Small businesses can make big differences in the community. As a new business, it can often be difficult to decide where you should start in your efforts to give back. Do you currently support any causes and organizations? What causes are important to you and your industry? What are some ways that you share giving stories with your customers? If you own a business and desire to do more, take a look at these six strategies for your charitable giving to make an impact.
Start Small
From the start, you will need to define your goal and choose a platform. Online platforms are increasingly popular as they are low cost and easy to organize. When you begin your giving program, choose no more than two organizations. Decide how you will support their causes. You may choose to host fundraisers, donate products and services, enter partnerships, or make monetary donations.
Brand Alignment
A robust brand is an integral component of fundraising. Be sure to support organizations that are aligned with your brand and business. Clearly defined and consistently communicated branding helps build connections and trust while advancing fundraising efforts. Brand alignment maintains the clarity of your vision and your promise.
Giving Goals
Your philanthropic plan should be competitive. Set goals that ensure you stay on track competitively. By setting goals for fundraising, donations, contributions, and the number of organizations you will support, your business has a clear view of what is required to meet goals. Set reasonable goals that are very achievable and take small, actionable steps.
Partnerships
Establishing partnerships will increase your impact. This is true in partnerships with other businesses and nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit corporate sponsorships are the most frequently considered partnerships. Other creative ideas also work well.
Charitable Giving Account
Charitable giving accounts or donor-advised funding will provide a way for businesses to contribute as often as there prefer. They can then grant funds to the charities they choose whenever they choose. Along the way, their giving is tracked. Skill sharing and corporate volunteer programs offer workers paid time to volunteer. Volunteer opportunities can be group activities or may allow the employee discretion in choosing a time to volunteer.
Use Your Influence
Small businesses should advocate for organizations and causes that they care about. Donations make a huge impact, but your voice and influence can move mountains. People are inherently trusting of authority figures. A new business owner will have to find their inner fundraising voice and position themself as an authority.
No matter what, you can use your own experience to help others. Your upbringing, knowledge, and social circle create your voice. Share your voice and use it to help and influence others. The key is to answer basic questions with your story.
- Who
- What
- When
- Where
- Why
- How
Who are you and what is the cause? What is your connection to the cause? Why is the recipient in need of this donation? Answering questions will help you compose a captivating story for your fundraiser.
Once you have announced or posted your fundraiser, ask trusted family and friends for feedback. Use good suggestions to improve your images, story, etc. Then ask them to donate. It is good for potential donors to see that funds are already being raised. This makes them more likely to donate.
Your fundraiser needs to be visible to get donations. Creating a fundraiser page on Facebook or other social media is a good idea. An email campaign may also be helpful. As good as social media is for connecting with potential donors, there are still traditional methods to apply. You can create bulletin board flyers or find ways to get featured on local media.
When someone makes a donation it represents their initial concern for the cause and not the end. Your “thank you” is the beginning of a lasting relationship. It is the entryway to the remainder of the story. A simple, personalized thank you letter is a nice and easy way to strengthen the relationship and show appreciation.
Overall, raising money means you have to ask for help. When it is done the right way, it can be a transformative experience for all involved, rather than a plea. Crowdfunding brings people together to attain a common goal. Your business can be a part of the bigger picture.
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