2020 will go down in history as one of our toughest years globally. As it draws to a close, it’s wonderful to be able to celebrate some wins. Well done to all five of our client nominees in the Workplace Giving Awards – Westpac Group, Sydney Water, Bain & Company, The Smith Family and EnergyAustralia – every one of them received award recognition for their work raising workplace giving funds for communities in need. Congratulations everyone!

I’ve been so proud to be part of Good2Give in the last 12 months; I’ve watched our people dig deep to help our corporate clients, donors and charities during the challenges of bushfires crisis, the social and financial impact of the global pandemic, not to mention providing support to charities working in less-recognised areas. Our Global Alliance Partner, CAF America, is running a global survey on how charities have responded to the pandemic. I urge charities to complete this survey as previous results have been used in major news outlets worldwide like Forbes. I recently listened to this TED Talk which reinforces what many of us know – giving makes us happy. There are also some valuable insights on building a deeper donor connection and how beneficial that can be for the donor and the charity.

Good2Give’s Customer Forum provided notable insights from clients Westpac and Findex on the role of giving champions in the workplace and increasing employee engagement. With a workplace giving participation rate of over 50%, Findex has created compelling strategies to increase that all-important metric of employee engagement. Thanks also to David Crosbie, CEO of the Community Council for Australia for sharing the challenges the charity sector has faced this year and will face in 2021; read more here. We were also delighted to be mentioned in Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP and Nick Terrell’s recent book ‘Reconnencted‘, billed as an essential guide for anyone interested in strengthening social ties.

With the festive season around the corner, I’m sure all our hopes are for a brighter New Year ahead. Likewise, a great start is exactly what the LEWW Scholarship Program is designed to provide. With significant funding available for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students, I encourage you to share this opportunity with your network.  My congratulations also to David Jones for their inaugural 2020 Christmas Appeal, putting a little more joy and a lot more meaning into Christmas shopping! The Appeal is open to DJ’s staff members, as well as their customers. Customers can donate when they shop online. With Australian Red Cross and New Zealand Red Cross as the recipients of all funds raised, there’s certain going to be a little more sparkle this year thanks to this initiative.

Further reinforcing a positive start to 2021, in the first quarter, we have several corporate community investment advisory projects to help clients identify charities to work with strategically. If you are a company looking to refresh your charity partnerships, please contact us.

I wish you and your loved ones a happy, healthy and safe festive season. Thank you for your commitment to continued giving, which allows us to facilitate fundraising that goes directly as you intend to the causes and campaigns you care about.

Lisa Grinham Chief Executive Officer Email LinkedIn