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Every time Barb Stegemann sells a copy of her self-help book at a charity event, she donates 40% of the revenue. And even though the Bedford, Nova Scotia, communications specialist paid $10,000 last March to self-publish The 7 Virtues of a Philosopher Queen, she has already recouped her investment, no doubt helped by the good word-of-mouth her community involvement has spawned. Not only that, but because it only cost Stegemann $1.60 per copy to publish her book, she earns a very healthy margin off its $24.99 price even as she raises money for community centres and other local causes. In fact, the book sales have been lucrative enough that, a month ago, Stegemann decided to live off them full-time.

Stegemann calls herself "a living example" of how businesses can donate cash, time and resources to good causes and bolster the bottom line at the same time. Driven by the desire to give back in a way that's as relevant to their business as it is meaningful, companies today try to align themselves with charitable organizations as a way to help drive their profits. "This is no longer just about cutting a cheque," says Peggie Pelosi, founder of Orenda, a Toronto consulting firm specializing in strategic philanthropy. "Companies are now using their heads when giving from the heart."

According to Pelosi, companies that invest in "collective compassion" gain more than promotional benefits. "By connecting company and cause, employers can tap into their 'emotional profit centre' and create enthusiastic workplaces, which in turn will attract and retain top talent, grow employee loyalty and trust, and increase both productivity and customer satisfaction."

A new report from philanthropic research agency Imagine Canada supports Pelosi's conclusions. It notes a growing enthusiasm among businesses for the returns they can gain by contributing to community organizations, "and some evidence that these contributions can be linked to improved financial performance." Imagine's survey of 1,500 Canadian businesses with revenues of at least $100,000 found that 76% of the polled companies had made charitable cash gifts, driven in large part by such expected benefits as a burnished reputation and higher profile.

Mike Meadows, a senior manager with Imagine Canada, says that, proportionately, small businesses actually gain more from philanthropy than large corporations, but the key is to differentiate yourself. According to Meadows, 84% of corporate donations in this country go to the 7% of charitable organizations with revenues of more than $1 million. He recommends that small businesses target smaller non-profits, where their donations will have more impact. "If I'm a small business and I want to make a difference, why don't I find a charity that has revenues of $100,000 or so, is doing important work that I can relate to, and I can become a major player with a $3,000 donation, some in-kind support and by joining their board?"

Here is how four businesses have applied this philosophy and made giving back financially rewarding.

Be a good sport
If you live in the Fredericton area and you learn that your child needs braces, there's a good chance one name will pop into your mind: Trites Orthodontics. That's because Brian Trites's company logo is stitched across the backs of some 1,300 kids' basketball and soccer jerseys in the area, serving as billboards that parents (potential future clients) see every time they fold the laundry or watch their children play.

Three years ago, Trites was looking for a way to get more involved in the community. Several local organizations had contacted him over the years, but he wanted to support a cause aligned with health and fitness, and one that would increase his practice's visibility.
When he learned that his daughter's basketball team needed new uniforms, he saw a good match and approached the league organizers about helping out. The following spring, the city's amateur soccer league also asked him for sponsorship. Talk about an ideal market. "These are young boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 15 who are out on the field or court every week," says Trites. "A lot of the kids in this age group are going to need braces at some point."

Trites paid a four-figure sum to the soccer league in return for having his company name and logo appear on the jerseys. He's happy with his investment. "It's difficult to measure [the business returns]," he says, "but the kids benefit from new jerseys and my name is out in the community."

TIPS
Do Make sure your company's name and logo are strategically positioned on the jersey—you want promotion and visibility, after all, and the sponsor usually has final say on the placement.
Don't Detract from or overshadow the team logo with your own.
Do Spread your support across an entire organization. Sponsoring just one team provides limited exposure. Instead, consider sponsoring the league's achievement awards so everyone involved sees your name.
Don't Pull your time, effort or funding if your child leaves the team or league.
Do Be visible at games, tournaments, extracurricular team activities and events, and volunteer to help out with practices. It's no longer sufficient just to write a cheque and walk away, experts say; being present reminds people that you're sincere in your desire to be involved. Displaying team photographs and thank-you cards in your office reception area is a good idea as well.

Raise funds—and your profile
Mike Larisey isn't one to toot his own horn, but the model railroad enthusiast and co-owner of Maritime Hobbies & Crafts in Halifax has managed to turn old magazines into cold cash for a hospital charity. In the process, he's introducing a new generation to model railroading and driving traffic to his store.

Maritime Hobbies' involvement with the IWK children's hospital began in 1998 as a collaboration between one of its regular customers and a store employee. The customer owned a large collection of model railroad magazines. The employee volunteered weekly at the hospital, showing kids how to run a large train set rigged up inside. The pair put their heads together, and soon customers of the hobby shop were dropping loonies and toonies into a pot in exchange for the slightly used publications.

The venture has to date raised more than $10,000 for the IWK railway fund, whose volunteers maintain the train set for hospital visitors and patients. Larisey says some of that money has made its way back to the store for parts to service and upgrade the railway. And while the store's involvement rarely makes it into the media coverage of the model railroad initiative, Maritime Hobbies' website mentions its support, and its involvement has generated plenty of goodwill and word of mouth. "We get a lot of traffic out of sheer curiosity," says Larisey, "and once these folks are in the store, they usually buy something."

