Business owners are in a unique position to make a massive impact on their communities on both the large and small scales. If you’re a business owner looking to make an impact, consider three community-minded ideas.
1. Donating Extras
One of the easiest ways to help your community is to think about your extras. Like it or not, businesses generally have a lot of waste. A great way to give back to the community that supports you is to look at what you’re throwing away and see where you could donate it.
Maybe you own a restaurant and only have so much space in your Atosa freezer for leftovers or extra food. The local food bank could be stocking their freezers with what you’d otherwise throw away. The same way your local grocery store gives dented can or about to expire foods to the food pantry, you could be helping to feed your community. If, on the other hand, you’re looking to upgrade to a new Atosa freezer, you could donate your old appliance to a food bank or homeless shelter. They’ll be glad for the extra shelves and stainless steel appliances.
2. Hosting Events and Fundraisers
Acts of positive activism go a long way in making a difference in the community. Take a look at your employees when considering a how to make a difference in your community. Maybe you have an employee with a family member suffering from a rare disease. Consider hosting a fundraiser or a team walk to support that employee and their family.
Local businesses are constantly looking for new ways to get their name and brand in the community. Being a host of a fundraising event, sponsor of a scholarship, or regular activist for human rights, environmentalism, or another cause you’re passionate about could be a great way to make a positive impact.
3. Organizing Outreach
If you don’t have the facilities to host a fundraiser, think about other ways you could reach out. What about becoming a mentor or volunteering your time in a local shelter? You could begin a random acts of kindness campaign, sponsor a community clean up or mural, or deliver food and supply packages to the local homeless shelter.
When thinking of how you could help, consider your favorite charity. Take a look at their social media and see if they’re asking for help. Whether it’s that they need community sponsors or donors or simply need manpower for something like offering senior citizens rides to the local hospital, you may get ideas on ways you can help. Maybe the senior center is looking for people to help senior citizens get to and from doctor’s appointments. If you own a company with spare vehicles, you could donate on the clock employee time to help facilitate these rides. Especially during a global pandemic, there are thousands of ways you could help make a major difference in your community.
Like any relationship, the relationship between a business and community is reciprocal. If customers see you are interested in them and the things they care about, they’re more likely to support you. From customer retention to knowing you’re part of lending a helping hand and feeling a greater sense of purpose, the reasons to get more involved with the community are nearly endless.
In the end, how you go about reaching out to help your community is up to you. By becoming more involved with your community, volunteering to help address needs as you see them, and making people aware that your company is about something bigger than just you, you can do amazing things for your brand. Even if your intention has nothing to do with the brand marketing value behind it, letting customers know you’re there for them in a bigger way will also add up to results for you.
