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Sara Ritchie

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My family was always community-minded and now that I am out of school and in an economic situation where I am able to give back, I like to be able to support worthwhile organizations.

There have been times where people have asked me to donate to charities and I've had to say no because I had no disposable income. Typically, I try to maximize my philanthropic pursuits by donating both time, and if I can afford it, money.

When I was a student, I didn't have money to donate so I decided to volunteer my time for one afternoon. When I asked my boss for the afternoon off (I even mentioned unpaid), he told me that I could have the afternoon off, but perhaps I should consider doing less volunteer work. Pardon me? It was the first time I had asked for time off and I was a bit put off to be working for an organization that didn't believe in affording their employees the opportunity to be charitable citizens.

More than likely, your employees are being approached on a regular basis to contribute to one worthwhile cause or another. Through their children's school, friends, relatives and community relationships people are being asked to donate all of the time. There are many ways you can help your employees realize their philanthropic pursuits although some may fit with your organization more than others.

Offering time-off for volunteer events can be a great way to show your community spirit as well as offer an affordable method for your staff to give back to the charities that they believe in. Some companies offer a certain amount of paid time-off to employees who are involved in charitable events.

If employees are up to date with their work and want to take some time to donate to a local charity - letting them have a paid day off can be a great way to help your staff be community minded while not breaking the bank.

Another way to support charitable giving is to choose one charity the company will support.

If your company doesn't already support an individual charity, holding an annual meeting and voting on where to devote funding and resources can help build team spirit.

Once your company or department has chosen an organization, your team can raise money (and team spirit) by organizing fund raisers. From bake sales, garage sales, bottle returns and a variety of other methods, your team can build its innovative strategies, donate to a worthwhile cause and build team loyalty all while helping local charitable organizations.

Everyone has something to believe in and with the wealth of necessary causes out there, your employees can feel overwhelmed by the demands on their time and pocket book.

Offering time off to donate to charitable events, as well as the opportunity to devote resources to one charity the whole organization is supporting can work wonders to helping your employees feel like they are part of their local community as well as their work community.

Sara Ritchie has worked for the past 10 years in the finance industry in Saint John, Montreal and Toronto. She can be reached at sararthewriter@gmail.com. Her column appears on Saturdays.