Does your business donate to charity? The latest statistics from UK Giving show that 57% of us regularly give to charity. With the rise of campaigns such as ‘Movember’ and ‘Dry January’, it seems easier than ever to jump on the bandwagon and get involved, but have you ever considered holding your own campaign?
We’re not talking about an office-wide ice bucket challenge or signing your team up for a marathon. We’re talking about a full campaign, branded by you, for a charity of your choice.
As a small business, you may think that you don’t have the time, money or resources to do such a thing, but the benefits of charity in the workplace completely outweigh any excuse you can think of. When you give to charity, you don’t just impact those who receive your donation. You, your staff and your brand reputation are all positively impacted by your campaign.
Here’s what we did
When we launched our #SpareAThought campaign with Boxes2Move for the homeless this winter, we never imagined it would have as much impact as it did. Our idea was simple – Boxes2Move help hundreds of people to move home every day, so we wanted make a change and help those without a home.
We started by creating a branded infographic, so that people could share the heart-breaking statistics that fuelled our campaign, giving them a clear idea of just how many are affected by homelessness. We also paired up with three local charities who provide aid to the homeless all year round and began contacting neighbouring businesses for donations. Once on board, we gave each business one of the Boxes2Move moving boxes to fill with clothing and non-perishable goods and returned a month later to drop them off at our chosen charities.
Our original thought began to snowball and in the previous months we’ve developed brilliant B2B relationships and gained a fantastic amount of press coverage, but this is the sort of thing you’d expect to happen, so how else does charity affect your business?
Psychological impact
We’ve spoken about how a campaign of this nature can impact your brand reputation, but in practise that means much more than being an ethical business. Positive reinforcement is key to retaining the attention of your customers. They may not need your products and services when they originally see your campaign, but months down the line they might and when they do, they’ll remember you for all the right reasons.
Employee response
Charity work doesn’t just improve your brand reputation, it helps to build a stronger team of employees. Not only does it promote teamwork to reach your campaign goals, it also gives them a sense of pride. They’ll get that tell-tale positive feeling that only comes when you help someone in need and when they tell their friends about their latest charity work, they’re also spreading the word about your business.
There have even been studies by the International Journal of Psychophysiology that suggest charitable giving can reduce the amount of sick days in your office!
Feel-good factor
This is your campaign, so of course you get to choose whatever cause speaks most to you. It’s your opportunity to give back and really make an impact, so make it count!
This article was syndicated from Business 2 Community: How Can Charity Work Impact Your Business?
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