Business Can Build Better Communities!
While business leaders have always made charitable gifts, the dynamics of those gifts are beginning to change. For years, charitable giving has been considered good PR, especially for small businesses that depend on their communities to keep them afloat.
More recently, it is simply good for business. Recent data from SCORE and OnDeck indicates that 75% of small business owners donate an average of 6% of their profits to charitable organizations annually. This tends to be 250% more than their larger business counterparts.
These decisions are driven by the employers wanting consumers to have a more positive image of the company and because it creates better-engaged employees. The information shared by SCORE indicated that owners’ support of the local community helped improve employee leadership, broaden professional skill sets, boost morale, and strengthen camaraderie with work colleagues. Other studies have shown measurable increases in motivation and productivity among employees who work at companies with volunteer programs and charitable giving initiatives.
Charitable giving is also a way to build alliances with other organizations and network with individuals who are potential partners. These relationships can extend beyond the non-profit to creating other professional associations. Through these efforts, owners can make new contacts and have something to discuss with them immediately. It also gives a stable platform to help maintain those relationships.
While making a local impact is important, sometimes it is hard for a small business to do homework about the best organization to support. As a small business, there may not always be internal resources for due diligence about all of the local non-profits. This is where a Community Foundation can help because of our connections to the Lorain County community and our ability to enhance the knowledge of the issues the small business may care about.
For the past two years, we have been helping the local business community show their dedication to the Lorain County non-profit community through Connect to a Cause. By becoming Business Champions during our 12-hour, coordinated crowdfunding campaign, these businesses have generated more than $60K in additional contributions to the participating Connect to a Cause non-profits. It has been one of the best opportunities to support a significant amount of the Lorain County non-profit community with one donation!
If you would like to become a Business Champion for Connect to a Cause on September 21st, 2023, or if there are other ways Community Foundation can help your business impact our community, please let us know.
