Community Involvement for Businesses: A Win-Win
Written by: Shannon Briggs
Community involvement should be a part of any for-profit’s business and marketing strategy. Not only is giving back to your community the right thing to do, it also offers marketing advantages. In addition to creating a happier and more loyal workforce in your organization, a strategic community involvement plan offers publicity opportunities, showcases your brand as a community leader, and can further hone in on your target market and business goals.
The Ethical Side
Before we jump in, let’s acknowledge the fine line of ethics here. While we won’t spend time debating the existence of true altruism, as that’s another blog post completely, let’s talk about how volunteering or donating can quickly go from heartfelt to icky. Community involvement should always be about supporting your community, and kudos if you get publicity from your acts of service. This can be inspirational to others who also want to give back. Do the good. Share your good work. Encourage others to do the same. Great.
However, there is a difference between trying to support your community and community involvement just for publicity. Are you spending more time showcasing how awesome you are than you are actually doing the good deeds? Is your volunteerism and donation strategy driven by how much you can milk out of the situation? Not great.
The first step to developing a community involvement plan for your business is to figure out your why. Is education near and dear to your heart? Are you eco-friendly and want to support environmental efforts? Do you feel strongly that women should be equipped to take on leadership roles? Determining your why will make the rest of your plan much easier.
Planning Your Initiative
Once you know your why, it’s time to determine what plan is best for your business. Think about your business as a person. What is your business’s passion? What motivates your business? Use these guiding questions to figure out what organizations to support.
For example, FedEx has its FedEx Cares division, which focuses on its goal to “connect people and possibilities.” International Paper is focused on sustainability, which compliments its paper services. Campfire Collective is a woman-centric organization founded by a female entrepreneur. Therefore, our Carrying the Torch initiative supports organizations that are building and encouraging the next generation of female leaders in our community.
After you pick the organizations that align with your mission, determine your capacity to become involved with these organizations. A good starting place is assessing the capacity of your organization and individual team members. Determine how much your organization is willing to take on during typical office hours versus what is expected to be done during personal time. Be aware that if most volunteering is expected during personal time, or if donations and fundraising are expected out of personal wallets, participation may be lower.
After gauging interest, have conversations with the people in the development or volunteer departments at these organizations to determine their needs. Many non-profit organizations have specific asks for businesses - event volunteer needs, ongoing volunteer needs, fundraising goals, etc. Match those needs with the abilities of your team members, and make magic happen!
If the needs of the non-profit do not align with what your organization can give, don’t fret! Sometimes even if the desire is there, it’s not a match made in heaven. Go back to the drawing board to determine another worthwhile organization to support. Sometimes finding the right non-profit match takes time, and there are plenty of deserving organizations in the sea.
Publicizing Your Initiative
Once you have the plan, you can get the word out. Donation drives and fundraising initiatives are easy examples of volunteering that can warrant a press release or social media campaign. If your team is volunteering, make sure to snap a photo, let your social media community know about your work, and tag the non-profit organization in the post. Organic social media posts raise brand awareness for the non-profit, while also showcasing your initiative. Recap your community involvement in a newsletter to reinforce the work you are doing and include a link to donate to the organization to show them some extra love.
In the end, remember that a community involvement plan is a mutually beneficial way to support the community that supports your business. It’s money, time, and increased awareness for the organization, and a happier employee base and extra publicity for your business. What’s not to love?
