By Ed Nicholson

We get lots of plaques at Tyson Foods for being a donor.  Plaques, trophies, plexiglass awards.  Nice gestures from organizations who do tremendous work in their communities.  But managing them can become an issue. There’s not enough room to display them, and they’re eventually discarded.    So really, folks, save the money.  It’s not that we don’t appreciate the gratitude, but…

Here’s an idea for an alternative (and thanks to my colleague, the indefatigable Sue Brockway, for this suggestion):   If you sincerely appreciate a company’s work on your behalf, send a letter to their CEO or one of their board members.  Tell them about hunger in your community.  Tell them about the positive impact of the company’s donation.   Thank them for their role in making it happen.  If you happen to have a board member, who's one of their customers, get them to sign the letter.  There’s a very good chance the letter will get circulated among some senior leaders.  And when it comes time for review and approval of the continued work on behalf of your issue, what you’ve done will have had a far more positive affect than that plaque they’ll never see.