Businesses all throughout the world have the resources and reach to make a significant difference in their communities. Participating in acts of giving back, whether it’s by supporting a local charity, voluntarily teaching others skills, or sponsoring an event, provides numerous benefits for a business beyond the obvious benefit of helping the community. In this series of interviews, we look at both sides of the debate and ask entrepreneurs about their perspectives on business owners giving back to the community. What effect does it have on their company?
This interview was conducted by Jerome Knyszewski
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Lorie Carson
Title: Founder & Marketing Manager
Company: https://realpeoplefinder.com/
It’s only fair to give back what you’ve received. Without the community, there will be no business. It’s the community that keeps a business alive. Donations or volunteer work is a way to show your appreciation to the community for empowering and helping your business to be successful. It helps promote amity and positivity – even small gestures can make a long way. And usually, in return for your help to the community, people will show their appreciation by supporting your business and helping with your marketing effort through referrals . Giving back to the community can also help build a good reputation for your company. A good image will help a company build a business brand, gain publicity, attract more customers, and enhance customer retention.
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Joshua Chin
Title: Co-founder & CEO
Company: chronos.agency
Songwriter McCartney may have put it best, “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” Likewise, the more you support your community, the more your community supports you. Giving back to your community isn’t an act of charity. You’re buying press coverage which improves brand awareness and your brand’s reputation. You’re generating new contacts who could turn into prospects who could turn into sales. It doesn’t have to be money! It can be a day of company-wide community service. Just remember, the more you give, the more you’ll get.
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Matthew Roberts
Title: Chief Operating Officer
Company: https://www.mychoice.ca/
“Of course, community involvement is crucial as it shows your company’s gratitude to the community. Your community is the reason your company is standing where it is now. Other than the satisfaction you and your employees feel because of giving back to your community, giving back is great publicity, and it also increases brand awareness. For those who do not recognize you, you will then grow to become a reliable and generous business in their eyes.”
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Charlie Mitchell
Title: Founder
Company: www.starseedparenting.org
Business should be really creative in giving back to their community. Questions like: what do we normally do? How can other people benefit from this? For example, a company who refits offices may have floor tiles that they put into the bin. Yet these could become part of a craft project at a local school. It doesn’t always have to be about giving money. There might also be time or expertise that employees can donate. I set up a social enterprise called a community interest company, a trading business that uses some of the profits for the good of the community. We sell courses, books and merchandise. We use sales to subsidise courses for clients who would not otherwise be able to afford to take part. From our perspective this is a win-win and we love using business for social good! To find out more about our approach to business visit: www.starseedparenting.org
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Phil Scully
Title: Team Leader
Company: https://harohelpers.com/
The simple and unfortunate truth to why women will score lower on numerical tests is because they have been historically taught through false descriptions that being confident will result in them being unliked. If men show confidence they are described as strong and determined, where as women tend to be called a ladder climber. The simple fact is it comes from historical sexism, and even if your boss is not likely to think this way, women have unfortunately been taught to minimise their achievements, so would be unlikely to score themselves high. Instead, try offering a question along the lines of ‘What are your 3 strongest traits in your role and why?’ – this can push the employee to have to back themselves and consider what they are good and exactly why. You can also ask the same in reverse so that employees can consider where training focus is needed and to give balance to the question. Ideally try to be more direct with asking what the employee is good at and force them to engage with looking at their successes, instead of asking them to mark certain traits on a scale.
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Jibran Qazi
Title: Finance expert and Online Marketer
Company: mycanadapayday.com
Giving back to the community is a major way to show that your business serves a higher purpose than maximizing profits. It is also a less salesy way to engage with existing clients, and turn customers into influencers who will vigorously promote your business. A perfect example is Coca Cola which has for the past 38 years supported community sustenance with almost 1 billion dollars. There is no doubt these acts have helped to boost their brand awareness and boosted customers’ loyalty to them. The importance of Businesses giving back to the community includes; It helps to differentiate your business, Boost morale Gain customer support Attract the best talents during job recruitment Free publicity Increase profits Increase brand awareness Turn customers into brand evangelists Boost brand awareness in a positive way Positive PR. Millennials consider it important. Increases employee loyalty.
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Camila Henderson
Title: Co-founder
Company: https://fastpaydayloans.co.uk/
Yes, businesses should be more involved in giving back to the community and sponsoring non-profits. From my experience, I can guarantee that giving back to the community is a surefire way for businesses to get public attention. On top of that, when you donate cash to a charity, you can get up to 60% income tax deduction. Whenever we have given back to the community, charities and nonprofits have readily shown their gratitude for us by mentioning us in literature, websites, newspapers and functions, which is great publicity. Getting involved in giving back to the community also gives us opportunities to network and build relationships with other similar businesses. There are a plethora of tangible benefits of being socially active as a business. But the final benefit that I want to mention is the inward feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment of trying to make the world a better place.
