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3 Big Ways Small Businesses Can Give Back to Their Community

When first starting a small business, most entrepreneurs focus solely on nurturing their new venture into profitability and sustainability. But once the business gets off the ground, they have the bandwidth to focus on other aspects, such as supporting the local community.

However, many small business owners don’t feel like they can make an impact with their limited resources. This guide will discuss three ways to give back without requiring you to spend vast amounts of money.

Organize team volunteer days.

Donations aren’t the only way to help out community organizations and nonprofits—volunteering is another amazing option! Plus, it’s extremely cost-effective as all that’s required is your time. Get your employees on board and strengthen workplace cohesion and morale by organizing team volunteer days. Employees can socialize and support a good cause!

Here are a few examples of volunteer projects your team might participate in:

Community clean-up projects
Habit for Humanity builds
Food bank or food kitchen service
Tree planting
Elder care
Youth mentoring or tutoring
Animal shelter volunteering
Blood drives

Reach out to local nonprofits to discuss your options. Many of them need additional volunteer support and will be eager to create an opportunity that works for your small business.

To best engage your employees while giving back, suggest team volunteer projects related to your work. For example, if you operate a local gym, you might host fitness classes for underserved communities. Or, you can teach a stretching class at the local retirement home.

Establish corporate giving programs.

Build a culture of generosity at your business by establishing a corporate giving program. These are set initiatives employees can participate in to earn funds for their favorite causes.

Let’s take a look at the most common corporate giving programs:

Matching gifts. With this program, you’ll match donations your employees make to nonprofits, usually at a 1:1 ratio. You also adjust the ratio for specific organizations—you might partner with a specific local nonprofit and match gifts at a 2:1 ratio instead.

Volunteer grants. In a volunteer grants program, you’ll donate to a nonprofit after an employee volunteers for a set amount of time. For example, you might donate $50 after an employee volunteers for 25 hours.

Automatic payroll deductions. Also called payroll giving, this is a system in which money is withheld from an employee’s paycheck and donated to a nonprofit. It’s particularly popular for religious organizations that encourage tithing, and it costs your business nothing—all you have to do is set it up in your payroll system and allow employees to opt in.

Although these programs may seem budget-unfriendly, you can set comfortable limits. For example, for a matching gift program, you might match $1 for every $2 your employees donate, up to $50. As your business grows, you can always adjust your match ratio and limit accordingly.

Aside from supporting local nonprofits and their causes, corporate giving programs are a perk for employees. They’re an innovative employee benefit to set yourself apart from other businesses and employers, building an organizational culture that inspires customers to make purchases and top talent to apply for open positions.

Make in-kind donations.

According to Winspire, in-kind donations are any non-monetary gift made to nonprofits. Usually, these are either goods or services. Since your small business may not have the funds to make financial contributions to your community, this is a great alternative option to give back. In fact, we’ve already covered a type of in-kind donation earlier: volunteer time.

Let’s dive deeper into goods. Say you run a gym and you’re looking for a way to give back. You might partner with an organization like Sneakers4Good to serve as a drop-off location in support of sustainability and the planet. You’ll collect gently worn, used and new sneakers and athletic shoes and send them to Sneakers4Good. They’ll pay you for the upcycling sneakers. Then, you can make a difference in your community by giving the funds to your local nonprofit! With this option, you’ll give back in a sustainable way—it’s a win-win!

To decide what goods and services your local nonprofits can benefit from, browse their websites and social media pages to determine what they need. Some nonprofits will post calls for in-kind gifts, making it easy for you to make an impactful gift. Or, you can directly ask them what they need—they’ll be grateful for your support.

Giving back to the community shouldn’t be a source of stress for your small business. It should be a prospect that excites you. Don’t be afraid to start small, as community organizations and nonprofits appreciate any support. Choose a method that works for your business and scale up your giving once you’ve grown your revenue and operations.