Vibrant Public Relations - What's Your Story!

Plan for Charities

Picture this, the phone rings at home and it’s a neighbor. They congratulate you on starting your new business and want to give you the opportunity for some great exposure. Sounds great – all you need to do is underwrite the cost for the uniforms for a youth baseball team. They’ll put your name on the jersey’s and everything. It’s just $850.

Now if you’re opening a local service-based business, exposure to parents, officials, and fans could be just what you’re looking for. And supporting kiddos is always a good thing, right? Sure it is, and community-based giving is important when it comes to being a good business citizen. Even large companies have taken the expensive ride down this slippery slope. Organizers are often more than willing to mention your name, print it on the t-shirt or some other low-cost added value.

Having a charitable giving plan, or even a charity of choice, can keep entrepreneurs and small businesses on solid ground when it comes to community citizenship. For example, the Vibrant Charity of Choice is the American Cancer Society, but I also offer a 20% discount for local 501c3 certified organizations. Here are some ideas to consider for charitable giving:

• Select a charity that really means something to you and your employees. When you’re passionate about why you’re involved with a charity, others are more understanding if you decline their proposals.
• Align your activities with a charity with your business goals: choose one that serves your primary service area and reaches one of your target audiences.
• Ask for what you need when it comes to added value. Ask if you can send coupons to organization members, ask to speak briefly at the event, put a link on the organizations website to your business site.
• Establish an application for funding that allows you to capture information from applicants. You could also establish a policy of discounted services for charities rather than monetary donations. Generic Sponsorship Application

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Vibrant Resource: The Business Case for Corporate Citizenship

Vibrant Challenge: Schedule some time to think about your charitable giving policy. Take into consideration what you and/or your company is passionate about. If that means surveying your employees so you have complete buy-in for future activities then do it. Then establish your policy and stick to it. If you’re having a hard time choosing the right charity, check out the Charity Navigator.