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Deni Ivanov
Title: Digital Marketing Director
Company: https://royal-cleaning.co.uk/
Improving public opinion through giving back to the community leads to good business and powerful connections. It is sensible for any organization, regardless of industry, to be more involved in giving back or uplifting communities as it not only boosts its public opinion favorably for your brand. It also enables establishing a connection and economic movements within your business environment. You can earn the respect and patronage of both your employees and potential customers when you contribute to the good of the local community. Forging connections with community leaders can bring tremendous benefits to your business, and improvements in the lives of community members can also impact their capacity to afford your products and services.
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Krisztian Riez
Title: Digital PR Consultant
Company: https://www.condocontrolcentral.com/
I think this question can have two sides to it; meaning on one end businesses that want to give back without the hassle then going the sponsor route and giving to charities is a great easy way of helping your community. However starting a non-profit is a more active approach in giving back and sometimes businesses don’t have this extra time, manpower or resources to do such a thing and that is why the first option of sponsoring a community or charity is the easiest and most viable option. But for businesses that want to trailblaze and create an impact in their impact in their community; then a non profit is the right direction. Non Profits show time, care and energy into the community itself which can be evaluated and audited.
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Sakina Nasir
Title: SEO executive
Company: https://www.streamingdigitally.com/
Yes, businesses should absolutely be more involved in giving back to their local communities. Sponsoring an event or organization is a great way for businesses to show their dedication and support to the community. Additionally, it can also help build brand awareness and create positive associations with the business among locals. Personally, I’ve always been a big believer in giving back to the community. I think it’s important for businesses to set an example and contribute in whatever way they can. In my previous role as Marketing executive at a small business, we would frequently sponsor events and donate supplies to local schools and charities. It was a great way for us to give back and make a positive impact on our community.
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Lily WIli
Title: CEO
Company: https://www.everwallpaper.co.uk/
Yes, I believe that businesses should be more involved in giving back to the community since, in my opinion, any organization or business that does not include the community is doomed to fail. It’s critical to remember that businesses are built on connections and that people are the foundation of all of these interactions. Rather than focusing on the short term, why not focus on building long-term connections by giving back to the community and helping those who, in turn, will help your business grow? Apart from the fact that it is the proper thing to do, establishing a connection between your business and your community helps create social value, which is the goodwill gained by community participation.
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Ryan Drake
Title: CEO
Company: www.ryandrake.com
I 100% believe businesses have a moral obligation to give back and to serve the community in which they operate. I believe that the businesses of the future that thrive and generate the most profits are those that have an emphasis on people, planet and profits. Giving back to the community should be an extension and overflow of the efficiency in how a business is run and that it needn’t impact profit margins to also give back.
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Agbolade Omowole
Title: CEO
Company: www.mascotit.com.ng
Entrepreneurs go into business to make profit. When they start out, they usually depend on resources of others in order to bootstrap and break even. Nobody succeeds alone without the support of others. As entrepreneurs become successful, it is important that they intentionally focus on giving back to the society and community where they belong. It is a very logical thing to do. In the past, I noticed that some companies are selective about how they give back. They want to be sure that they can get something in return. Giving back to the community will help entrepreneurs to gain good will, build new relationships, attract new customers and help in closing gaps in the society. Looking at this, long term, entrepreneurs will gain more in terms of intangible resources than what they are giving to their community.
