Strategies for Small Businesses

The benefits of social responsibility aren’t limited to helping people, it’s also good for your business. SCORE — a national network of volunteer, expert business mentors dedicated to helping small businesses plan, launch, manage and grow — says giving back can help increase brand recognition, attract better talent and loyal customers, expand the network of people who could help with your business, and boost your social media engagement. Here are SCORE’s five strategies to give back smartly:

➀ Volunteer with your team

£ Encourage your teammates to volunteer for a cause. Ask them to participate in events, make small donations, and share the cause with their network and friends. Later on, you can work together to get involved in nonprofit projects and even host an event to collect funds for the charity. These kinds of activities won’t only help people but will also build a strong company culture and increase productivity.

➁ Donate your time

£ If you can’t donate money, donate your time instead. Nonprofits require as much people-power as money, so schedule some time to use your team’s skill sets to volunteer for a nonprofit. It doesn’t have to be big, but it has to be meaningful — perhaps working at a soup kitchen.

➂ Support other small businesses in your community

£ You can show support to other SMBs by buying their products (especially if they’re local), leaving reviews on their website and getting them in touch with people in your network.

➃ Partner with nonprofits

£ Nonprofits benefit greatly from partnerships. It’s good PR to openly support a specific cause that’s highly relevant to your industry and your community’s life. Promoting their message isn’t the only thing you can do — you can also collaborate on hosting campaigns and organizing events. Most of the time, it’s a win-win situation.

➄ Allow your customers to participate

£ Take one percentage of your profits to donate to a charity, allow customers to make small donations while purchasing, or build a program where you contribute a certain amount for every new referral. Whatever it is, involve your customers with the cause.

For more information, visit score.org.