Philanthropy Presents Opportunities for Community Development
 Jan Knock, Vice President of Marketing
Iowa State Savings Bank, Creston
Navigating the waters of donation requests is reported by many bank marketers to be one of the most challenging aspects of their jobs. You no more than put an oar in the water and you’ve hit an alligator!
Community and bank history are important to our community donations. If you have ever asked, “How much did we give last year?” you know what I’m talking about. What I am suggesting is that as the river of time moves on, there are new possibilities around the bend.
Let’s start by taking a look at the big picture. Why do we give?
- We give because we support our communities, because we are good citizens. Giving back is a community obligation, a part of doing business.
- We give to support causes favored by our employees, customers and community leaders. We give to build goodwill between the bank and our customers.
- We give to enhance the business environment in our market area. Bankers are seasoned pros at economic development. Look around your community for new business, industry and services and you won’t have to go deep to find the involvement of local bankers. This context focus, familiar to community bankers involved in economic development, holds promise for giving definition to corporate philanthropy as well.
In The Competitive Advantage of Corporate Philanthropy authors Michael Porter and Mark Kramer assert that “The more closely a company’s philanthropy is linked to its competitive context, the greater the company’s contributions to society will be.”
Considering this, the test shifts from “how much did we give last year,” to “will the donation improve our competitive context, the place where we do business?” We consider what unique value the bank offers by leveraging our assets and expertise. We recognize that corporate giving has benefit that goes beyond individual giving.
Shifting resources to strategic giving may hold unexpected benefits for meeting our community obligations. Rather than being just one more name in a list of donors, bankers have the knowledge and opportunity to bring people together to address the bigger issues behind the request. We can help build public-private coalitions, signal other donors and advance knowledge and expertise. We work to address immediate problems while informed by a long range vision of community development. And so we no longer ask “how much did we give last year” but rather, “what more can we do?”
Jan Knock is V.P. Marketing and a Director for Iowa State Savings Bank with offices in Creston, Lenox and Corning. She is a member of the IBA Marketing Committee and enjoys dialoguing about the role of philanthropy in community development. She welcomes your comments and questions. Contact Jan at www.crestonbank.com
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Best of Iowa Award Submissions Due March 3
Submit your best marketing campaigns from 2007 for the Best of Iowa awards, the state-wide advertising and marketing competition for IBA member banks. The deadline for submissions is March 3, 2008. Click here for an entry form. If you have any questions regarding the competition, please contact the IBA’s Dia Gross at 800.532.1423, ext. 4384 or 515.286.4384.
Make Plans for Teach Children to Save Day
Iowa banks have several opportunities to promote their financial education efforts in the coming months. The 12th annual National Teach Children to Save Day is Tuesday, April 29. America Saves Week and Military Saves Week will be held Feb. 24 through March 2 and Iowa’s Money Smart Week will take place April 5-12.
Through a partnership with the ABA Education Foundation, the Iowa Bankers Association offers many resources to help you with your financial education efforts. Be sure to register and tell us about your Teach Children to Save efforts at www.aba.com/ABAEF. After signing up, you will be able to download exclusive bonus material, including certificates of participation, easy ways to get started, a planning checklist, posters and evaluation forms for bankers and teachers. Contact the IBA’s Cheryl Miller at cmiller@iowabankers.com or 800.532.1423 ext. 2950 with any questions. Click here for more information.
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