6 Ways Businesses Can Give Back to the Community

by Yazi

It is important for every business to take an active role in their community. After all, everyone has a social responsibility to give back. By helping others, a business can make a difference in their community, which is a good thing for everyone.

It is also a good opportunity for a business to network and collaborate with their community in a proactive way. It can be very motivating for others to see a business giving back and promoting volunteers from within.

There are many ways for businesses to give back to the community. Here are just six of them.

1. Donating Knowledge

Every business starts somewhere. One of the ways businesses can give back to the community is by donating their knowledge to other business that may be just starting out.

By helping the small business in the community, a larger business is encouraging growth and promoting good relationships. Information can be shared between businesses. No one knows everything, and it can be a good thing to help each other.

Business should encourage their employees to network with each other and share their knowledge and skills. Community events can even be planned by the business where everyone is invited to teach and learn together.

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2. Encouraging Employees to Volunteer Their Time

Time is valuable. A business should teach their employees good time management skills, and learning to use that time for a good cause should be among those skills.

There are many ways to do this, either by setting aside time for employees to accomplish volunteer work of their choice, creating an annual plan or specific strategy, or setting a reward system for the employees that volunteer.

Every business should have a way to support and encourage their employees to volunteer in some type of organization or charity. This promotes employee morale and good standing within the community. Encouraging and allowing employees to volunteer their time is one of the many ways businesses give back to the community.

3. Sponsoring or Organizing an Event

For ways to contribute to your community, try sponsoring or organizing community-wide events. This benefits not only the community, but the business as well.

At these events, a business gives back to the community in an obvious way. Being active in a charity event allows a business to get promote their name in a non-aggressive and proactive way. It's better to choose an event that is important to the community and be sure to get the employees involved as well. A business can even sponsor a sports league or something similar. Making it an annual event can be even more exciting for the community.

4. Participate in Prize Draws from Charitable Organization

A business can create their own fun way of donating to a local charity by providing chances to win a car orsomething similar in a prize draw. By selling raffle tickets for an annual prize draw, a business can keep their community excited and give back to it by donating the money from selling raffle tickets. It might even be a good idea to offer employees extra raffle tickets for volunteering their time. Everyone likes an opportunity to win prizes, after all.

For instance, in Australia, yourtown has been running its art union prize draws every year. Their head of marketing and fundraising, Tracey Gillander, said people employed a range of luck-giving tactics. Again, such a tactic works great because it gives people all the excitement and the ease of mind that money will be used for a good cause.

5. Taking Suggestions

Give back to the community by listening to the community. A business can conduct surveys to find out what the community needs and wants from them. If a business takes suggestions from the community, then they really can't go wrong.

Find ways to help your community, make a plan, get your employees involved, and then take action. This will also promote the business' reputation and develop strong relationships. It's good to listen to people and let them know that you care.

6. Staying Positive

Wherever the business is involved, make sure that the involvement stays positive. Start with the workplace. Positive employees make for an environment that is ready to give back to not only the community, but to the business as well.

Be sure to also keep the social media and website positive. A business should interact with their community and provide help where it is needed. If they stay connected, then it will be easier to give back. A community wants positivity. And a business should be ready to be that positive influence that the community needs.

Find a Way to Give Back

Giving back to the community shouldn't be difficult or a chore. Given that time and resources may be limited, a business should still find a way to give back to the community that houses them. There are more ways than just giving money. Involvement in the community should be fun and easy, and it's a business' responsibility to make it that way for themselves and for their employees. There are good ideas and opportunities all around, so share them with each other and make it happen. Giving back to the community makes a positive change in it and has a great impact on the business. Be proactive and inspire others to do the same. It will benefit both the community and the business.

About the Author: Yazi is an inspired writer who enjoys writing about personal growth, self-help tips, and women's lifestyle.