Creating Your Own Giving-Back Strategy
5 Reasons to Adopt a Giving-Back Strategy
When you’re ready to implement a formal giving- back strategy at your firm, it’s wise to start small. That way, you can ensure a consistent, repeatable process and build on your efforts over time. Next, you’ll want to create a mission statement. This will help you focus your efforts on the causes most important to you and keep you from writing a check every time someone asks for a donation. Your mission statement should answer questions such as:
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It helps foster client relationships. Rather than host a client appreciation dinner, wine tasting, or movie night, why not bring clients together to give back? Inviting them to participate in a worthy cause shows them you care about more than just business. It can also help deepen relationships and may even lead to new referrals. It encourages employee engagement. Allowing employees to connect and build bonds creates a great workplace culture. By organizing a team to participate in an event or fundraiser, you’ll bring people together, raise awareness, and help your staff feel good about making a difference in the community. It’s an investment in the community. Giving locally means propping up your own community or hometown. And when you show support for your community, it will want to support your business. No matter the cause, everyone benefits. You can market your efforts. There’s nothing wrong with highlighting your efforts on social media and your website—it’s an excellent way to show clients and prospects what causes are important to you. And depending on your involvement or donation level, you may receive a callout on an organization’s site or in an event program book. There are potential tax savings. The contributions you make should be eligible for a tax deduction. But remember to consult with your tax adviser beforehand, as the structure of the donation and who you’re donating to will determine what you can write off.
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• What’s motivating you to give back? • What kind of charitable impact do you want to make? • What’s your geographic scope?
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Once you’ve answered these questions, you’ll be able to narrow the scope of organizations you want to get involved with and decide how you’re going to make an impact. There are several ways you can do this: 1. Give sustainably over time. Rather than a onetime donation, this is an excellent way to help an organization over the long term. You can give monthly to a specific cause or spread donations across different organizations that serve your mission statement. You can even combine this effort with special occasions: rather than giving gifts to clients or employees, consider making a donation on their behalf. 2. Host an event or join a cause. There are many ways your efforts can go beyond monetary donations. For example, if an organization you admire runs a charity walk, form a team with
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