Sometimes you have to give a little to get a little, but when it comes to the big business of corporate fundraising, giving a little can get you a lot.

"It's really exceeded all of our expectations," says Tim Maloney, manager of corporate sponsorship and field marketing for Purolator Canada.

"We're extremely pleased at the results we've seen and how we've been able to help Canadian food banks."

In the last five years, Purolator has gathered more than 1.75 million pounds of food for food banks across the country as part of a corporate giving program that has increased the courier company's customer relations, brand recognition, business development and media exposure.

Photos courtesy of Purolator
Purolator Canada has delivered more than a million pounds of food to food banks across Canada and some of the fans who donated food pose with the Grey Cup at a recent Canadian Football League game.

The plan was simple - engage employees, customers and prospective customers in a marketing campaign that would make a difference in the community. It was a strategic move to focus fundraising and get the biggest result.

"Traditionally, companies have supported various causes across the board, which is great, but I don't think you can have the greatest impact compared to supporting one cause," Maloney says.

"We wanted to pick something that aligned with us and food banks deliver critical items on a daily basis just like we do as a courier company, so it was a good fit."

Leveraging its sponsorship of Canadian Football League games, Purolator started a "tackle hunger" campaign to collect food donations to help the one-million-plus people who use Canadian food banks on a daily basis. However, instead of just asking people to bring a can of food to the game, Purolator took it a step further.

In exchange for a food-bank donation, fans can get their game-day picture taken for free - sometimes alongside such iconic sporting items as the Grey Cup.

To get their photo, fans are then directed to a Purolator-branded website where, after giving some baseline information and filling out a short survey, they can have their photo emailed to them and even be entered into a draw for tickets to the Grey Cup game.

"We were pleasantly surprised at the number of web hits we got," Maloney says. "It confirmed the impact of the Grey Cup and people's love for the CFL, but it also confirmed we had the right incentive in place for people to donate because the retrial rates of those photos are extremely high."

Indeed, the marketing results are as impressive - if not more impressive - than the millions of pounds of food donated.

"We'll take a few hundred pictures on a game day and 70 per cent of people will go online and view their picture on the website and 50 per cent will fill out the marketing survey to get their picture," says Tom Casagrande, of Toronto-based Tenzing Interactive Marketing, the company that provides the Pics-2-Web service for Purolator.

"There's also a viral element where people can forward the photo to friends and family, which then results in even more people seeing the branding and getting reached by the marketing."

Photos courtesy of Purolator
More fans who donated food pose with the Grey Cup.

As a result, Purolator has been able to conduct direct one-to-one marketing to more than 10,000 potential customers. The brand benefits are also huge. The campaign is generating significant media coverage in TV, print and radio, which has resulted in more than 20 million impressions - a 28-per-cent increase since 2006 alone.

"We haven't ignored the recent trend where there's a difference between social marketing and philanthropy, which is just giving donations without any sort of return," Maloney says.

"Through giving back to the community the way that we are and raising donations for the food bank, there is an indirect benefit back to our company and to our bottom line."

Doing good, it seems, is good for business and Purolator is leading the way in a new wave of corporate fundraising that recognizes the public's preference for companies that contribute to their communities.

"Certainly, there's been lots of evidence to show that given equal products and equal prices, consumers prefer to buy a brand that has a social mindset, a social responsibility," says WestJet sponsorship manager Scott Hartley.

"It's absolutely important as a leading brand in this country for us to make sure that we're giving back."

Supporting more than 800 community initiatives across Canada through programs that focus on children's health, community festivals and amateur sports, WestJet is no stranger to the benefits of corporate giving. To children's health charities alone, the Calgary-based carrier has given away more than 6,000 flights.

"We've got a pretty simple approach at WestJet, which is that if we try a little harder and show that we care a little more, it can only benefit our brand and this is just another way that we're trying a little harder and doing a little more - not just at our check-in counters or on our flights, but also in our communities by giving back."

Experts say that businesses that don't give back in some way are now increasingly the exception. Whether it's free product, cash donations or employee fundraising, giving is now a key part of some of North America's most successful marketing plans.

"This is definitely growing in popularity," says Casagrande. "We work with so many different companies and organizations and they almost always have some sort of charitable aspect to their campaign."

The Purolator campaign - which has been one of the most well received - has won numerous public relations and marketing awards. Purolator teamed up with TSN and the CFL for its "tackle hunger" initiative.

"I think the key things we have learned are that it's critical to align yourself with partners who share the same vision, to focus efforts on one cause, to engage employees and customers, and to build an integrated program with multiple tiers that can be refreshed annually."

Scoring a touchdown with "tackle hunger" at football games, Purolator has expanded its food-bank fundraising into other marketing and sponsorship programs. Now a crucial part of corporate planning, there's no end in sight to the donations Purolator is delivering.

"When you look at the percentage increase from when we started in 2003 to where we are now on an annual basis, it's huge," Maloney points out.

"The first year we generated just south of 200,000 pounds of food and in 2007, the program brought in over 420,000 pounds of food and this year, we're already up 30 per cent from last year, so it's continuing to grow and I know the people who utilize the food banks are very grateful for that."

With businesses such as Purolator and WestJet benefiting right along with the charities they support, the old saying "you get what you give" has never been so true.

"There are lots of people in need out there and lots of causes in need of support and I think if we want our country and our economy to be successful, it's unfair to ignore issues that need our support," Maloney adds.

"When there's a cause out there that's a good fit, great results can be achieved by helping people. It's certainly been great for our company and it's worked for us to be able to give back."

(Tess van Straaten can be reached at tess@businessedge.ca)