SPARKS and SIPS

Inaugural B:CIVIC SPARKS and SIPS – January 27, 2015

The inaugural SPARKS AND SIPS, The Power of Purpose, had 60 people in attendance at Wynkoop Brewing, a B:CIVIC Founding Member company.  The workshop was presented by Alyssa Kopf, CEO of Community Shares of Colorado.

As we start 2015, it is a great time to clarify or revisit the true motivations and objectives your company has for giving back and being engaged in the community.  Is the feel good of giving back for employee engagement your main goal? Building a stronger reputation in the community? Customer retention or exposure to new potential markets?   Often it’s a combo of several drivers that are difficult to prioritize and communicate.

Too often companies jump straight into doing “stuff,” with no strategy or clear sense of why they choose one cause over another or which community organization to support.  While you may hit the jackpot with a great experience, many times the effort and other resources you put in may not bear the desired fruit.

A key contributor to not having the impact you wanted may be that the giving strategies chosen don’t align with the company’s actual underlying motivations. Companies that start with clarity of purpose – focusing on the “why” of their community giving program – are more likely to achieve alignment with their broader business goals and engage and inspire stakeholders.

About SPARKS and SIPS:

SPARKS and SIPS is a B:CIVIC event designed to spark ideas through a 60-90 minute workshop followed by happy hour sipping and networking with other cool companies. You can choose to attend both the workshop and the networking – or just one or the other.

The interactive SPARKS workshops are designed to address hot community involvement and corporate philanthropy topics, highlight member activities and tips, offer opportunities for discussion and best practice sharing, and provide actionable information that can spark new ideas about how your company can take its community involvement to the next level right away.