There are some new questions for businesses. First, as an employer, why do I want my employees to give? And, if I believe in charitable giving in the workplace, why would I choose Encast to facilitate our giving? Those are, obviously, two different questions with two different answers, but both are very, very important.
So, why do I want my employees to give? You can’t ignore the statistics, and you can’t change the facts. Giving employees are better employees, giving employees care more about your company’s mission. They care more about their place in life, they care more about other people, and they have empathy. They have a little more passion. There are mountains of research around those claims.
We also know that customers really, really today want to do business with companies that care. There are a lot of ways as a company to show the world that you actually do care, and employee-giving programs is one of the most obvious. And Encast, as well as the broader marketplace, believes in companies with that caring attitude in its DNA.
Encast speaks a language to employees, specifically, that I don’t think is offered by other platforms. Most giving programs, whether within a company, or not, are built by the charity world for various charities in a form that makes sense to them and their endeavors. We believe in the employee, and we are convinced that the philanthropic lifestyle is key. Our logic is that just as the cause is important to the employees, the employees are our cause at Encast. The donors, the givers, the people that want to support their concepts of causes, what they believe in as important and relevant, those are our causes.
Encast speaks directly to those employees. We want to help the $20 a month and the $5 a month donors. We view our job as understanding what they want and helping them to achieve those goals. Workers want to be able to talk about their causes, get others interested, and are able to go out after work to socially engage on important matters. We have discovered that they also want to be able to reference an app to get quick information, and even show others what they’re doing and how good it makes them feel to be a part of something that helps others without any expectation of return. They also want to be able to find or use recommendation engines that are intuitive, and see and share what their friends and family are doing while also getting a few recommendations on causes that might be of interest either to them, personally, or their social circles.
It’s simply a new day in the role of giving. If we can move the line, and we are confident at Encast that we can do that, then the amount given to U.S. nonprofits will increase. What company wouldn’t be happy with that kind of accomplishment? We truly believe that the 22 or the 25 or 30-year-olds are ready to give, and are thinking, “It’s time for me to give,” and Encast helps them understand that, finally, the tools for them to accomplish that in meaningful ways have become available and are convenient.
At Encast, we make it possible to give in increments that aren’t reserved normally for philanthropy. When we hear thousands or hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars, many people, who are inclined to be charitable, can be alienated. But it really is 5-10, 20-50 bucks a time, across broad numbers of donors, that make the difference in important causes in charities. This is the movement we are empowering at Encast. We like to talk about spare change around our offices. It’s figurative; of course, the notion of spare change, whatever is in your pocket. But aggregated among millions of good people who want to help and make a difference, that becomes a powerful force.
So, we are back to those two questions that we try to answer at Encast when it comes to companies that are setting up employee payroll deduction and the opportunity for their employees to give at work. Obviously, a company executive has to ask why would I do that in the first place? The answer is simply because you can’t ignore the facts. Companies that attract more customers and the best talent accomplish that through their entire brand image, which means there needs to be a giving in business DNA. A company that has conscious caring in everything they do always does better in the marketplace and against competitors that are only interested in profits. The research from everywhere reaches these conclusions over and over and over. Happier employees equal happy customers that drive brand loyalty, profits and a strong brand.
We think we have the best way for a company to achieve these goals. Encast speaks the language of the employee. We’re not charity driven. We are employee and donor driven. And we’ve created tools to make anyone a better philanthropist that can start to give and help at any stage in their lives.
Imagine how we can all improve the world together if we just give whatever we can.