The exposure at the hospital hasn't hurt, either. "A lot of those kids fall in love with model railroading during their stay at the facility," says Larisey. "When the parents see this is a hobby that can be shared and enjoyed by the entire family, they will often show up here looking to bring that experience home with them."

TIPS
Do Make sure that the giveaways and the donation pot are clearly visible and marked. Keep them near the cash register or beside the front door, and use a large, colourful container with plenty of loose change already inside.
Don't Put out offerings that are outdated, irrelevant or in poor condition, as they will both deter donations and reflect badly on your business.
Do Place a small sign on the pot that recommends to customers a reasonable donation amount.
Don't Push clients to make a donation.
Do List where the money is going, provide information on the cause and outline how customers can get in contact with the organization if they want to get more involved.
Don't Boast about how much has been raised through your efforts. A small graph tracking customer contributions is enough to inspire further donations.

Claim your signature cause
After almost four decades designing and supervising employee benefit and retirement programs for some of the biggest companies in the Calgary area, Bill Waddell understands the power of networking, and knows it can often be best accomplished away from the office.

His 10-person firm, Prizm Financial, is the lead sponsor of the Mavericks Chuckwagon Racing Team's annual golf tournament. The Mavericks are a group of Calgary businessmen who support a number of children's charities. Several of Prizm's best clients belong to the Mavericks, and Waddell believes that participating in the group's fundraising efforts helps cement his company's relationship with them.

Waddell's firm is involved in four different local charities, to which it donates about $25,000 a year. But Prizm has one signature cause: the Janus Academy, a private school for children with autism. A client with an autistic child introduced Waddell and his partner to the charity, leading to a decade-long collaboration. Waddell estimates that the two fundraisers Prizm holds annually for the academy raise approximately $100,000. As well, Waddell, his partner and their families donate about 50 hours of volunteer time, organizing a golf tournament, a dinner and an auction in support of the charity. "We earn a good living out of our community," Waddell says. "We like to give something back to it. That certainly doesn't hurt our reputation."

TIPS
Do Pick one core cause or charity that you can commit to regularly. A signature program allows your business to become associated with that organization or cause, and over time you can leverage that into a lasting link in people's minds.
Don't Expect accolades from friends, co-workers or even the charitable organization itself. Businesses today are pretty much expected to give back to the community, says Imagine's Meadows. "I don't know what your company is involved in, but I sure as heck hope it's something," is how he defines the sentiment.
Do Join the organization's board of governance and take an interest in its policies and practices, especially if you have relevant professional expertise. You will likely get to network with prominent people you might not otherwise meet. It's also a great way to kick the tires of an organization before you make a long-term commitment.
Don't Take over board meetings or try to influence decision-making for the benefit of your business.
Do Share your enthusiasm for what you're doing with colleagues.
Don't Volunteer employees' time or expect them to embrace your pet charity.
Do Hand out your business cards at charitable events.
Don't Conduct any actual business at charitable events.

Work Your Passion
Intense personal beliefs inspire James Hoggan's involvement with non-profits, but the public relations specialist knows how to make that investment work for him. When the Dalai Lama last visited Canada, "a good chunk" of his agency's staff worked for weeks managing the communications, from creating press kits to chairing the Tibetan leader's press conference at city hall. The Vancouver PR firm, Hoggan and Associates, ended up donating almost $250,000 worth of services. "There were people here who were very concerned about how much we were putting into it," Hoggan says.

But he knew from long experience that this kind of pro-bono work would pay off not only in contacts and visibility, but by instilling loyalty among his 15 employees. Most of his staff work billable hours, and Hoggan says pulling long nights on major contracts for the likes of Century 21, Electronic Arts and A&W Restaurants can lead to burnout. "So you have to look at other things that balance that in terms of the quality of work," he says. "If you want to keep really good people, you have to have really interesting stuff."

Some of those really interesting projects—such as managing Al Gore's visit to Montreal—also happen to be very high-profile. "There is the reputational benefit," Hoggan concedes, but he insists the real business benefit is motivational: "You set up something like that and there are so many TV cameras following you around, so many people at the press conference. Most PR people don't get an opportunity to work projects that size."

TIPS
Do Clearly outline what services you'll provide to a pro-bono client. Barb Steele, director of membership at Canadian Business for Social Responsibility, advises keeping a paper trail that sets out what you're offering to do and the charity's understanding and acceptance of that.
Don't Make commitments before investigating the projects in detail and weighing the investment of time and money against the potential return. Then try to quantify the value of the work you'd be doing. "It's easy to give more than you can afford when it's not in the form of a cheque," says Hoggan.
Do Speak in public about the causes you're involved in whenever possible, especially to groups of young people. They're not just the future—they're your future clients. Be sure to cite examples of how both companies and individuals can make a difference.
Don't Overextend yourself financially or time-wise. Overcommitting and underdelivering will sour your relationship with the charity. The rule of thumb is to contribute 1%—of your pretax profit, of your product or of your staff's time.