When we talk about becoming a charitable business, we are not necessarily saying you should set yourself up as a charity (although that may be a viable option for you). We are talking about becoming more charitable in nature, thinking outside of your profit margins, and giving something back to the world.
There are a number of benefits by doing so. Consider the following as examples.
- You will improve your company’s identity. Setting yourself apart from your competitors, your brand image will become synonymous with your charitable nature, earning trust from your customers, staff, and investors.
- You will attract newcomers to your business, those people who, like you, want to know that they are making a difference in the world. This may be the people you recruit, as recent studies suggest today’s millennials are growing up wanting to make an impact in the world. You will attract new customers, those people who will value your ethical practices. And you will attract the attention of the media, putting your company in the spotlight after you have proven your charitable credentials.
- You will feel the personal reward, knowing that you have made a difference to the world. There are so many things within the day that can take up your time, but let’s face it, some of what you do offers very real value, other than to raise your bank balance or to adhere to policies. By being charitable, you are making your working day more worthwhile than it might otherwise have been.
- You are helping others, in whatever capacity your giving supports them. Aside from the exposure you receive by being charitable, aside from the sense of pride you feel yourself, you can genuinely make a difference in somebody’s life, and that should override everything.
So, those are some of the benefits, but how can you become charitable?
Well, you could start your own charity, as we mentioned earlier. Through funding sources from investors and online services such as Globalfaces Direct, you can directly help the lives of others by making the sole purpose of your business charitable. It may be a second-hand furniture store, where the majority of your profits go to a particular cause. You might want to set yourself up to support a particular group, such as the homeless, the elderly, or something around a health issue. You could send a message to others, spreading the word about a particular need in the world, and raising money to make a difference.
On the other hand, you can offer support to other charities from the sidelines. You could donate some of your profits to a particular cause. You may be able to hold sponsored events where money raised goes to others. You should also talk to your team, find out what causes mean something to them, and then rotate your fundraising efforts to support each cause in turn.
There are other ways to be charitable. You don’t need to set up a recycling company to commit to ethical practices within your operations. You can show kindness to both your employees and customers, going out of your way to care for particular needs. And you can give old equipment away to charities who would benefit from them.
By being charitable through some or all of these ways, you and your business will reap the benefits as a consequence. That’s something to think about today.
