The number of Colorado craft breweries continues to climb and expected to go over 300 in the next 12 months. Customers purchase cause-related products and will go out of their way to do so. Craft breweries are a source of community connection as they support numerous events and socialization hubs led by very passionate people. 

So, how well do craft breweries promote their CSR activities? Why should the craft breweries care if they promote their CSR activities or not? Why should you as a stakeholder care?

Well, we are VERY excited to share with you our tools that examine the Colorado craft brewing industry in a very interactive and visual way!!!!!!!

Below are different links to explore the Colorado craft brewing industry, which ones report CSR (with an analysis by county), and why analyzing the promoting of CSR is so important. We suggest starting with the Home Page to get an overview of the research. Then check out Methodology/Conclusions to see how we defined those breweries that promote their CSR and followup with the Why Reporting CSR is Important before jumping into the maps.

The most fun part will be the Interactive Map where you can explore the state of Colorado craft brewing from a CSR perspective!

So, where's corporate giving at today? It's rather complicated. The definition of corporate giving and corporate social responsibility (CSR) varies and reporting processes are still in the process of standardization.

When we started Confluence, we really needed to put into perspective what our community, Colorado, is doing compared to other states. How much community support from corporations does Colorado have in comparison?

Using data from The Grantsmanship Center, we were able to see the total number and the names of  businesses that have corporate giving programs in each state. The Grantsmanship Center defines corporate giving programs as having "either direct giving programs, foundations, sponsorship programs, in-kind donations, product donations, volunteer programs, or matching gift programs." The Grantsmanship Center pulls this information from 990s, Guidestar, or each company's website.

The definition of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the activities it encompasses varies from company to company. For some companies, is the "do good" activities with the belief that the costs associated with these activities are too great and that resources would be better utilized on core operations.

In reality, these activities are more than "doing good." They are unique ways to market your brand and improve operations. CSR can help a business succeed. These activities influence all business interactions with the environment and its stakeholders -> its community. 

From this, let's define CSR as the impacts a business has on its community. Thus, every business performs CSR functions in some capacity. The overall goal is to have the business succeed and use CSR to minimize negative impacts on the community and increase the positive.