Final Project Part 1: Recommendation Report (be sure to complete assignment instructions )

Purpose: To demonstrate your ability to (1) apply the three-step process to preparing a memo report, (2) conduct and analyze research leading to your recommendation, (3) organize your thoughts in a logical and appropriate format, (4) convey clear ideas and provide the audience with ethical information on which to base a decision, and (5) provide the sources (at least 10) supporting your analysis and recommendation using APA style referencing.

This assignment links to course objectives 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, & 8.

Type of Assignment: The Recommendation Report assignment is worth 150 points.

Situation: Corporate Philanthropy Initiative for Global Mind1: Great news! Global Mind, the start-up company where you work, has become successful and is growing. Now the owner, Ms. Tahani Al-Jamil, wants Global Mind to become involved in some form of corporate philanthropy/charity. Ms. Al-Jamil, does not have time to check out the possibilities for Global Mind, so she asks you, her executive assistant, to conduct and analyze research on this issue and recommend a cause and implementation model to her and the board of directors at the next board meeting. Note: Corporate social responsibility exists in many forms, but you must focus on philanthropy/charity.

Audience: Your boss (the company’s owner) and your company’s advisory board.

Your Task: You must complete the research and analysis to select a cause and implementation model appropriate for Global Mind’s Corporate Philanthropy Initiative. Write up your research as an analytical Recommendation Report in memo format for your boss and the board of directors. You will follow up your written report with a persuasive presentation also to your boss and the board.

Assignment Process: Follow these steps:

1. Familiarize yourself with the concepts involved in this assignment. What are philanthropy and charity? Are they the same? Look at the links below for the differences between charity and philanthropy:

The Melvin and Bren Simon Foundation. (2015, March 23). Is there a difference between charity and philanthropy? The Melvin and Bren Simon Foundation. [website]. http://www.brensimon.com/difference-between-charit…

Arillaga-Andreesen, L. (n.d.). Week 1 videos: 3.1, What is philanthropy?; 3.3, Charity versus philanthropy; and 3.4, Case study: earthquake in Haiti. Laura Arillaga-Andressen Foundation. [website]. Retrieved from http://www.laaf.org/mooc/week-1-videos 1 Global Mind is a fictitious company existing only for the purposes of this project. For your project, you get to decide what kind of company Global Mind is. So determine what kind of company you want to for—accounting, finance, marketing, hospitality, management, manufacturing, retail/wholesale. Determine Global Mind’s product/service and target market, maybe even the mission. IMPORTANT: Global Mind is a for-profit business NOT a charitable organization, NOT a nonprofit, NOT a social-entrepreneurship venture.

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2. Select a cause for Global Mind. NOTE: a cause, not a specific charitable organization. Here are some examples of long-term issues that lend themselves as causes for corporate philanthropy:

the environment, education, poverty, health, bullying, hunger, homelessness

Most likely, you will need to narrow down your cause from these broad issues. You may also choose a different cause, but please run it by your instructor.

3. Corporate philanthropy can be implemented in various ways. The links below explain a few different implementation models (others exist you will find through your research):

Fritz, J. (2017, November 26). Be a better donor and have more fun with a giving circle. The balance small business. [website]. Retrieved from https://www.thebalancesmb.com/what-are-giving-circ…

FundraisingIP.com. (n.d.) 3 forms of corporate philanthropy. FindraisingIP.com. [website]. Retrieved from.http://www.fundraisingip.com/fundraising/corporate…

Strategic philanthropy. (n.d.) Charity Café. [website]. Retrieved from http://www.charitycafe.com/guest-articles/strategi…

What is cause-related marketing? (n.d.). Grantspace. [website]. Retrieved from http://grantspace.org/tools/knowledge-base/funding…

4. Look at some real-world examples of companies participating in corporate philanthropy:

Double the Donation. (n.d.). 51 companies that donate to nonprofits. Double the Donation. [website]. Retrieved from https://doublethedonation.com/companies-that-donat…

5 companies doing corporate philanthropy right. (2015, March 9). Triple Pundit. [website]. Retrieved from http://www.triplepundit.com/2015/03/5-companies-co…

But wait! Corporate philanthropy isn’t just for BIG companies, check out this article about one of your instructor’s favorite companies:

Eblen, T. (2017, July 28). It’s not just about beer and money: What drives West Sixth Brewery founders? Lexington Herald Leader. Retrieved from http://www.kentucky.com/news/business/article16414…

Hint: Companies’ web sites also provide information AND you can email the company directly to ask specific questions (mention that it’s for school work, and they will probably help you).

