A new model for corporate giving

Give back locally

We recognize that nonprofits are critical to the health of our global communities. But most community-based nonprofits have significantly fewer resources than larger charities with endowment funds and sizable operating budgets.

Those larger charities are important. But when we think about the cumulative impact we can have by contributing to grassroots-level nonprofits in local communities, it is easy to see how the rumble of positive change can grow organically — one person at a time.

As an entirely remote company, Aha! can impact many community organizations. This is what inspired us to develop a unique model for corporate giving. Rather than having the company identify causes and organizations to support, we have established a new type of corporate-giving model. It is guided by individuals on the team.

Allow the team to decide

The goal is not just to fund worthy community organizations, but also to encourage our team members to get involved in their communities and learn more about nonprofits. So we created specific guidelines and encourage each Aha! teammate to submit a short application on behalf of the nonprofit they want to champion.

Every application is reviewed by our internal Aha! Cares committee. Recipients are announced for the following year at our December all-company gathering. (We call these "onsites.")

We believe that this kind of program is not solely for remote companies. It is not just for companies with many locations either. This employee-centric model of giving is perfect for companies of all sizes that want their teams to drive charitable activities. This is why we are sharing the mechanics of how we built our program — to inspire you to do the same at your company. We included examples for you to download below so you can get started building your own program.

Focus on people's basic needs

While there are many phenomenal organizations that provide incredibly valuable services, our program is focused on helping nonprofits that assist people who need food, safety, shelter, and opportunity. There is no set minimum or maximum monetary contribution level. Aha! teammates let us know the amount requested by the organization and the impact it will have on the community.

The funding application verifies that the organization is:

• Within 50 miles of where the teammate lives

• A certified nonprofit (certifications range by country, but in the U.S., this generally means a 501(c)(3) registration)

• Supporting community members' basic needs in the form of food, safety, shelter, and opportunity

• Established, having served the community for at least five years

• Lean, with 20 or fewer full-time paid staff members (there is no limit on part-time or unpaid volunteers)

• Funded through donations and other fundraising efforts — not membership dues

• Volunteer-dependent

• Audited annually (ideally by a third-party accounting firm)

Communicate clearly

You could call it suffering from success. When we first announced that we would be funding local nonprofits, we had a flurry of interest from the team. We were prepared with a carefully crafted application form and email templates for the team to use when interacting with the nonprofits they were championing.

Nonprofit email

We provide a draft email that teammates can send to the chosen nonprofit.