Bruce MacDonald, chief executive officer of Imagine Canada, says charities “hold a privileged place of trust in Canadian society.”The Globe and Mail
The stated purpose of Loblaw Cos. Ltd. is to "live life well." That sentiment, though, doesn't stop at its customers, or even its employees. Loblaw, which owns about a dozen grocery store chains including Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore, Valu-Mart, No Frills and Provigo, as well as pharmacy giant Shoppers Drug Mart, also wants to make an impact in the places where its stores operate.
"We want to make a positive difference in our communities," says Nicole Donaldson, manager of community investment at the Toronto-based company.
Over the years, Loblaw has engaged in a number of charitable causes, such as fighting childhood hunger through its President's Choice Children's Charity. It also supports women's health – Shopper's Drug Mart helps fund the Motherisk helpline, for instance – and it also works with local food banks across the country to help Canadians in need have access to nutritious food.
In recognition of its charitable contributions, Loblaw has been designated a Caring Company by Imagine Canada, a national not-for-profit organization that works with charities, businesses, governments and other organizations to verify that they are playing a key role in building and defining Canadian society.
"We know that charities hold a privileged place of trust in Canadian society, and our job is to make sure they maintain and increase that trust," says Bruce MacDonald, chief executive officer of Imagine Canada.
A cornerstone of the organization's work is its Caring Company program, which has been around since 1988. To be eligible, organizations must show that they're contributing at least 1 per cent of their pretax domestic profit to charitable organizations.
The contributions can be made up of cash and in-kind contributions, volunteering and any costs associated with running their charitable programs.
"They are allowed to put in their management cost because running programs isn't free," Mr. MacDonald says.
Businesses are also given the freedom to decide how they donate their time and money, as "they all come at it so differently," Mr. MacDonald says.
Some companies encourage their employees to choose which organizations they wish to support. Others align their community investment with their brand, as Loblaw is doing with its food bank partnerships. Some companies choose to give back to the local communities in which they operate.
"Resource companies will often focus their efforts towards Indigenous communities, for example," Mr. MacDonald notes.
At Loblaw, Ms. Donaldson says the company knows its stores are often the main hub in small towns and it's at their buildings where locals often congregate. Itʼs important, she says, that customers understand Loblaw is about more than just selling groceries – itʼs also here to help.
"Being a part of Caring Company shows we care," Ms. Donaldson says. "All the way down to the stores, and the communities we're operating in – they know we're here for them."
Like many businesses in the Caring Company program, just over 1 per cent of Loblaw's pretax profit goes to charity every year. In 2016, that added up to more than $30-million, which was doled out to charities and not-for-profit organizations across Canada.
Currently, there are 60 Canadian organizations in the Caring Company program, ranging from pharmaceutical businesses to financial institutions to professional services firms to resource operations. These companies contributed more than $250-million in cash to charitable organizations in 2016, according to Imagine Canada. When you include volunteering, in-kind contributions and donations from customers and employees, the figure soars to nearly $500-million.
Mr. MacDonald believes that plenty more operations could be part of the Caring Company program. Many businesses are likely making charitable contributions of 1 per cent of pretax profit, but they're just not tracking it yet.
"A lot of companies are already quite generous," he says.
The benefit of applying for the designation, though, is that companies are recognized for their contributions – and their communities can know for sure that a business is contributing to society.
"They get the opportunity to be recognized as leaders in the country," notes Mr. MacDonald, who encourages companies that have been awarded the Caring Company mark to showcase it on their website, or in a store window. "More and more executives are seeing the importance of connecting their companies to the community. Their shareholders and customers want to see them making these contributions."
Canadian businesses doing good work
Here are just some of the initiatives that Imagine Canada's Caring Company businesses are working on.
GlaxoSmithKline
London-based pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) wants to help save the lives of one million children by combining its scientific expertise and global reach with a partnership with Save the Children. Since 2013, company employees have raised about $4-million, which has been matched by GSK.
Woodbine Entertainment Group
Woodbine Entertainment Group tries to "create better places to play, live, learn and grow together." For the last 20 years, it's contributed to the Toy Mountain campaign, a cross-Canada holiday initiative. This season, Woodbine raised enough money to help more than 800 kids receive gifts for the holidays.
Mawer Investment Management
In honour of Canada's 150th birthday, Mawer has set aside $150,000 so its employees can support charities across the country. In what has been dubbed "150 for 150," the first 100 employees to submit a donation request get $1,500 each to give to a registered charity. Mawer employees also share their volunteer stories on the "Wall of 150."
Manulife
For 18 years, the Manulife Homework Club has provided tutors to urban youth in Toronto to help them boost their academic skills. It also spearheads several other youth-oriented programs that offer mentorship and mental health counselling. In total, Manulife donated $39.3-million to non-profits in 2016, which includes nearly $3-million in employee contributions.
This content was produced by The Globe and Mail's Globe Edge Content Studio. The Globe's editorial department was not involved in its creation.