31 BACK TO NAVIGATION 2017 AusLSA Member Performance Ninety-one percent of AusLSA’s reporting members have a formal corporate giving program in place and of these firms, ninety three percent operated a program that included staff donations with two thirds matching the donations made by their employees. Eighty seven percent of firms also made direct corporate donations to charities in 2017. Only thirty two percent of firms said they collected information about the participation of their employees in their staff giving programs however a further sixteen percent said they were currently developing new processes to collect this information. The average participation rates recorded by those participating firms is thirty percent. Thirty-four percent of firms have formal foundation-type structures or entities to plan and administer their corporate giving. Firms also reported participating in giving-drives including the provision of books, food and Christmas gifts. Challenges and Opportunities There are many variables that influence a corporate giving program’s success in addition to matched employee donations. Implementation and monitoring systems should include: • relevance of the programs to employees and firm’s values and interests • regular and frequent promotion of available programs • leadership support and encouragement to participate in programs • ability to collect and disseminate information about the success and social outcomes of the programs. Leading law firms and Australian businesses are increasingly including their giving programs as a core part of their business strategy and delivery. This means tying the investment and outcomes from these programs as an expression of their values and into the achievement of their broader business purpose. This level of integration and internalisation is in turn leading to an increased and longer-term commitments that benefits both firms and their community partners. To establish these types of partnerships takes time and work. Firms need to search for and develop relationships with willing organisations and developed agreed commitments and objectives. This will allow them to build partnerships that take full advantage of their special skills and resources. PARTICIPATION MONITORED % 32% 52% 16% Yes No Currently in Development