How Community Involvement Programs Can Grow Your Business
Community involvement programs are a powerful way to strengthen your business. They boost employee morale, improve brand image, and enhance your business’s reputation in the community. However, it’s important to remember that the business case for community involvement isn’t just about boosting a company’s bottom line. It’s also about strengthening local communities and fostering positive relationships with the nonprofits that serve them.
Reach Out to Your Employees
If you’re a business owner looking to build your community involvement program, you may have questions about how to proceed. The first step is to reach out to your employees.
Employees are often familiar with local agencies that can benefit from a business’s donations and support. Find out what causes matter most to them and align your business with those organizations.
Doing this shows current and potential employees that your company is a big-picture player in the community and that they can trust you to make the right decisions.
Research has shown that businesses that engage in community efforts enjoy better employee retention, higher earnings, and more teamwork. These are all important benefits to any company.
Reach Out to Nonprofits
A strong network of local nonprofits is one of the best ways to grow your community involvement program. These relationships are essential for building trust, identifying and mobilizing volunteer opportunities, and ensuring program success.
Reaching out to non-profits can include:
- Asking business leaders for employee volunteers.
- Partnering with local churches or synagogues.
- Seeking support from media companies to help promote your work.
Aside from the benefits for your company, getting involved in a cause can improve your online reputation and SEO rankings. For example, a social media campaign that plants trees on Arbor Day can drive traffic to your site and boost Facebook Page likes.
Also, donating time or items to a charity can improve customer service and brand loyalty. A Cone Communications study found that 59 per cent of Americans are more likely to buy a product associated with a company that supports a cause they care about.
Get Creative
Community involvement is an excellent way for businesses to connect with their communities. It creates critical brand awareness and establishes a positive reputation.
It also helps to build a positive company culture, which can help attract and retain top talent. Employees who are satisfied with their workplace culture tend to be more productive and focused on meeting organizational goals.
Research shows that consumers are likelier to choose a business with strong social responsibility initiatives over one without. In addition, it can build consumer trust and increase loyalty.
Involving your employees in a community service project can be as simple as volunteering to donate time or materials at a charity event. However, it can be more impactful by providing meaningful activities or services to the community, such as lending your expertise or staffing an event that promotes a cause.
Get Support
Getting support for your community involvement program is an essential step in building a successful nonprofit. Whether you are a large or small company, there are many options for finding natural partnerships.
One of the best ways to get support is to ask your employees what they want to do to help their communities. This will create a sense of ownership, build team morale and give your employees something meaningful to do.
Another way to get support is to partner with a nonprofit agency you already know it works well with your business. For example, a hospital could align with a nonprofit that provides free mammograms to low-income women.
Community engagement has improved public health, education, safety and environmental management, and individual well-being. Depending on the specific issue, community-wide approaches are often the most effective. For instance, research has shown that doctors incorporating a community perspective provide better care and improve public health.