Corporations contributing to community

Private sector tapped for grassroots solutions, writes Rhea Dubois-Phillips.

In Metro Vancouver, there are plenty of local issues needing attention, from big concerns like health care, education and soaring housing costs that have priced many people out of the market, to smaller issues like underfunded art classes and playgrounds that have aged beyond repair.

Increasingly, Canadians are looking to the private sector, rather than cash-strapped governments, to take action on these issues, a finding confirmed by this year’s Edelman Trust Barometer, which revealed that 64 per cent of Canadians think CEOs should take the lead on advancing change rather than waiting on government.

This finding presents a real opportunity for businesses to get involved and make a meaningful difference, something that organizations have traditionally done through corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. These programs can be executed on a small or large scale, with small and targeted programs proving to be especially powerful.

In fact, often the more targeted the CSR effort, the more impactful the results both for the communities benefiting from them and the companies running them.

This is because by familiarizing themselves with the communities in which they operate, organizations can pinpoint the real, everyday issues facing community members and help develop solutions that actually move the dial on them.

An excellent example of this kind of grassroots, solutions-oriented thinking is that of Belford Properties, a local real estate development company that identified a need — underfunded school arts programs in Burnaby’s Metrotown area — and partnered with a local organization, Burnaby Neighbourhood House, to find a creative solution. Earlier this year, the two organizations worked together to create an interactive art installation that both showcases children’s art and helps generate money to go toward reviving underfunded local arts programs.

The installation, on display outside Belford Properties’ Sun Towers on Beresford Street, features colourful LED -lit umbrellas designed by local children that light up when people donate, helping to solve a community issue in real time.

Another corporate initiative that has had a tangible impact on a local issue is The Vancouver Sun’s Adopt-A-School program, which helps break down the financial barriers that get in the way of disadvantaged children succeeding at school.

Since 2011, the program has dispersed $3.8 million toward providing breakfast and lunch, transit tickets to get to and from school, and winter coats and boots to vulnerable children in local schools — again, a program with a direct and visible impact.

Seeing the effect of these local initiatives on the people who need them speaks to the value of community involvement as an avenue for CSR. While large-scale donations can also have great value to communities, it takes time for their impact to trickle down to the people who need them most. By comparison, the time and money invested in grassroots community outreach has an immediate impact — one that can be seen, felt and heard in local communities.

This type of involvement forges real relationships with community members, helps generate awareness of a company’s brand and its values, and elevates its reputation in the minds of those who matter most: the local stakeholders who cement companies’ reputations through word of mouth.

As consumers increasingly look to businesses to take initiative, now is the time for companies to re-evaluate their CSR strategies, and if they want to be good corporate citizens, what better place to start than in their own backyards?