect with your giving on a whole new level. Not only can you make your work engaging, but you can implement structural processes that will lead to the highest amount of impact possible.

High net-worth individuals with a lot of generosity have a large means to put their plans into action. The best way to go about this is for individuals to convene and share their information from various resources in order to create change at the grassroot. High net-worth individuals are typically driven by the simple agenda of doing good.

So why exactly is it that high net-worth individuals have the power to make a large difference? People with high net-worth are often able to work side-by-side with nonprofit organizations. The most effective giving occurs when these people empower the NGOs they work with. This involves learning more about the NGO’s challenges, finding solutions to red flags, and taking advantage of opportunities for growth. High net-worth individuals who truly make a difference don’t simply donate to companies; they create an effective partnership with the companies.

One example of this is an American family that funded School-on-Wheels, an education program in india that transformed a commercial bus into a mobile classroom that traveled from one slum to another to bring education to children on the streets. Because of the family’s funding, thousands of vulnerable children benefitted, and the NGO’s capacity was increased. The funding was critical to helping the company create a lasting impact. The funding continued for many years, building capacity and systematically addressing the needs of School-on-Wheels.

School-on-Wheels was able to reach its full potential largely due to the honest evaluation, clear reporting and constant dialogue between the organization and the family that funded it. The organization has since grown to enormous heights. In fact, Prince William and Kate Middleton chose this NGO as one of three nonprofits they visited in India.

It is important to structure your company so that you can maximize impact. One way to do this is to create a shared value system. Think about what problems are most important to the company and why solving those problems is so important. Then think about your investment philosophy. Consider whether you will make long-term investments or single-year grants. Once you’ve thought about your values, your mission statement should come naturally.

Evaluation and reporting is an important part of the upkeep of a philanthropic campaign. Create a simple quarterly or bi-annual report that clearly outlines the positives and the negatives. Evaluation of your grantees allows you to brainstorm about the ways to empower your grantees and how you can build capacity. It’s also a great idea to collaborate with other high net-worth individuals and philanthropists who want to work toward the same goal.

There is no one right way to make a difference, but if you incorporate philanthropy into your business strategy from day 1 and collaborate with others, your efforts are sure to create change in the world.

New Study Shows Which Cities Receive Most Charitable Donations

August 5, 2016 by John Partilla

Earlier this year, Fidelity Charitable released a 2016 “Giving Report.” Then, on June 22, 2016, Fidelity released a supplement to this report. The supplement analyzed the amount that donors give based on philanthropic interest and metropolitan area.

Over 80,000 donor-advised funds are managed by Fidelity on behalf of 132,000 donors. Fidelity Charitable’s funds have $3.2 billion in assets, making Fidelity Charitable’s funds the second-largest grantmaking group in the U.S. To analyze all the funds and develop the supplement, Fidelity used almost 42,000 funds advised and established by donors located in the top 30 U.S. metropolitan areas (MSAs).

In order to select the top 30 MSAs, Fidelity Charitable looked at the number of Fidelity donor advised funds in each city. The supplemental material went on to assess which cities had the highest giving in eight philanthropic sectors: arts and culture, environment and animals, human services, society benefit, international affairs, religion, education, and health. These sectors are defined by the Urban Institute’s National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE).

Giving is very personal in nature. People usually donate to causes that are important to them. For this reason, it is no surprise that the city-by-city supplement shows that different cities have different giving priorities. Our country is large and diverse, and the giving trends shown by the supplement reflect this diversity. For example, Fidelity donors in Salt Lake City donated the most money to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Salt Lake City was not in the top 10 in charitable support of any category aside from religion. Conversely, Boston-Cambridge-Quincy was in the top 10 in every category besides religion. In fact, Boston was number one in giving to health charities.

In the supplement, the most detailed information is provided for 12 MSAs: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Minneapolis, New York City, Los Angeles, Raleigh-Durham, Salt Lake City, Seattle, and Washington D.C. Within these 12 metropolitan areas, public broadcasting was a very popular industry to donate to. The popularity of public broadcasting among Fidelity DAF donors may show a correlation between Fidelity investors and devotees. It may also show that Fidelity donors give gifts at every level rather than just giving major gifts. This point was already brought up in the main 2016 Giving Report, but the data from supplement nicely supports it.

