Giving $50 to your favorite charity or gathering the family to volunteer one weekend to help the homeless will make you feel great. It also provides an excellent example to others in your community. You should keep in mind, however, that there is a limit to the long-term benefits and the social impact we can all personally have on our community through giving individualized giving.
However, when a group of people get together and coordinate their giving, as occurs during an organized corporate giving campaign, tremendous and lasting good can be done for the community or a specific cause. Besides and beyond the profit to the community, charitable giving provides important benefits to the business itself as well.
- Increased Visibility & Revenue: For a concentrated and often minimal cost to the business, you can get a lot of visibility and recognition within your industry for your charitable deed. The greater the giving the higher the visibility and the likelihood of revenue generated by the leads it generates.
- Charitable Image: The “you get more flies with honey than with vinegar” adage hasn’t been around all of these years because it’s not true! As society becomes more globally conscious and concerned for the world around them, many are basing their decisions on whether to patronize a business on things like corporate responsibility. “I need a new place to call home, this company has decent homes but this company has decent homes and is a company that cares.” Hmmm. Something to think about.
- Exponential Ability to Help. On one hand, again, one person helping is great, but an organized, concerted effort increases your gift-giving exponentially. On the other hand, you have the internal benefits to your company: teambuilding, increased morale, and creating an environment that encourages the people within in to do like behavior outside of their corporate environment.
There’s nothing that says you have to practice charitable giving in your business. There are many other ways to increase your business’ visibility and revenue. Some more costly and complicated than others. But, when you have a way to do those things that will benefit you, your employees, and your community, it’s a no-brainer. Take advantage of this time of giving and do your part to make the world a better place.
