Giving back is a win/win for brands and communities
A key aspect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the practice of giving back to the community. This includes activities such as making charitable donations and fundraising, taking part in volunteer programs and supporting local initiatives aimed at fostering positive relationships with the community.
Such actions are important because they build goodwill and trust with stakeholders, enhance a company’s reputation and can lead to better community relationships. Additionally, giving back contributes to social development, improves the quality of life and creates a positive environment for the company’s long-term success. It also aligns the company’s values with societal needs, demonstrating corporate responsibility and ethical commitment—a crucial point for maintaining customer loyalty and reducing staffing overturn.
Shaping Programs for the Real World
Omni Hotels & Resorts launched its “Say Goodnight to Hunger” initiative in 2016, in collaboration with Feeding America. The hospitality brand donates one meal for every completed stay at an Omni property. Since its debut, the program has delivered more than 27 million meals for people living with food insecurity.
Read More: CSR Fights Hunger
In a separate effort, Omni encourages its sales team members to organize events in their local communities each September through its “Here Comes Omni – Destination Do Good” program. Activations this year included working with food banks, collecting clothing, volunteering with animal shelters, taking part in literacy programs and more. The team members organized nearly 100 events across the United States, some working with Omni customers, too.
Tailoring for Interests
Event management company ETHOS Event Collective takes purposeful planning seriously when designing events for clients, creating impactful giveback experiences that connect attendees with local causes. A common approach is to have tables near registration areas where people can assemble hygiene kits, school supplies or snack packs for local nonprofits.
“Many of our clients look for a quick, accessible way to give back during conference registration or coffee breaks,” says Raquel Little, marketing and giving manager at ETHOS. “These light-touch activations add purpose to downtime and are easy to scale for any size group.”
ETHOS connected a technology-focused client with a nonprofit that builds STEM kits for students, supporting local education in alignment with the group’s interest; it designed a candlemaking experience to add a touch of creativity to an event and raised funds for local domestic violence shelter, especially meaningful to the mostly female attendees; and it has arranged hands-on, outdoor dune restoration projects in South Florida for environmentally focused clients.
“Giving back isn’t a checkbox item for us; it’s part of our purpose,” Little says. “When attendees walk away feeling like their time together made a difference, that’s when we know we’ve done our job.”
Making the Right Match
Caesars Entertainment collaborates with numerous charitable organizations in communities nationwide, in locations where it operates hotels and casinos. They’ve partnered with Boys and Girls Club, Alzheimer’s awareness walks and Katie Grace Foundation’s Dance with Grace Boutique, which helps reduce economic barriers for students to attend school dances and events.
“Our community engagement team is available to work with meeting planners and event organizers to facilitate volunteer opportunities with our established partnerships,” says Gabrielle Weiss, marketing manager, communications and advertising for meetings and events at Caesars Entertainment. “We also support our clients by connecting them with local partners directly and helping match them with nonprofit and non-governmental organizations (NPOs and NGOs). This allows planners to identify meaningful matches that align with their organization’s goals and stakeholder interests.”
Deepening Local Connections
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) engages with professional meeting planners through its Legacy Toolkit, guiding them to create projects that resonate with the interests of conference attendees while remaining relevant in those communities long after the convention has ended. During the Rotary International Convention last year, the STB worked with the Singapore community to fundraise and launch a mangrove conservatory on the campus of the Singapore Institute of Technology. The program will educate students and help reintroduce vanishing species that contribute to climate resiliency.
Read More: CSR Practices: Meetings with Meaning
Giving back can also happen in the moment of an event. When the European Respiratory Society Congress convened at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Center in September, hundreds of local residents received free lung tests during the event, aligning interest with action.
Making deeper connections is at the heart of giving back. In Oregon, the Portland Indigenous Marketplace is dedicated to providing barrier-free, culturally respectful spaces that support more than 200 Indigenous and Black artists and entrepreneurs, promoting cultural resilience and public education through the arts. Meeting planners can include a visit to the market—or it can come to your meeting as a pop-up.
“This marketplace is more than just a place to shop—by visiting, you’re helping to sustain and celebrate the cultural vitality of our Indigenous and Black communities while participating in a welcoming, educational experience for all attendees,” says Executive Director Lluvia Merello.
This article appears in the November 2025 issue.
