I watched a fascinating webinar last month, from musician Tiffany Ash, and she was discussing the need for businesses to invest in philanthropy. This is something which some businesses do, but not all are completely invested into supporting those around them, or indeed causes elsewhere. Tiffany was discussing in particular the need for businesses to both support, and spread the word about what they are supporting and why.
If you have a business and you are not currently investing in philanthropic missions, here is why you may look to give that a rethink.
Good for Business
Increasing your sales revenue through philanthropy should never be the sole reason for doing it, but we cannot ignore the fact that this is something which could be greatly beneficial to your business. Customers are looking to place their faith and loyalty and a company which shares their values with regards to helping others is certainly going to be attractive to them. Helping other causes is a great way to show your customers the values which the company has.
Inspiring Others
Something which you will certainly find about philanthropy is that it is extremely contagious and many businesses will follow suit once they see the good work that you are doing. Part of this is competition too, the idea that you can do better work than your competitors. This, despite how it sounds, is actually not a bad thing at all, because the more competition that there is, the better work and the more work that will be done.
Increase Employee Morale
Whilst you may not be aware of it, there is a high likelihood that your employees are do-gooders in their own right, and you can seriously increase morale when you decide to use the business to help others. Much like the customers, employees will feel far happier working with a business that is seeking to help others, and they will get engaged very quickly indeed. This will not just work well for your existing employees, it will also make your company a far more attractive place for new employees to work. This could help you to secure higher quality talent in the future.
Using Power For Good
Through the support from a business, rather than individuals, charitable causes can do so much more and they will have much more backing behind them. As businesses drive support they are able to do so with much more weight than an individual possibly could.
Community
It is not always easy for businesses to forge their way into the community. Thorough philanthropy and charitable work however, this is exactly what they are able to do and businesses can both join the community and bring it closer together. Many small business owners fail to recognize the power which they have in this regard.
This is why all small businesses should be looking to do all that they can to help support causes, both local and around the world.
