4Ds of Formalizing CSR, as it is not just the role of CFO !

It’s not how much we give, But how much love we put into giving – Mother Teresa

As quoted, each one of us has the heart to give and we do it with compassion every time we have an opportunity. This certainly holds good for an individual while doing some charity/ Philanthropy by giving time, financial support and resources as Individual Social Responsibility, But when it comes to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) it’s very critical and it’s not just the role of Chief Finance Officer (CFO) or the Corporate Secretary to establish a policy to meet the legal liabilities of the Act. It is beyond the act, beyond the policy, beyond the board - it is about making the organization do good and make a social impact !

In my recent engagement to formalize CSR for an organization, who met the eligibility criteria to perform CSR in the financial year,? it was ensured we did a holistic approach and every stakeholder was involved in the process and not just the CFO / Company secretary.?

Formalizing CSR is all about establishing a process in place for your community giving. So at Right Dots, we take a 4D approach to establish the process in place.

Our approach encompasses feedback from all stakeholders and accordingly the process is established. One of our recent engagement to formalize, we did a survey with a set of their employees at all levels, grades and locations - the insights out of the survey was mind blowing like?

• 80% participants shared that they want to be part of employee volunteering and contribute to community giving!?
• 78% felt the focus should be in Education?
• 69% felt the beneficiaries should be school going children?
• 28% felt animal care also needs focus and support
• and more…..

and the management realized their employees are so keen to do community giving.?

“ CSR funds are here because of our employees hard work, so we would love to hear from them on how they wish to make a difference to the society” - CEO of an organization

Individual discussions with the board members were enlightening as they spoke about their vision for the CSR implementation and they were all clear on where and how the funds should be utilized.

Formalizing CSR is a critical activity for an organization like all your business decisions, it needs equal care and attention as it reflects the culture of the organization to the community around and your employees!?

Reach out to us if you are to be qualified/ already qualified and needs formalization / already established and needs revalidation - write to us at [email protected]

#community #csrinitiative #csr #csrindia #corporatesocialresponsibility

Vidhya Bhojan

Founder - Right Dots

www.rightdots.org