We often find ourselves generally thinking that when it comes to companies giving back to communities or being charitable, that they are large companies of multinational in scale with employees numbering to thousands at least and with millions of dollars to dispense of.
The real scenario is that the United States actually has thousands of small businesses on these businesses employ about half of the total workers in the country. While each small-scale business might be unable to give as much as a huge corporation, it is not true however that what they give isn't as relevant to local communities. At the same time, the benefits of a charitable giving program help those in need as well as benefitting these small businesses.
Charity Creates Positive Publicity
Using social media is an excellent way to spread the word about your business, its goals and new products and services. Of course, you can also send out press releases out to newspapers and TV stations, but these organizations cannot possibly cover all of the stories about the products and services newly offered by local businesses.
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.
To cite a particular example, Forbes.com recently covered a story on a small tire franchise in northern Utah because their cause has been focused on the local "Coats for Kids" community events annually. This small company, Burt Brothers Tires, received nationwide publicity simply because their charitable endeavors created a great human interest story. You could spend thousands of dollars in advertising and not get the benefit you would receive from this type of free publicity.
Employees Will Value Giving Back
To be able to work in a company that cares is a good opportunity. Since your business is small and your employees are mostly "locals," you are likely to find common causes significant for them as well. And so, to give back to the community is a big morale booster and a solid team-building activity for all. There can be several options for your employees to become participative, including:
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.
Have a sit down session with employees soliciting their personal preferences for causes to support and vote on one which the whole group finds the best. Maybe a simple way of setting up an online philanthropy platform like InstaGive could entice employees to donate financially.
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 Appreciate These Efforts
If a small business learns to give back to its community, those who benefit from it are not only the employees of the business. You'll find customers considering this to be valuable as well in that they often buy from businesses who have the heart for its community. There is a positive publicity showcasing goodwill and this can definitely have an impact on customers whether current or prospective. This should not be the end of it though.
Let us look into some ways where customers may be enticed to get involved directly in your 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.
You can also come up with an InstaGive site you can promote using visual signage or through email and social media as well.
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.
Choose a specific period like for example every Wednesdays evening when you can have a portion of every purchase made from your business be donated to a charitable cause. Make sure that your promotion is actively done in order for those customers who are one with your cause to plan their purchases correspondingly.
Now you know why even when you are merely small businesses you ought to consider giving back to the community through an organized charity or through volunteering wherein you may find opportunities for participation suitable for you. Go ahead and plan a sound and tactical program for giving back which you can start today.
The real scenario is that the United States actually has thousands of small businesses on these businesses employ about half of the total workers in the country. While each small-scale business might be unable to give as much as a huge corporation, it is not true however that what they give isn't as relevant to local communities. At the same time, the benefits of a charitable giving program help those in need as well as benefitting these small businesses.
Charity Creates Positive Publicity
Using social media is an excellent way to spread the word about your business, its goals and new products and services. Of course, you can also send out press releases out to newspapers and TV stations, but these organizations cannot possibly cover all of the stories about the products and services newly offered by local businesses.
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.
To cite a particular example, Forbes.com recently covered a story on a small tire franchise in northern Utah because their cause has been focused on the local "Coats for Kids" community events annually. This small company, Burt Brothers Tires, received nationwide publicity simply because their charitable endeavors created a great human interest story. You could spend thousands of dollars in advertising and not get the benefit you would receive from this type of free publicity.
Employees Will Value Giving Back
To be able to work in a company that cares is a good opportunity. Since your business is small and your employees are mostly "locals," you are likely to find common causes significant for them as well. And so, to give back to the community is a big morale booster and a solid team-building activity for all. There can be several options for your employees to become participative, including:
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.
Have a sit down session with employees soliciting their personal preferences for causes to support and vote on one which the whole group finds the best. Maybe a simple way of setting up an online philanthropy platform like InstaGive could entice employees to donate financially.
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 Appreciate These Efforts
If a small business learns to give back to its community, those who benefit from it are not only the employees of the business. You'll find customers considering this to be valuable as well in that they often buy from businesses who have the heart for its community. There is a positive publicity showcasing goodwill and this can definitely have an impact on customers whether current or prospective. This should not be the end of it though.
Let us look into some ways where customers may be enticed to get involved directly in your 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.
You can also come up with an InstaGive site you can promote using visual signage or through email and social media as well.
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.
Choose a specific period like for example every Wednesdays evening when you can have a portion of every purchase made from your business be donated to a charitable cause. Make sure that your promotion is actively done in order for those customers who are one with your cause to plan their purchases correspondingly.
Now you know why even when you are merely small businesses you ought to consider giving back to the community through an organized charity or through volunteering wherein you may find opportunities for participation suitable for you. Go ahead and plan a sound and tactical program for giving back which you can start today.
About the Author:
Sebastian Troup enjoys blogging about philantrophic solutions for businesses and non profit organizations. To get more info about the competitive advantage of corporate philanthropy, or to know about setting up employee giving campaigns , please visit the Truist.com site today.
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