Well said.
I actually recommend Peter Singers books in this matter. Despite some of his rather morbid views on abortions and other matters, he has an extremely level and good view when it comes to charity in many ways. If you can, read The Life You Can Save
He gives a great guide on how to donate and who to donate too [it's much more tricky than dropping a few quarters in the salvation army bucket].
Peter Singer talked about this in 'The Life You Can Save'
I'm sure some people here have some strong opinions on him [I do too] but I actually do recommend this book.
It'd be awesome if more companies got seriously involved in charity, not just because they can provide larger sums, but primarily because they'd have so much more impact on public perception of charitable giving. Too many people still hold on to the convenient idea that poverty is an inherently unsolvable problem, so we needn't bother.
A further suggestion for you and your collegues if you're interested: Peter Singer's book <em>The Life You Can Save</em> has a great run-down of all current arguments for and against charitable giving, as well as a good overview over current approaches to evaluating the impact of charities and raising their effectiveness. There's a great 3 minute video with his basic argument, though the book offers much more than just the ethical side of things.
The corresponding homepage also offers a lot of info, as do the sites charitynavigator.org (for the US) and givewell.org (international).
The book that started it all and its website.