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Alexa Justine Callada
Title: Marketing Specialist
Company: dreamchasers.xyz
I am a Marketing Specialist and an entrepreneur as well and I strongly agree that us business owners should be actively involved in giving back to the community and sponsor or start non-profits, because this is how we are doing, it is also a way of promoting the business by showing people that we are blessed and successful. In this article I want to encourage business owners and entrepreneurs the importance of giving back to the community the blessing that we received, because not every business owner and entrepreneur has a heart of gold. This has also a positive impact in the business. There are many benefits to businesses when they decide to start sponsoring or starting non-profits. First, it is a great way to promote their brand or product or services they offer in the community because people will realize that you are doing charitable activities. Second, it is a good way to bring in new customers and they will help you by patronizing your business. Third, it can be used as a recruiting tool for employees. Finally, it is an excellent way to give back and contribute to the community. I will share my experience on how I give back to the community the overflowing blessings that I received. I have a small food business here in the Philippines. But before when I was in college, I was already a business woman, I sold online and mastered it. So, my business is a Fried noodles with dumplings. It is a kind of street food here in our country which I established in the year 2020 in pandemic time. I didn’t spend much money on advertising, I only posted it on Facebook, I did all the work from doing graphic designs, Logos and taglines, photography and editorial. My customer will just message me through messenger to order and purchase my product then we will deliver them door to door. On my first day I got 80 orders, which is above average so I’m glad that my target customer patronized my product on my first day. It has a great impact on my sales and it serves as my inspiration daily and when I get my ROI in six months, I started my charity. I give food and free meals to the homeless every Sunday after church and one day an individual passing by asked me if I was the owner of the trending noodles in town? And I answered yes, and from that moment she always purchases my product. As my sales increase I always find another charitable activity, I even gave homeless people a rental place to live, food for stray animals etc. the thing is I didn’t post it on social media because I’m afraid of negative reaction, I protect my peace all the time. And if you are a business owner or entrepreneur, giving back to the community the blessing we receive is really a good idea. As the simple bible quote says “Give and you will receive” by giving you will receive an abundance of blessing.
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Craig Wilson
Title: Director
Company: https://www.gardenersdream.co.uk/
Giving back to the community can provide a great opportunity for your business. It can help to enhance your image, create connections, and increase awareness about your company. Maintaining and keeping connections can be challenging, especially in today’s current cultural climate. There are so many organizations out there, so much advertising, so much media, it can be easy to fade into the background. Promoting a positive presence by profiting the community can be a great way to help you stand out from the crowd. My main piece of advice would be to choose a way of giving back to the community that reflects your company’s ethos and ensures you are a visible part of the community. A community garden is a great choice if you have environmental principles, or perhaps an educational program or sports facilities if your company has a focus on health. Community engagement can also provide a great opening to introduce potential consumers to your products or services and maybe attract potential investors. It can also be a great way to promote any principles which are at the heart of your business. After the turmoil of the last couple of years, people are in dire need of positivity, motivation and hope for the future. If you are able to provide this, then you would be doing the world a great service. As well as reaping the potential rewards, you will also have the pleasure of knowing that you are helping to make the world a better place. Never has that goal been more important than now.
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Tobias Rawcliffe
Title: Head of Marketing
Company: https://www.number1plates.com/
“Yes, businesses should be more involved in giving back to their communities. This is a win-win situation for both the community and your company. It helps the community flourish. Supporting community development allows customers and other local businesses to succeed, and when they succeed, it is advantageous for your company. By giving back to the community, you grow your customer pool as you have built a favorable brand reputation in the community.”
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Kelly Raymont-Osman
Title: Co-Founder & Operations Director at Raymont-Osman Product Design
Company: www.raymont-osman.com
I’m Kelly Raymont-Osman, the Co-Founder and Operations Director at Raymont-Osman Product Design www.raymont-osman.com At Raymont-Osman Product Design, we absolutely believe that businesses should actively involved in giving back to their communities – both industrial and geographical. Successful businesses are in a position of influence, both to their localities but also to their staff. As a company, we feel a strong social responsibility towards younger professionals entering the world of product design and have worked with a number of local universities to provide paid internship opportunities for students. A few years ago, we also set up the Raymont-Osman Design and Development Award in conjunction with our own Alma Mater and local university, the University of Birmingham, which recognises excellence in final year Mechanical Engineering students, awarding a financial prize for the most compelling final year project. We also believe strongly that local communities can benefit from the way we do business. Last year, we designed and produced the Queen’s Baton for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. As a company proudly based within the West Midlands, we wanted to ensure that the project was able to shine a light on local talent and industry – whether this be local fabricators, welders, lost-cast wax casters or couriers. As a result, all but one of our very extensive list of suppliers hailed from the region and we have been keen to promote them and their work as part of the publicity surrounding the Baton. Raymont-Osman Product Design is also in the process of partnering with SENSE – a charity which supports individuals with complex disabilities, including those who are deafblind. Over the next year or so, we will be working with SENSE – whether this be offering our design expertise on a pro-bono basis, taking part in events and hopefully some volunteering. Our fabulous team are quite unique in that they have all volunteered with adults or children with severe disabilities in the past and so we are excited to tap into this as a business. Giving back is extremely important and we believe it doesn’t need to cost the Earth!
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Tobias Rawcliffe
Title: Head of Marketing
Company: https://www.number1plates.com/
“Yes, businesses should be more involved in giving back to their communities. This is a win-win situation for both the community and your company. It helps the community flourish. Supporting community development allows customers and other local businesses to succeed, and when they succeed, it is advantageous for your company. By giving back to the community, you grow your customer pool as you have built a favorable brand reputation in the community.”
