Impactful service: how to really make a difference with corporate service projects.

• Author: Biton, Adva
• Position: Living Well

It's natural to want to give. When a person or business has achieved success, the logical next step is to share that success with those less fortunate. Companies wanting to create more good in their communities often leap at the chance to do so, but it takes time and critical thinking to figure out how to best accomplish just that.

Traditionally, corporate service has looked like this: 200 employees in similar t-shirts brandishing paintbrushes for a solid day. But it turns out a single day of giving may not be the best way for your company to give back. Days of giving can often strain smaller nonprofits, which are tasked with finding big enough, contained projects for the company to work on and then organize it completely, often putting in their own staff and resources to make it work.

"Days of service--they have their time and their place. But the culture of volunteer engagement is shifting," says Heather MacDonald, volunteer and community engagement director at United Way of Salt Lake. "People realize that [days of service] can be helpful, but also that they're not always helpful. You get the sense that you're painting the same walls as last year. Is that helpful or wasting resources?"

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The question companies need to ask themselves is this: Do you truly want to serve your community? If so, here are some good ways to get started.

Understand what you want to do

Partner with a nonprofit--the Utah Nonprofits Association and United Way are good places to start looking--and figure put what your goals are. Does your company have a particular problem the employees are most interested in solving?

"Build a relationship with a local nonprofit, maybe one in your community or one that your company has employees whose children participate in," says Kate Rubalcava, CEO of the Utah Nonprofits Association. "Pick a nonprofit due to passion or need or being in that community, and then ask them what they need."

See yourself as a partner

Once you've chosen a nonprofit, reach out and begin cultivating a relationship. Ask the nonprofit what its current needs are and what you can do to help solve those needs. Remember, giving can take many forms--most people think of money or manpower, but nonprofits can also benefit from borrowing your expertise.

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