Community Investment isn’t just about writing a cheque anymore
CALGARY, AB – On April 6 & 7, approximately fifty community investment professionals from a variety of Canadian corporations gathered at the annual LBG Canada Benchmarking Meeting, to examine how to maximize the value of their investments, measure their results and gain insight into the newest trends on strategic giving.
While community investment (CI) is a reality for most corporations in Canada, LBG Canada companies strive to demonstrate effectiveness and accountability for the millions of dollars at stake. Participants of LBG Canada understand the importance of valuing their impact and being transparent with their results. Once a year, they take part in an annual benchmarking process that informs companies on effective program design, resource allocation and evaluation of their CI investments. The meeting April 6 & 7 was a forum to discuss results with their peers and build on their successes.
"Our CI team came back from the [2010] LBG Canada Benchmarking Meeting full of ideas. Through conversations with our peers we identified opportunities to improve our own processes," stated Lori Gammell, Manager, Suncor Energy Foundation and Community Investment, at last year’s annual meeting.
As companies evolve their community investment strategy, they are often faced by new challenges and
opportunities to improve. This year, the LBG Canada meeting will explore emerging management and measurement trends, including how community investment can be an effective partnership with aboriginal relations, how community investment can partner with HR and how social media is a tool to profile community activities.
Read more about the LBG Canada Annual Meeting.
