Creating the perfect chemistry for corporate giving

Leading South Australian chemical supplier ChemSupply Australia launched their employee-led corporate giving program in August, kicking it off with a $20,000 donation to Foodbank SA utilising Foundation SA’s matching program.

Building on a long-term association between ChemSupply Australia and food relief organisation Foodbank SA, CSA Community seized on an opportunity for matched funding from the South Australian Government’s Department of Human Services via Foundation SA, resulting in a $40,000 donation to Foodbank SA.

“ChemSupply Australia has been a strong supporter of Foodbank SA over the years,” said Foodbank SA CEO, Greg Pattinson. “It’s great to see them now taking this support further by developing a new ‘all-of-business’ approach to social purpose with the launch of CSA Community.”

For many years, ChemSupply Australia has supported a diverse range of projects, including a company-wide fundraising campaign to build a girls’ boarding house for students in rural Vietnam. There was, however, a strong desire in the company to formalise the process, and the seeds of CSA Community were sown.

One of the first steps in the creation of CSA Community, was to establish a sub-fund with Foundation SA.

“We’d been wanting to formalise our corporate giving but were unsure of the best structure.  Foundation SA’s sub-fund model enables us to invest our donations for long term growth while also managing all fundraising administration and reporting through a secure online portal.” Said Adrian Cerchez, Chief Executive Officer, Chem Supply Australia.

CSA Community focuses on two main areas: Giving their employees the ability to guide charitable donations and work, and, to help guide other businesses who want to establish and maintain charitable programs of their own.

Like many corporate philanthropists, the team at ChemSupply Australia was inspired by the belief that goodwill shouldn’t sit still.

“Everything is linked,” said ChemSupply Australia Director, Geoff Goss. “Our customers support our business and, in turn, this enables us to support others, like Foodbank SA, who play such as vital role in helping those who, through no fault of their own, are really doing it tough. Even a small contribution in time or money can make an enormous difference to a community.”

If you are inspired this story and would like to investigate your own corporate giving, please get in touch at hello@foundationsa.org.au or visit the CSA Community website here.