Often, when discussing companies giving back to their communities or getting involved in philanthropy, the conversation tends to dwell on huge multinational corporations with thousands of employees and millions of dollars at their disposal.
In reality, the vast majority of the businesses in the United States are small businesses, and they employ over 50% of the nation's workers. While smaller businesses may not be able to match the massive amounts donated by huge corporations that certainly doesn't mean they can't have a substantial impact on their local communities in the long run. There are also some very good side benefits for small businesses that engage in giving back.
Charity Creates Positive Publicity
Positive publicity - especially in a social media world where any story can be shared - is invaluable for a small business. And while you may dutifully send announcements out to local publications and TV stations every time you launch a new product or run a promotion, they're simply not going to cover every one of those stories.
However if the story is going to tell about your business giving back to your community through monetary donation, or donating in kind, services or the time you share doing voluntary works, any local media would find it highly interesting as it is good news for everyone.
For example, in Utah there is a small tire business called Burt Brothers Tires. While they could pay for advertising and send out press releases about new products and services, it was their charitable giving that got them noticed in Forbes, a national publication. Burt Brothers Tires has been a big supporter of a local community project, Coats for Kids, and their hard work was noticed by Forbes and publicized. This positive publicity was free and just a happy side benefit of doing some good.
Your Employees Will Appreciate It
It feels good to work for a company that cares. As a small business, most of your employees are likely from the same community, so many local causes will be close to their hearts. This makes giving back to the community a strong team-building and morale-boosting experience for everyone involved. You have many different options for helping your employees get involved in giving, such as:
A day off from the business in order to give way for a "Volunteer Day" with all employees encouraged to report to a planned volunteer activity rather than work is good.
Encourage your employees to suggest various causes that they are passionate about, and then decide as a group the best way to support them. Set up simple means by which employees can give financially through an online philanthropy platform such as InstaGive.
This could be a very minimal yet smart way to provide for people to access a branded webpage for the purpose of collecting donations using credit card.
Customers Also Value Giving Back
It's not just employees who benefit when a small business gives back to the community. Customers appreciate it too, and locals may even make buying decisions based on how involved your company is in the community. The goodwill that positive publicity creates can certainly influence current and prospective customers for any small business. But it doesn't have to stop there.
Here are few ways you can directly involve your customers in your giving program:
Maybe you can put donation jars in your counter or you can think of any other simple yet quick ways for your walk-in customers to participate and talking to them about it while they are in your outlet ought to make them more aware.
Invite your customers to donate on your InstaGive site, both through visible signage at your place of business and via email and social media.
You can always ask customers to join your employees for organized activities. The more work that needs to be accomplished, the more people you will need to partake of all the labor.
There should be a specific period allotted - maybe from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday evenings, where a portion of the purchases made be set aside for the charity. An active promotion for this activity will ensure all believers of the cause to have their purchases coincide with the period set.
These are just a few reasons why small businesses should be interested in giving back to their communities through planned giving and volunteering efforts, and each business has its own unique ways for how they can participate. So take some time to plan out a solid, strategic giving program and start giving back today!
In reality, the vast majority of the businesses in the United States are small businesses, and they employ over 50% of the nation's workers. While smaller businesses may not be able to match the massive amounts donated by huge corporations that certainly doesn't mean they can't have a substantial impact on their local communities in the long run. There are also some very good side benefits for small businesses that engage in giving back.
Charity Creates Positive Publicity
Positive publicity - especially in a social media world where any story can be shared - is invaluable for a small business. And while you may dutifully send announcements out to local publications and TV stations every time you launch a new product or run a promotion, they're simply not going to cover every one of those stories.
However if the story is going to tell about your business giving back to your community through monetary donation, or donating in kind, services or the time you share doing voluntary works, any local media would find it highly interesting as it is good news for everyone.
For example, in Utah there is a small tire business called Burt Brothers Tires. While they could pay for advertising and send out press releases about new products and services, it was their charitable giving that got them noticed in Forbes, a national publication. Burt Brothers Tires has been a big supporter of a local community project, Coats for Kids, and their hard work was noticed by Forbes and publicized. This positive publicity was free and just a happy side benefit of doing some good.
Your Employees Will Appreciate It
It feels good to work for a company that cares. As a small business, most of your employees are likely from the same community, so many local causes will be close to their hearts. This makes giving back to the community a strong team-building and morale-boosting experience for everyone involved. You have many different options for helping your employees get involved in giving, such as:
A day off from the business in order to give way for a "Volunteer Day" with all employees encouraged to report to a planned volunteer activity rather than work is good.
Encourage your employees to suggest various causes that they are passionate about, and then decide as a group the best way to support them. Set up simple means by which employees can give financially through an online philanthropy platform such as InstaGive.
This could be a very minimal yet smart way to provide for people to access a branded webpage for the purpose of collecting donations using credit card.
Customers Also Value Giving Back
It's not just employees who benefit when a small business gives back to the community. Customers appreciate it too, and locals may even make buying decisions based on how involved your company is in the community. The goodwill that positive publicity creates can certainly influence current and prospective customers for any small business. But it doesn't have to stop there.
Here are few ways you can directly involve your customers in your giving program:
Maybe you can put donation jars in your counter or you can think of any other simple yet quick ways for your walk-in customers to participate and talking to them about it while they are in your outlet ought to make them more aware.
Invite your customers to donate on your InstaGive site, both through visible signage at your place of business and via email and social media.
You can always ask customers to join your employees for organized activities. The more work that needs to be accomplished, the more people you will need to partake of all the labor.
There should be a specific period allotted - maybe from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday evenings, where a portion of the purchases made be set aside for the charity. An active promotion for this activity will ensure all believers of the cause to have their purchases coincide with the period set.
These are just a few reasons why small businesses should be interested in giving back to their communities through planned giving and volunteering efforts, and each business has its own unique ways for how they can participate. So take some time to plan out a solid, strategic giving program and start giving back today!
About the Author:
Sebastian Troup likes writing about philantrophic solutions for businesses and non profit organizations. To get more information about the competitive advantage of corporate philanthropy, or to find about setting up employee giving campaigns , please visit the Truist.com website now.
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