Running Giving Programs? Here Are Three Questions I’d Be Asking Right Now

By Nathan Froelich, Global Head of YourCause from Blackbaud

I’ve spent much of my career working with corporate giving programs, including running them myself before joining Blackbaud.

When I first entered the space, I was surprised by how much complexity existed behind what seems like a straightforward process: an employee makes a donation, and a nonprofit receives it.

The reality is that a lot happens in between.

Funds move through multiple systems. Compliance requirements continue to evolve. Employees and nonprofits expect more visibility than ever before. And the pressure on program leaders to deliver a seamless experience keeps growing.

That’s why I believe the conversation around workplace giving is changing.

Historically, many organizations focused on participation rates, matching gift utilization, and dollars donated. Those metrics still matter. But increasingly, the organizations that are getting ahead are asking different questions. They’re looking beyond engagement to understand whether their programs are equipped for the future.

If I were evaluating a giving program today, these are the three questions I’d be asking.

1. How quickly and reliably do funds reach nonprofits and can you prove it?

Speed has become one of the most important indicators of program health. Employees expect their donations to create impact quickly, especially during disaster response efforts or urgent community needs. Nonprofits need access to funding when it matters most, not weeks or months later.

What I often encourage organizations to examine is not just how long the process takes overall, but how money actually moves through the system.

• Who receives the funds first?
• What happens next?
• Where are delays most likely to occur?
• How is success measured?

If you don’t have visibility into those answers, it’s difficult to improve the experience for employees or nonprofits.

The best program leaders I work with treat speed as more than an operational metric. They see it as a trust metric.

2. Can every stakeholder clearly see where funds are and what happens next?

Transparency has become a requirement, not a nice-to-have.

Employees want confidence that their donations are moving through the process as expected. Nonprofits want visibility into incoming funds and donor information. Program administrators want to spend less time answering questions and more time improving outcomes.

When transparency is lacking, everyone feels it.

• Employees wonder whether their donation arrived.
• Nonprofits spend time tracking down information.
• Program teams find themselves managing avoidable escalations.

One exercise I often recommend is mapping the donation journey from three different perspectives: the employee, the nonprofit, and the administrator.

Can each stakeholder easily answer the question, “What’s happening with this donation right now?”

If not, there’s usually an opportunity to strengthen the program experience.

3. Is your program designed to adapt to regulatory change or react to it?

This is the question I believe deserves the most attention right now.

The regulatory environment surrounding charitable giving continues to evolve. We’ve seen changes at the federal level, state-level legislation emerge in places like California, and increasing complexity around privacy, reporting, and eligibility requirements.

The challenge isn’t simply understanding a single piece of legislation. The challenge is building a program that can adapt as new requirements inevitably emerge.

That’s why I encourage giving program leaders to build strong relationships with the teams already thinking about these issues inside their organizations. Your tax, legal, compliance, privacy, and finance teams can be valuable partners in ensuring your program remains aligned with a changing landscape.

The most resilient programs aren’t reacting to every new development. They’re building processes that allow them to respond confidently when change occurs.

A Final Thought

The workplace giving landscape is being reshaped by three forces: increasing expectations around speed, growing demands for transparency, and continued regulatory change.

I don’t believe this is something organizations should view as a challenge alone – it’s an opportunity.

An opportunity to evaluate how giving programs operate, strengthen trust with employees and nonprofits, and ensure those programs are built for what’s next.

So if you’re responsible for a corporate giving program, I’d encourage you to start with three simple questions:

• How quickly and reliably do funds reach nonprofits, and can you prove it?
• Can every stakeholder clearly see where funds are and what happens next?
• Is your program designed to adapt to regulatory change, or react to it?

The answers may tell you more about the future readiness of your program than any participation metric ever could.