Many generous entrepreneurs are looking to help out the communities where they live. Charitable acts, in theory, are done with no direct financial gain. However, there are ways that successful people can benefit from being generous.
Building Goodwill and a Good Reputation in the Community
Businesses can work to identify the needs within a community. They can do this by inquiring about local organizations that are known to assist the community. Once they find a cause that aligns with their business, they can make targeted contributions to help.
The relationships that businesses form with customers through charitable giving can be of great value to the community going forward. When the community sees that a company wants to help them, they respond by supporting the business.
Making Your Community Better for Everyone
Giving to a charity improves the way a community looks upon a business. It also improves the lives of the people who live and work in the community, including the employees of the business. For example, donating to local schools, making parks and other places safer to play in, or donating to improve road quality has a domino effect.
Claire Babineaux-Fontenot is an example showing how this works. Growing up in Louisiana, she experienced firsthand the kindness of friends and family. This made her grateful. Over the years, she worked hard and enjoyed several prominent positions in government and the private sector. Now, Claire is taking steps to help others as she is the CEO of Feeding America. This is the largest domestic hunger-relief organization in the country and the second-largest charity in the country.
The impact that Claire and her charity are having is difficult to quantify. It is estimated that Feeding America provides over four billion meals to 40 million people across the United States each year.
This is just one example. As individuals and companies get involved in environmental causes or green initiatives, they make the environment around them healthier and more attractive.
Be a Role Model for Employees
Employees respect leaders who do good for the community. Employees are happy to work for a company that gives back to the community. This builds company loyalty and improves the way that employees see their employer.
Happy employees are motivated employees. Charitable giving can give employees the motivation needed to keep morale high. This is essential if a business is going to be successful.
Donations Increase Sales
Doing good can lead to a company doing well. When a business is socially responsible, customers see the products that the company produces as socially responsible. Positive attitudes about a company translate to positive beliefs about the products a company makes.
This is because charitable activities build customer loyalty. Suppose a business or retailer is donating a percentage of their profits to charity. In that case, this can give some people the incentive to purchase the products they have been debating on purchasing.
It is important to note that charitable efforts are only successful when they resonate with the targeted audience. Customers are more likely to buy if they know that a percentage of their money is being used to support a cause they care about. By supporting causes your customers care about, you gain their respect, attention, and trust.
Being successful in this area does mean getting to know your customers. If your customers are environmentally friendly, offer to donate to a charity like Greenpeace. This is a surefire way to boost customer loyalty.
Tax Deductions
There are a lot of non-tangible benefits that come from donating to charities. There are also tangible benefits. For example, contributing to nonprofit or charitable organizations is tax-deductible. These expenses can lower a company’s tax bill and reduce taxable income.
Conclusion
There are a variety of ways that your business can support a charity. Business leaders should take the time to learn about the community’s needs, find causes that resonate with their customers, and then donate to those causes.
