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Local businesses often look for opportunities to give-back to their community. The wonderful thing about fundraising event sponsorships is that not only do companies receive tax benefits (as their sponsorship fee is considered a donation), but they also receive exposure through presence at the event. This allows them to reach out to new potential customers, and receive free publicity through media coverage. Sponsoring an event also gives employers an opportunity to engage employees and business partners in a social setting outside of the workplace, while encouraging teamwork and goodwill.
Small Business Involvement in the Community is a Win-Win
In this day and age, it’s crucial that all brands and corporations exercise responsibility.
For businesses, charitable giving has an added benefit: it provides networking and marketing opportunities while also increasing the business’s presence in the community. If a business also encourages employees to participate, workplace morale will improve as each person feels as though they are making a difference in the community. By forming a task force that helps organize and track the project, businesses can further boost worker confidence.
In the process of supporting a good cause, a business may also find that it can use charitable activities as a part of its annual marketing efforts. Sponsoring a local little league team or a 5K walk will allow a business to get the word out about its products or services while funneling marketing money into supporting a local cause.
Audi of America was the title sponsor of the first Eunice Kennedy Shriver Challenge – a run-walk-and-cycling benefit event hosted by Best Buddies International and Special Olympics.
Sponsorship is often considered the domain of big business, but there are plenty of excellent opportunities for small firms. These might include sponsoring a local cricket team, art exhibition, business competition, school project or recycling initiative.
Getting involved with the local community is an excellent way to build brand awareness and credibility for your business.
A business’s involvement in the community renders several benefits including: building the business reputation, business recognition, networking opportunities, and opportunities to improve the community.
Other benefits of community involvement includes:
Building Business Reputation & Recognition
Your business’s reputation will directly affect how many customers are willing to purchase your products or services. They tend to purchase from companies that have a positive reputation in their community and genuinely care about the customers who support their business. A good business image will result in customers building trust, confidence, and loyalty for your company.
Customers tend to purchase products/services from businesses that they know. Having this recognition is especially important for those businesses that have a lot of competition in the local community. It will ultimately help develop customer loyalty and increase visibility of your business. It will also increase revenue because customers would rather purchase from your business than a competitor. Revenue increase is a key part of your business that lenders will look at to determine if you will be approved.
Networking Opportunities
Taking the time to networking has several advantages including developing important relationships, creating opportunities, and receiving advice and assistance. Networking allows business owners to get to know people on a more personal level and helps develop those relationships that will benefit the business in the long-run. During networking events, business owners should introduce themselves to potential lenders which in turn, may create a lending opportunity. According to Chris Garrett of Chrisg.com, other opportunities may include, “joint ventures, client leads, partnerships, speaking or writing gigs, business or assets being bought or sold.”
The people a business owner meets, not only creates opportunities, but they can offer valuable advice about your business. They may suggest ways to increase sales, create effective promotion strategies, and improve customer retention; all can help improve the operations of your business. These same people may also offer assistance to you and your business such as promoting your business or linking it with their business. Some may assist you by introducing you to other people and helping you make more connections. Overall, as stated in The Benefits of Community Service for Businesses, “succeeding in business is all about making the right contacts and networking with the right people within a community in order to maximize your business opportunities.”
Opportunities to Improve the Community
Being involved will ultimately improve the community your small business is a part of. As a business owner, you can have a positive impact on your community and generate more profit in the process. You can help local members build a better community to increase the appeal to visitors.
How Charitable Giving Can Boost Office Morale While Helping The Community
While performing charitable work can seem as though it is a completely selfless act, the behavior may actually be good for the health and well-being of those performing the act. Studies have repeatedly shown that doing good deeds for others is good for the soul. In fact, those feeling down and out can benefit from doing something to improve another person’s way of life.
Benefits of Helping the Community
Community service may rank low on your priority list given everything else you need to do to run your business. But moving this item higher on your to-do list could help you tap into the key to building business.
Community involvement may not seem directly associated with business gain, but many club owners are discovering that the two can go hand in hand. “Being an active part of the community your business is in—especially if all your clients come from the community—is just good business, plain and simple,” says Bob Nelson, PhD, best-selling coauthor of 1001 Ways to Reward Employees.
Grow your relationship within your community
There are a lot of networking events for meeting new people in your city, but few are as engaging as volunteering to help a noble cause. Most volunteers tend to have a day job, and volunteering to work with them opens the opportunity to trade business cards with all sorts of great business leads. An activity as simple as wrapping gifts for underprivileged children could lead to sharing scissors with your next business partner.
Grow relationships within your business
The office can be so busy, it’s sometimes difficult to socialize and strengthen relationships with your coworkers. Even in our relatively small company, it’s difficult for me to interact with everyone. People are busy concentrating on their accounting, sales and technology objectives, while I stay busy helping customers on the phone. But stuffing envelopes for charities and serving food to the homeless have enabled me to connect with coworkers on a deeper level, having conversations that never would have happened by the water cooler.
Grow your brand
The nice part of helping nonprofits in your community is that you can give yourself props. You can promote your community outreach programs on your website and blog, where you can even invite visitors (potential leads) to help participate with your organization. It helps create goodwill with your clients, showcases your company’s true values and can even attract potential customers who support your work.
Grow your karma
Volunteering to help your community can broadcast positive vibrations into the universe, which can only bring back positive energy to help your organization succeed in the long run. As Paul McCartney once wrote, “The love you get is equal to the love you give.”
Sure, you’ll be contributing positively to society and spreading your brand awareness across the community. But you’ll probably also have some fun while networking to meet new leads and potential business partners.
What kind of charity work does your company do? To let us help you choose a charity that you respect and admire that also coincides with your company’s values and to learn the benefits of how helping others can help grow your business please call 561-899-9310.