Workplace Giving Australia, with the support of ANZ Bank, welcomed a motivated group of charity and corporate supporters to a panel discussion and networking event, ‘Driving Change for Workplace Giving in 2024'. A mix of ESG and Community leaders, as well as People and Culture, Talent and Acquisition and employee experience teams, and Corporate Partnership Managers of many of Australia's leading charities were in attendance.
Nikki Anstis, Head of Advocacy and Engagement at Workplace Giving Australia, led the panel and audience on a journey to explore the shared challenges of uptake of giving at work and how this can be addressed collectively and collaboratively. The panel of engaging thought leaders included:
Members and guests of the workplace giving group The Network, a group of corporates and charities driving change through smart giving, discovered new ways to give through collaboration, discussion and conversation. Communication, awareness and the use of impact stories to gain trust and new participation emerged as key themes for this gathering of sector-leading attendees and thought leaders.
When asked about the challenges of encouraging workplace giving, Janet Liu, Head of Social Impact and Community Partnerships with ANZ Bank, commented that the challenges faced by ANZ were around communicating with their 40,000-strong employee base and managing their diverse giving programs through technology solutions. To solve this, Janet proposed that charities could seek to communicate about workplace giving in their general giving campaigns directly to donors.
Monica Evans, Corporate Partnerships Manager with the much-loved charity Redkite, shared details of the lengthy education process with corporate partners to set up successful workplace giving programs and ensure the personal impact stories reach employees from charities. She said a mass educational campaign or conference would help support this growth.
With his leadership in this critical space, David Mann, CEO of Workplace Giving Australia, led a conversation about the current state of play and the workplace giving opportunity broadly. He asked why more people don't know about giving at work. As he stated, 'It's a no-brainer, so why don't more people become involved?' He also shared key insights coming in the soon-to-be-released Workplace Giving Australia research. The panel also explored more challenges and possible solutions to increase workplace giving and proposed that alongside the 2023 double giving goal, we need a strong collective effort from employers, charities and employees to increase uptake. It was also noted that Workplace Giving Month is coming up in June, where Workplace Giving Australia will provide practical and simple actions that all people can take to be involved.
Everyone in attendance was delighted to learn more about giving at work and why it's becoming part of everyday life, and all were grateful for the support of the venue host, ANZ Bank. Workplace Giving Australia collaborates with organisations to make giving a part of everyday life, and workplace giving is the smartest way to make your charitable impact count. To learn more about how you and your organisation can enable giving and drive real change, discover more and contact an expert here.