February 20, 2003 | Read Time: 1 minute
The Maryland Business Giving Workbook: Helping Your Business Make a Difference in Your Community offers advice to businesses seeking to develop and administer corporate-giving programs. The Baltimore Giving Project, affiliated with the Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers, say national surveys show that such programs not only help increase consumer loyalty, but also raise employee morale. The guide provides examples of ways that businesses can help nonprofit organizations, including by donating cash or products and other in-kind gifts, letting employees take short leaves to share their expertise with charities, and encouraging employees to volunteer. It includes questionnaires designed to help business owners determine which causes they might support, as well as several charts that describe the tax deductions associated with different forms of giving. Sample giving policies and community-involvement statements illustrate how businesses might define and publicize their charitable works to employees, consumers, and nonprofit groups.
Publisher: Baltimore Giving Project, 2 East Read Street, Eighth Floor, Baltimore, Md. 21202; (410) 727-0719; bgp@abagmd.org; http://www.baltimoregivingproject.org; 62 pages; $15; free for download on the project’s Web page.