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Mario Cacciottolo
Title: PR & Branding Manager
Company: https://www.sbo.net/
Businesses should most definitely be more involved in giving back to their community. Giving back is worth it because it makes the entire team feel good to give back, your efforts can directly impact the success of the organization and your local community, and it’s a great look for your business. When done correctly, it’s a win-win situation. Although it’s great to give back whenever you can, don’t underestimate the importance of research and strategy. Many nonprofits or organizations may approach you, asking for help or donations, but you cannot give back to every single one. Be sure to do your research on each organization that comes your way so you can learn what they are about and what they do. Then take time to consider your company’s beliefs, schedule, and budget so you can decide if this particular effort is right for you. You also don’t want your giving just to be fueled by making your company look good. If companies start to realize that your giving isn’t genuine and is just a marketing ploy, it could hurt you more than help.
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Paw Vej
Title: Team Leader and Manager
Company: https://financer.com/dk/
There is no doubt that businesses have a role to play in giving back to the community. By doing so, you can create a relationship of trust with your customers, employees, and suppliers, which can be valuable in times of need. Additionally, it can be a way to show your dedication to the community and create goodwill. There are a number of ways that businesses can give back, and it is important to tailor the donation to the community and the needs of the recipients. Some popular examples include donating time or money to worthy causes, sponsoring a charity event, or creating a charitable donation fund. Ensure that your donations are well planned and executed in order to maximize their impact. Additionally, make sure to keep your donors updated on your progress and keep them informed of any changes or updates that might affect their donation. By being involved in giving back to the community, you can create a powerful bond of mutual respect and trust with your customers, employees, and suppliers.
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Joshua Chin
Title: Co-founder and CEO
Company: chronos.agency
Songwriter McCartney may have put it best, “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” Likewise, the more you support your community, the more your community supports you. Giving back to your community isn’t an act of charity. You’re buying press coverage which improves brand awareness and your brand’s reputation. You’re generating new contacts who could turn into prospects who could turn into sales. It doesn’t have to be money! It can be a day of company-wide community service. Just remember, the more you give, the more you’ll get.
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Baljeet Dogra
Title: Founder
Company: KidSmart
Yes, without a doubt, after all businesses are supported by the community without which we will not survive. Businesses are part of the economic cycle of contribution and creation and depend on the community to support innovative problem solving solutions. Here’s what we did for our community during the pandemic. We did streamline our relevance to meet the financial challenges of parents during the pandemic. It was an authentic marketing strategy that drove interest to our platform and digital education model. When parents were taking big cutbacks in income due to job losses, we were offering our services for free to their children. This is a marketing strategy that communicated relevant solutions to a growing appetite for digital solutions when the world was waking up to the power of digital communication models.
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Richa Nathani
Title: Content Manager
Company: www.dialedlabs.com
Yes, they should; it is mutually beneficial Regardless of their size, businesses should always strive to be involved in giving back to the community. And this is not a move that only helps the community either, as a business that initiates socially-responsible programs and ventures also benefits from these exercises. This approach allows brands to earn the goodwill of the community and nudges the community towards economic growth, thereby improving the spending capacity of the people. These programs also create a mutually beneficial bond between the brand and the community in factors such as employment.
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Jason Cordes
Title: Founder
Company: cocoloan.co.uk
In my opinion, businesses should be more involved in giving back to the community. The reasons are: • Positive Public Relations: Giving back to the local community is one more strategy integrated into your advertising system: Individuals will consume items and administrations from organizations they see supporting their local area. These endeavours send hidden yet certain messages about the organization’s advantage in offering back by supporting a nearby occasion or good cause. • Publicizing/Name Recognition: Associations interested in nearby gathering pledges occasions get an additional advantage of showcasing their name and business. • Representative Engagement: Representatives need to work for associations that exhibit moral, moral, and caring behaviour. Representatives invest wholeheartedly in working for an association that rewards its local area and will frequently have a more significant level of worker commitment. As opposed to a channel on assets or benefits, offering back ought to be seen as a valuable chance to connect on an alternate level with your current clients, develop your crowd and fabricate a positive standing around your image while aiding those in urgent need in your nearby local area and all over the planet. I want to share my experience on this matter: I got associated with the neighbourhood food storage space and did a canned food drive at the workplaces over special times of the year. One Saturday me, and my representatives invested energy in a Habitat for Humanity assembly. These were incredible group-building practices and were straightforward ways of rewarding your loc
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