Going along with the idea that we donate to causes that are close to our hearts, Washington, D.C. ranks the highest for donating to charities in the international affairs sector. It also ranks high for donating to human services, education, environment and animals, arts and culture, and society benefits. San Francisco-Fremont-Oakland leads in donating to environmental and animal causes as well as arts & culture organizations. The top 10 lists also contain a few smaller metropolitan areas. St. Louis is among the top five cities that give to the environment and animals. Detroit is number two on the list for donating to human services. According to Fidelity, the diversity in city size could be proof that certain causes are supported with varying levels of intensity in many parts of the coutnry.

2016 is the first year that Fidelity has analyzed its fund data on the axis of geographic location. While they didn’t correlate these findings with other giving data that is available, they are open to the possibility of doing so in later years. If this correlation is done, researchers and practitioners may be able to better understand local giving patterns. They may also be able to figure out whether Fidelity DAF donors make choices that are similar to, or different from, those of other donors in their own hometowns. Fidelity’s supplemental report is valuable and could be the basis for more expansive analysis in the future.

5 Tips to Craft an Engaging Corporate Philanthropic Campaign

June 10, 2016 by John Partilla

Whether you’re launching a new program, revitalizing a stale one, or just want to make sure you’re following best practices to maximize both your reach and impact in your company’s corporate social responsibility program. Below are five steps you should follow in order to create an environment of success when it comes to promoting a certain charitable cause or mission.

Setting goals for your mission

Before actually starting this process, you need to sit back and reevaluate what the exact goals are when it comes to defining “success.” Consider how key causes map to the interests of your employees and goals of your business. Remember: the best philanthropy programs with solid support come from a set purpose with employee engagement. Authenticity is absolutely essential stepping stone.

Plan

Plan for a system that works the way you work and assemble your team. Reduce or eliminate inefficient tasks or processes to funnel or cultivate long term success. Basically, maintain flexibility and decide how to adapt during the evolving process of your corporate social responsibility program.

Secure a strong online presence

Enhance your overall brand message and share your philanthropic story with a website dedicated to the cause. This not only makes it clear for your supporters to find you, but it is also easier for potential volunteers to engage. In other words, utilize this site to give examples of your work , latest/upcoming events, and ways individuals can get involved at both micro and macro levels.

Launch time

The system before launching is essential when it comes taking small steps to success. After all the preparation leading up to this point, take the time to make sure everything is in place. Depending on the locale or area your company is targeting, partnering up with a business or other establishment to help in this stage.

Effectively communicate your results

At the end of the fundraiser or digital campaign, craft a comprehensive report underlining all the success with the use of social media channels, your website, and support from employees. Follow-up after each donation to collect data and send any stories to your communications/marketing team for promotion. Also, be sure to gather photos, stories, and anecdotes to help promote next year’s event.

How to More Effectively Participate in Philanthropy

June 2, 2016 by John Partilla

For many organizations and companies, philanthropic engagement has been strictly a business exchange in which corporations give money, and nonprofits give reach. Unfortunately, this does not necessarily mean that this exchange will produce results.

While nonprofits have such limited reach as it is , it is important for companies and nonprofit organizations to engage in a more responsive way to successfully alleviate hunger in a certain city or better cloth homeless youth.

Another idea to reconsider is the fact that funds do not necessarily translate to domestic or international success. Just because a certain organization or philanthropic body raises a few million dollars in no way means they will reduce hunger in a specific country, city or state.

It is also important to keep in mind that passionate people tend to work together in more ways than one. Driving engagement and traffic to have 500 one dollar donors instead of a single donor that donates 500 dollars is essential moving forward.

Also, a smart company would collaborate with their employee base in terms of finding a philanthropic cause, organizing ways to help, and most of all have a say in how to aid the targeted community. This in turn, creates a culture of kindness/selflessness, positive thinking, and mutual bonding in order to strengthen work based relationships.

Once employees are interested and engaged in what the company is participating in with respect to their new and improved philanthropic arm, there is a strong likelihood these employees will share their positivity in the social media space. Just look, for instance, at Microsoft, which regularly encourages its community to be even more philanthropic than the year before:

According to a recent study, in 2015 alone, Microsoft employees raised a record-breaking $125 million for more than 18,000 nonprofits and schools across the globe. The tech giant not only raise a hefty amount of money, but also made it their mission to constantly improve how they help, shape and act in a world that is increasingly becoming global. With participation reaching at around 71 percent, there is no question Microsoft’s employee base is becoming more involved in the philanthropic realm.

It is clear that millennials are no longer impressed or pleased with companies simply donating or fundraising for a charity. An engaging, well-thought out story is what this generation looks for as they both enter and navigate the job market.

