One might think that only entrepreneurs with with a lot of resources are inclined to donate to charities. However, according to a recent study, even entrepreneurs who have a tough time finding the necessary funds to thrive choose to donate without giving it a second thought.
According to a recent survey conducted by the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund and Ernst & Young, entrepreneurs are far more likely to give to charity, whether they have a low or high income, than the rest of us.
Out of the 150 CEOs and founders that took part in the survey, 89 percent of them donate to a large variety of charities. Moreover, 70 percent of them choose to actively participate, thus sharing their wealth not only as a matter of speaking.
In addition, 61 percent of entrepreneurs consider the statement “Being an entrepreneur makes me more inclined to give to charity.” to be accurate. Also, they consider donating to charity an opportunity to give back to the community and not an obligation. This is pretty much similar to their involvement and devotion to their company. When donating, they will never lack care and passion.
On average, companies that have an entrepreneur in charge usually give to charity approximately twice as much profits (by percentage) as some of the biggest corporations from the US. 62 percent of CEOs and founders consider giving back to the community and to charity translates into a more successful company in the long run, while 26 percent of them stated that they included philanthropy plans in the first draft of the business plan. In addition, 70 percent of the surveyed entrepreneurs said that they gave away to charity before their company achieved success.
Also, another interesting fact that the survey found that almost 75% of those surveyed stated that their businesses implemented policies that aim to encourage employee giving and more than half said they have created company programs that help this become more possible for workers. While it was a known fact that entrepreneurs gave back to the community and to charity, this study presents us with the growing number of business leaders that incorporate these charitable commitments in their business strategies and company cultures.
30 percent of the surveyed entrepreneurs said that they tend to work with charities that complement the main mission of the company. However, the main reason as to why they tend to give money to charity is that it allows them to mix the personal priorities with that of the business. This comes to show that entrepreneurs will handpick which charities they wish to support.
While the majority of entrepreneurs chose the charities, 66 percent stated they are “passive donors.” This refers to the fact that their donations are no public matter, thus not having their names tied. Last but not least, 62 percent of entrepreneurs are on a board of a nonprofit organization.
So what could entrepreneurs learn from this study? Money leads to power, and part of that power should be put to good use, to positively influence the world you live in. If you plan on building your own company, take the philanthropy aspect into account.
