Charitable Giving Is Important for Your Business

Reasons Your Business Should Partner with a Charity

       One of the great privileges of doing business is being able to give generously to community organizations and charities.

Every day, small business owners share their success by giving money, products, volunteer hours, and charitable outreach efforts to good causes in their community.

Non-profits and charities are constantly seeking funding to help achieve their goals, and giving to your company is not only a great thing to do — it can provide great benefits to your business.

Below are some of the benefits that give reasons why you should donate to charity:

Tax Deduction

One of the immediate benefits to your business from supporting a charity is being able to get a deducted tax deduction for charitable donations.

Donations, which are generally tax deductible, include charitable sponsorships, inventory or service donations, and cash donations.

In general, you can get a deduction for charitable contributions of up to 50% of your Adjusted Gross Income — just be sure to follow the rules carefully to avoid tax issues.

You can also get a tax deduction on the monetary value of charitable donations — whether they're cash, stock, or even a used vehicle. Make sure you work with an IRS approved non-profit organization.

In order to get a deduction for your taxes, the charity will need to issue a tax form that you can file for your tax return. Depending on your income and other factors, giving money to charity can be complicated — so talk to your accountant or tax adviser for more specific advice on how to maximize charitable giving while minimizing your tax bill.

Another benefit is that when people see the charitable impact of buying from your business and supporting the community provides a reason that is important to them, they will be more inclined to buy from your company.

Internal Benefits of Charitable Giving

The benefits of corporate charitable giving programs are not limited to external results:

Employee Involvement

Recruiting top performing employees and keeping them happy is the priority of all companies that want to thrive and grow.

Charitable giving enhances employee engagement by increasing productivity, ethical behavior, gratitude to the company, and pride in their work

Spirit

With employees who are more involved in the work of the company, and more comfortable with the company culture, their morale will naturally be higher. This results in less time and lost productivity through “sickness”, tardiness, or extended breaks and lunches, as well as lower turnover rates.

Team Work

This generally positive attitude in the workplace extends beyond the average employee. When a company's charitable giving program brings people together at all levels of the organization – from C level to the mailroom – everyone works together to achieve a common goal. This feeling of effective teamwork will go beyond CSR programs to positively influence other aspects of their work.

Getting Customer Support

Giving back to your community will help you build stronger relationships with your existing customers — and gain new ones. (americaneexpress.com)

A 2010 study by Cone Communications revealed that 85% of consumers have a favorable view of businesses that give to charity. It is beneficial for you to do market research to identify the most popular charitable causes in your area.

Companies such as Hook & Ladder Brewing Company of Silver Spring, Maryland, have taken this concept and have made it their business. They started a charity giving program called "A Penny in Every Pint", which donates a portion of beer sales to local fire departments and burn care centers. These charities are successful because they align with the brand and resonate with people who know that every product they buy will help heal injured firefighters. Participating in a charitable giving program like this shows your customers that you truly care about your community.

Giving some of a company's profits to a good cause is a great way to rally support from your customer base, it can even help create new marketing opportunities to expand the reach of your business.

Charitable Giving Helps Others

Partnering with a charity helps other people. Business companies give back to their communities through their daily business, but charities allow companies to specifically target and help causes they care about.

Don't think this is all your charitable partnership will achieve, most charities today understand the practical reasons business firms get involved with charities, and will do all they can to generate a return on your investment.