ICT and Big Data

Safeway, Oakley Adopt Tool to Better Understand Social Impact of Giving Programs

Safeway, Oakley, Frontier Airlines and Family Dollar are among those that have adopted a new tool that helps to measure the social impact of giving programs.The Impact Reporting tool, developed by Versaic, a San Mateo, Calif.-based online CSR and sustainability program management provider, enables users to track the impact of their donations by automatically requesting follow up information from approved non-profits after the contribution is made or the event is held.Many companies consider reporting on impact a must-have component of a comprehensive giving program, Versaic says. However, often this is easier said than done.Impact Reporting streamlines this process by collecting data and reporting it automatically, which requires no additional work from users.

By Mike Hower | Published 11 years ago | About a 2 minute read

Safeway, Oakley, Frontier Airlines and Family Dollar are among those that have adopted a new tool that helps to measure the social impact of giving programs.

The Impact Reporting tool, developed by Versaic, a San Mateo, Calif.-based online CSR and sustainability program management provider, enables users to track the impact of their donations by automatically requesting follow up information from approved non-profits after the contribution is made or the event is held.

Many companies consider reporting on impact a must-have component of a comprehensive giving program, Versaic says. However, often this is easier said than done.

Impact Reporting streamlines this process by collecting data and reporting it automatically, which requires no additional work from users.

Oakley has an active giving program that includes product donations and charitable events. The company says it has committed to issuing its first CSR report in 2014 and Versaic’s Impact Reporting will be critical to helping the company collect data for the report.

“We communicate our impact in two ways — through data and stories,” said Jennifer Walker, community relations manager for Oakley. “The data quantifies our impact and the stories help us understand the human and social value of our investments. Both are essential and Versaic’s Impact Reporting delivers on both fronts.”

“Our clients know their contributions make a difference but until now, it was hard to quantify the ultimate impact of a grant or donation,” said Burt Cummings, CEO of Versaic. “Our system makes it effortless for our clients to collect information at just the right time to better understand their programs’ impact.”

Cummings says Impact Reporting facilitates the ‘aha moment,’ which helps clients to go beyond the raw numbers and understand their true philanthropic footprint.

Many companies are implementing Impact Reporting now in order to gather a full year of impact data in 2014, according to Versaic.

Speaking of tools that facilitate giving, last month marked the public beta launch of Ching™, the first purchase-driven fundraising tool designed specifically for nonprofit organizations. Ching allows nonprofits to earn revenue through their supporters’ everyday online purchases at some of the nation’s top online retailers including Amazon and Nordstrom. Through Ching’s technology platform, nonprofits are able to secure a portion of the more than $250 billion spent annually online — at no additional cost to the organization or to their supporters.

Mike Hower

Founder & Principal Consultant, Hower Impact

Mike Hower is the founder of Hower Impact — a boutique consultancy delivering best-in-class strategic communication advisory and support for corporate sustainability, ESG and climate tech.

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