Building Philanthropy Into Your Business

Counter intuitive as it seems, building philanthropy into your business model makes great financial sense. You get tax breaks, add a feel-good sheen to your brand and - most importantly - contribute to the world around you.  I believe that’s what they call a win/win/win!

There are lots of ways you can incorporate giving into your business and most of them are significantly more interesting and engaging than an asterisk at the bottom of your sales page.
 

Use a ‘buy one/give one’ model

Popularized by Tom’s shoes, this business model is becoming increasingly popular and for good reason!  ‘Buy one/give one’ is an easy concept to grasp and it feels much more generous than vague phrasing about ‘a portion of proceeds.’  This model works best for products that address a physical necessity - blankets, glasses, shoes.

Donate your skill set

If you’ve been running a successful small business for ten years, you probably know a thing or two about book keeping, setting prices and customer service.  Wouldn’t it be nice to help a newbie learn the ropes and avoid some of the mistakes you made?  Sign up to be a small business mentor on Score.org, teach a class at an adult education center or offer to share your knowledge with a non-profit you know is struggling.

Have a ‘Day O’ Charity’

Why not celebrate your birthday or your business’s anniversary by donating that day’s sales to charity?  You can honor a loved one by donating to one of their favorite causes on their birthday or celebrate a holiday by donating to a related cause.  Of course, you should make sure your customers and friends are aware of this by promoting the event across social media, through your newsletter and on good old fashioned flyers.

Clear out your inventory with a ‘Pay What You Can’ day

If it’s the end of the season and you still have piles of lush sweaters and cute necklaces or your 2012 calendar is gathering dust on the shelf, clear out your backlog and create some goodwill with a set-your-own-price day.  Be sure that patrons know the product’s original price and realize that all proceeds are going to a specific charity.  This will (hopefully) prevent people from trying to give you $1 for a $75 item.

Donate $1 for each new social media follower

Set a time frame, send out a big email and get ready for heaps more Twitter and Facebook fans.  Let your friends, patrons and clients know that if they’re kind enough to follow you, you’ll donate a dollar to specific cause. And inform the organization you’re donating to; they’ll probably help promote your efforts!

How do you incorporate philanthropy into your business?
 

photo credit: Josep Ma. Rosell

Sarah Von is a Vianza contributing columnist and interview wrangler.  If you follow her on Twitter, you’ll be privy to all sort of tweets about small business, good ideas and, um, cheese.