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ChAmber Blog

Get the Most Out of Giving

11/21/2013

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by Wanda L. Pierce, Executive Director, Arlington Community Foundation 

The end of the year brings with it many associations for different people and businesses. Some are more personal – holidays, family, introspection – and others more pragmatic – myriad deadlines, increased consumer activity. The association that I’d like to focus on combines both aspects, which come together to make this the most important time of the year for many of the more than 800,000 charities in the United States: year-end giving.

Since the adoption of §170 of the Internal Revenue Code in 1917, donations from tax-paying entities to qualified charities have served not only as the primary source of support for these groups, exceeding $316 billion in 2012, but also offer an incentive for the donor by reducing tax obligations.  As if providing critical support for the work of charities in our home neighborhoods and around the world weren’t reason enough to give, individuals can generally deduct up to 50% of adjusted gross income for cash gifts, 30% for property, and 20% for appreciated capital gains.

Businesses can also often reduce their annual tax obligations by making qualified charitable gifts, though the rules can be more complicated.  An introduction to charitable giving for small businesses from the U.S. Small Business Administration can be found here.  In all cases, when in doubt, you should contact your accountant or tax attorney.

Besides the convenience of being better able to calculate the reduction to your annual tax obligation, year-end giving can offer other benefits to businesses as well as individuals: by supporting local charities through annual pledges, sponsorships or hosting fundraisers, donors can increase their visibility in their community and network with potential customers, clients and partners.

Year-end giving has become such a tradition that often donors can find themselves overwhelmed with appeals and options.  Even if you want to keep your donations local, a community such as Arlington offers well over a hundred charities (including these Chamber member nonprofits) whose work is focused right here.  Many donors are familiar with their favorite groups, but for those who aren’t or who are looking to expand their scope, the process can be daunting. With hundreds of thousands of choices for charitable giving, where should one start?

A good starting point would be some basic internet research – a charity’s website may tell you a lot about its work, and their social media presence can keep you updated as to their events. Websites such as Charity Navigator and GuideStar (both run by nonprofits) can be good resources for more in-depth research; they both publish many good articles about the best practices in giving, and even offer comparative rating of some charities.

For those who want to maximize the impact of their giving, it may be just as helpful to consider what not to do – this interesting blog from Freakonomics offers an economist’s take on how to avoid some common bad habits when it comes to year-end giving and how to easily determine where your money will be best spent.


Whether you are giving as an individual or a business, I hope that your year-end giving will be rewarding to you, the charities you support, and all those in our community who will benefit from your generosity.

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Help Tips: A Case Study in Social Media Partnerships

11/13/2013

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by Alexa Fox, Marketing Assistant, Segue Technologies 

A large part of my job at Segue is to manage our social media presence. The key part of the phrase social media is social. Like in any other social construct, talking about oneself incessantly gets boring quickly and you will eventually run out unique things to say. You don’t want people to get bored and feel like you’re always trying to sell them something. However, constantly coming up with new, relevant, and exciting content is way more difficult than it seems. It doesn’t take much time to make a post, but a lot goes into generating interesting and original content to support those posts. This is what can make social media a full time job.

So how do you spice things up with a small amount of effort and time? One way is through creating social media partnerships. 

Segue Technologies and A-SPAN: A Social Media Partnership Case Study

​A great example of a social media partnership that works for us is our “Help Tip” series. This past June, Segue participated in the American City Business Journal’s Social Madness Competition, where companies compete based on their social media engagement and interaction on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+. The competition consists of local and national rounds, culminating in a $10,000 donation being made to the victor’s charity of choice. Despite having high quality Segue-generated content, it soon became evident that we needed to introduce ourselves to new potential audiences, increase our engagement levels, and sustain our numbers over the weeks of the competition. We also hated the idea of repeated posts of the “Vote for Us” nature and wanted to stay true to our social media strategy without resorting to gimmicky posts.