According to a recent 2015 Aflac Corporation Survey:

75 percent of consumers said they would be happier to work for a company with an effective, strong CSR program.
65 percent of respondents link diversity with a company’s ethical standards.
92 percent of millennials are more likely to purchase from an ethical company more so than any other generation.

By serving the needs of those in need, corporations create an ecosystem of trusting consumers, a happier workplace community, and sometimes a higher employee retention rate across the board.
Basically regardless of company size, the company and charity relationship is clearly an ecosystem that will continue a cyclical charitable symbiotic relationship.

The Future of Corporate Philanthropy

May 11, 2016 by John Partilla

Within the vast digital space, the development of tools, websites and campaigns used to gain user engagement continues to increase year after year. An employee engagement tool called “Benevity” eases the sometimes confusing process of donating, volunteering, and grant making as a means to make this user experience as simple and hassle free as possible.

At a recent conference in San Diego, the director of employee engagement for Benevity publicly discusses the various trends, and emerging areas for improvement in relation to the “digital philanthropy” moving forward.

The director of solutions at Benevity, Saunders, also highlights the fact that the volunteer space is changing due to more companies offering volunteer opportunities to employees not only in corporate headquarters, but also across multiple offices under the business umbrella.

According to several data sources, 77% of companies allowed non-headquarter employees to engage with certain volunteer opportunities or programs implemented by the firm. On the other hand, around 58% of companies reported that at least one program was made available to their international employees.

During the conference Saunders also printed out the recent trend centered around the overall demand of employees increasingly becoming more aware and engaged in corporate philanthropy. While “volunteer” within the corporate world can tend to be fairly broad, these opportunities generally consist of these bodies offering ways their employees can get involved.

Studies have shown that increased employee engagement in corporate philanthropy, not only increases loyalty internally, but also increases loyalty internally, but also augments the donation revenue with relation to individuals giving money to the cause.

Benevity also spoke on behalf of the vital importance with regard to the qualities of collaboration, teamwork, and integration that comes with volunteering. In addition, there has been evidences indicating that individuals more inclined to volunteer actually results in giving far more money, resources, and time to a wide array of philanthropic causes.

On average, these individuals give roughly around 41% more than the average Americans, further underlining how much of an impact volunteer programs make within the mentality of “paying it forward.”

Also, Benevity makes it clear that providing potential and current employees within corporate philanthropy the necessary tools to guide their success is more than important, it is absolutely essential to grow. The ability to utilize technology to effectively guide volunteers in this process is a cornerstone tool. Volunteering is centered around integration, sos it is only fitting that this quality is the basis for technology use in volunteer programs and opportunities.

One program that continuously proves to be successful is called the “Dollars for Doers” opportunity, which has shown to boost engagement for employees. Essentially, this program donates on behalf of a high-performing employee who not only exhibits genuine interest in the cause, but also is an active member, trying to better the overall engagement experience.

Not only are the Dollar for Doer programs some of the best functioning ones in the world, but they have also increased in popularity during the last few years. Around 5% of Benevity clients offer their employees this program in order to boost and further develop their firm’s philanthropic arm.

To improve any program to a higher standard, a fair share of creativity is needed to raise certain standards to the next level. Even though less restrictions within the program allow for more leeway in terms of how operations (volunteer) run, creativity has no doubt moved to the forefront of future program implementation.

In this regard, companies are making it easier for volunteers receive cash rewards and other complementary opportunities in the program. Another added benefit of this program is the increased appeal from nonprofit partners to work with companies that provide this opportunity for their employees. The creativity and less restrictions on the rewards side within the Dollars for Doers program will foster an environment geared towards more companies adopting this process.

With a forty percent increase of pro bono service across companies throughout the country, private institutions actually have the highest growth rates. A pro bono or highly skilled volunteer is someone who donates his/her professional services for a nonprofit, or on behalf of another philanthropic organization.

A pro bono volunteer is different from other volunteers in that they bring expertise to an organization on a project basis that includes clear guidelines, deliverables and work that is tailored to their skillset. Pro bono and skilled volunteers range along a continuum of technical expertise and experience in terms of skills, levels of commitment, and the types of projects that appeal to them.

A great way to reflect on the work you or your team has completed when working with a charity and their partners is to discuss the project a few days after participation. Evaluating what and how to improve certain aspects of the volunteer project after completion allows not only employees to be more effective, but it also allows for increased awareness moving forward.