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5. Investigate/research the cause you will recommend. Then research the best way to implement (the model) philanthropy/charity at Global Mind targeting that cause.

6. Write an analytical report to recommend the cause Global Mind should focus on and the implementation model. These are the topics I expect to see addressed and researched in your report:

 The cause, its relevance, and reasons supporting your choice of this cause.

 At least 3 examples of real-world companies’ philanthropic initiatives you used to help you refine your recommendation. Consider companies/industry similar to your project. INCLUDE your analysis of the pros & cons of these models/approaches.

 Varied reasons why Global Mind should adopt your recommended implementation model including benefits to the company.

 Concerns associated with your recommendation AND mitigation of those concerns.

Organization: You will be using the indirect approach to write a recommendation report. Your online course schedule provides readings about organizing reports. However, your organization will be a little different from what is in the texts (you may add subheadings):

1. Introduction: Context, purpose and preview

2. Chosen cause & its significance plus justification for this choice

3. Alternative implementation models w/ pros & cons (analysis)

4. Conclusions & recommendation of cause and implementation model (must include supporting reasons & mitigated concerns)

Notice that you must anticipate any concerns or potential objections the board might have regarding your recommendation and address them factually. Remember, your job is to convince the board to sponsor this cause and to adopt your implementation model despite the concerns.

Format: Prepare a recommendation report in memo format using your letterhead, addressed to the owner of Global Mind and the board of directors.

The report should be complete with concrete supporting detail, but concise: 1,500-2,000 words (excluding the memo headers, headings, tables, figures, and references), single-spaced/1.15, and have at least 10 references (you may/should use at least some of the sources I’ve provided you here).

Use format (headings, bullets; short, topic-focused paragraphs, visuals, etc.) to visually organize your report and be reader friendly, attractive, and professional. Your Alternatives sections may have second-level headings. Both http://mcom320.net/, Ch. 7 and APA provide guidelines for logical, effective headings and subheadings (don’t use level 3 APA headings—too similar to level 2).

Use your Global Mind letterhead with complete contact information on page 1 only.

Make sure you use the word “Memorandum” on page 1 under the letterhead.

For subsequent pages, no letterhead, but use page headers/numbers to identify the document and page number.

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Example of page identifier:

Recipient(s) as in the “TO” line of your memo

Page 2

Date (month, spelled out)

Create at least one table/figure/infographic to illustrate/clarify your research. Make your own figures from information you find, but give credit to your information source.

Here is the link to a video on labeling APA visuals:

Here is another link to the Purdue OWL on tables/figures format (2 pages). NOTE: You must include the source or copyright in the caption if you copy the table/figure from another source instead of creating your own: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/19…

APA-formatted References: To demonstrate that you are basing your analysis, conclusions, and recommendation on substantive and credible evidence, you must have at least 10 references. You can use articles, websites, videos, and interviews/emails. You can also use the links I’ve provided and the GEB3213 LibGuide. Use reputable, credible sources; do not reference Wikipedia.

In the report, insert APA-formatted in-text citations (parenthetical references) for facts, illustrations, quotes, or paraphrased ideas taken from sources. No standalone URL links. These in-text references must correspond to the APA reference list at the end of your report.

Note: You cannot have items in your reference list that do not appear as citations in the paper.

For help with APA, go to either of the following sites:

 Red Deer College APA Citation Style 6th Edition Home Page

 Owl Purdue APA Site

Be sure you have an Owl card (http://www.fau.edu/business-services/owl-card/) to access the FAU Library databases/indexes.

Submission Instructions:

Upload your Recommendation Report (labeled your last name.RR) to Groups, RR Peer Reviews, files, “Papers to be reviewed,” to be accessible to your peer review team. For this assignment, 10 points will be deducted if the complete paper is not available in class for peer review. Each report should be reviewed by 2 people, and each person should review two reports.

After your peer review, revise as necessary and name it your last name.RR.Final. (e.g., Nesbitt.RR.Final). Submit your RR to the RR Turn-it-in assignment ahead of the due date so you can check the originality report and revise if necessary to ensure originality. For this assignment, 5 points will be deducted if the paper is not submitted to Turn-it-in.

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Submit your RR file to the Final Project Part 1: Recommendation Report (RR) assignment.