To resolve this dilemma, we decided to team up with the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network (A-SPAN); an organization that provides life-sustaining services for Arlington’s homeless and strives to secure permanent housing for this vulnerable population. A key part of our strategy with A-SPAN were “Help Tips,” a spin-off of our regular “Hot Tip” feature where we would share technical advice from one of our employees. These “Help Tips” featured information from A-SPAN on small ways that people could support their mission, such as:
  • It’s hot this summer! Want to provide basic help for those on the streets? Donate water and socks to A-SPAN!
  • Help someone who is homeless stay clean and healthy by collecting the hotel toiletries on your next trip and donating them to A-SPAN!
With A-SPAN’s help, we were able to win the DC Regional Social Madness competition! Through this competition, Segue formed a bond with A-SPAN that has already led to other partnering and volunteer opportunities and we look forward to continuing that relationship in the future.

While the "Help Tips" were a great feature for the Social Madness competition, it made even more sense to integrate them into Segue’s on-going social media activities. Community involvement is a significant part of our corporate culture, so they were a natural addition to our social media content calendar. Not only have we continued posting A-SPAN Help Tips, but we’ve expanded to include Doorways for Women and Families, the Animal Welfare League of Arlington(AWLA), and the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC). You will now be able to find quick and easy ways to help these amazing organizations on Segue’s Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+ pages every month.

The Benefits of Social Media Partnerships
All in all we’ve found that our “Help Tip” feature, and social media partnerships in general, have the following benefits:

  • They spread awareness and increase visibility for both brands.
  • They increase the level of engagement on your social media sites.
  • They increase the size of your network, as well your partner’s network.
  • They emphasize your business’s community involvement and highlight your partnerships with other businesses and/or organizations.
​
Whether you’re a large organization or a small local business, we could all use help spreading the word about who we are and what we do. Look a little closer at organizations around you and consider whether they’d make good social media collaborators. Brainstorm ways that you can partner with other groups in your local community. Help your fellow Chamber member and get social with your social media!

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Honor Our Vets with Job Opportunities

11/7/2013

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by Linda Chandler, CEO, Linden Resources  

In honor of Veterans Day we remember the men and women who have served our country. We must continue our commitment to take care of our Veterans and support them to prepare, find and secure civilian employment. Partnership between the organizations serving Veterans - including those living with disabilities - and employers is the key to successfully engaging our Veterans in the workforce.

As a member of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, I am committed to supporting our Arlington employers to hire qualified Veterans, including Veterans with Disabilities, into their workforce. 

Employers, do you need assistance in locating qualified Veterans/Veterans with Disabilities for your organization? Are you interested in developing or enhancing a Veterans hiring initiative for your company but don't know where to begin? 

Here are some resources to help you locate Veterans seeking job opportunities: 

U.S. Department of Labor 

The U.S. Department of Labor developed a toolkit that is designed to assist and educate employers who have made the proactive decision to include transitioning Service Members, Veterans and Wounded Warriors in their recruitment and hiring initiatives. Whether you are looking to create a plan from scratch or retool existing efforts, I encourage you to reference this guide and design an initiative that works for you.

Visit 
www.americasheroesatwork.gov/forEmployers/HiringToolkit for additional information.

​The Arlington Employment Center 

Additional resources available to the Arlington community include the Arlington Employment Center. The Arlington Employment Center is a comprehensive one-stop employment center with a Veterans Representative/LVER of the Virginia Employment Commission onsite. William Marquez, the Veterans Representative/LVER positioned at the Arlington Employment Center, provides Veterans and service men and women transitioning into the civilian workforce, assistance with employment-related skills assessments, refers Veterans to resources such as resume workshops and skill development classes, and connects job-seeking Veterans with employers interested in hiring Veterans. William also assists with applying for VA benefits, education benefits and federal jobs, and other resources and programs available specifically for Veterans.

Anyone interested in learning more about services for Veterans and to hire Veterans should contact William Marquez at 
william.marquez@vec.virginia.gov. 

Additional Resources

A number of Chamber members offer Employment Services, many of which incorporate programs for Veterans. Linden Resources provides employers with qualified Veterans with Disabilities candidates to fulfill jobs in any industry from landscaping to Tier I defense contracts. In existence since 2009, Linden’s Vets Ready2Work serves as a professional resource to employers and a piece of the solution to helping Veterans return to civilian life and strengthen their communities thru employment. For more information on Linden’s Vets Ready2Work program please go to www.Linden.org
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