Why You Should Be the Change in Your Community

Sometimes we have to lead the change we want to see in our community. This can have significant benefits on our business. Let’s talk about 5 ways charitable giving and corporate social responsibility efforts can benefit your business.

1. Increase Employee Engagement
2. improve Brand Awareness and Reputation
3. Attract Top Talent
4. Increase Sales
5. Tax Deductions

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Have you developed your corporate philanthropic mission? You may not have even thought of the idea, being a small business. 

A common misconception that we have as small business owners is that we are too small to pursue philanthropic efforts. In reality, even small things can have a BIG impact.

Giving back is something we must strive to do in our community because if we give back to our community, they will give back to us. Being involved and active in the community allows us to get an up-close and personal understanding of the values and struggles of that community. This allows us to tailor your business to better serve them. 

Working with our community also gives us a platform to be able to speak to the community, not exactly to sell our product or services, but to talk more openly about how we can all work together to improve the surrounding community.

Ultimately, we must be the change we want to see. Sometimes, we must lead that change, even as a small piece.

This is a high-level overview of the impact that corporate social responsibility initiatives can have. Here are five benefits of pursuing it.

Increase Employee Engagement and Productivity

It may surprise you to know that 78% of employees want to engage with corporate social responsibility initiatives. They want to be involved in the community and they want to make an impact. 

Determining your corporate social responsibility does not have to be a singular effort. We should make it a team effort. Ultimately, your team should be aligned to your mission and, if you make it your mission to give back to the community, your team will gladly take part in philanthropic efforts.

These philanthropic programs allow them to make deeper connections in the community and increase employee engagement. In return, we will see improved productivity and business results.

Here are a few ideas to get employees involved.

• Paid Volunteer Days
• Office Drives and Collections
• Letter or Card Writing Campaigns
• Corporate Team Events
• Pro Bono Services
• Corporate Fund Matches

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Improve Brand Awareness and Reputation

Being involved in the community and putting ourselves out there allows people to become better acquainted with our business, thus improving brand awareness.

Additionally, our reputation with customers, employees, prospects and partners will improve as they see our company in a positive light. People are more likely to connect with a company that they can make a positive association.

The more good we do, the better our brand perception will be.

Attract Top Talent

Going back to the first point, employees want to be involved in the community. There has been an ongoing shift in society where people are putting a larger emphasis on corporate responsibility. They are increasingly measuring their careers, not only by the success of their careers but by how large of an impact they made in the world around them.

There’s research that shows that millennials are leading this shift and are more socially conscious, but it also suggests that other generations are following suit. Perhaps the most interesting is that research suggests that over half of employees will not work for a company that doesn’t have a strong CSR commitment (givinga.com) 

So having corporate philanthropy is not only very important to have when recruiting these employees but also something we should show that we dedicate ourselves to and are making ongoing efforts towards it.

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Increase Sales

Have you ever been so wowed by a company’s mission or donation practice, that you want to purchase more from them?

For example, there are businesses that for every dollar you spend they donate to a specific charity. This has been proven to boost sales as studies show that people spend more on brands that have social causes. 

These are the types of things that not only attract customers but also keep customers. Eighty-seven percent of consumers also said they would purchase a product simply because a company advocated for an issue they care about. A one-time purchase can turn into a lifelong relationship if we’ve developed our product and services well.

Tax Deductions

Of course, we don’t give for financial gain, but we can’t ignore the fact that giving back reaps some financial rewards. The tax-saving benefits will become quickly apparent as we start our philanthropic campaigns.

Companies can receive tax deductions for charitable giving. We advise you to talk to a financial professional to discuss this further.

What’s stopping you from being the change you want to see in your business and community? We’d love to discuss with you the barriers that are preventing you from moving forward. Contact us today to get connected with a certified business coach who can discuss your giving options and how you can put yourself in a position to give back.