1. Collaborate with a Charity

There are several different ways giving businesses can collaborate with charities. Perhaps the most public way is to donate a portion of sales to a charitable organization. Also, you can prompt buyers to round up to the nearest dollar or make a larger donation at checkout. This puts your partnership with the organization square in front of your customers. This spreads awareness around not only a cause important to the business but sharing the mission of the specific organization.

2. Reward Referrals with Donations

Incorporating donations into a referral program is a great way to encourage engagement among current customers. This is in addition to giving back and boosting sales. For example, small business owners can set up a referral program to support local schools. Customers can pick a local school to receive a donation or new school supplies with every successful referral.

3. Take a Day off to Volunteer Together

There is evidence to support that volunteering lowers stress and helps us live longer. However, finding time to volunteer is difficult no matter how motivated we are.

4. Food and Clothing Drive

An alternative to taking time away from work, that also engages employees, is organizing a food and clothing drive. A good way to bring in more goods is to set up a friendly competition, breaking staff up into multiple teams. A prize for the winning team is letting them pick a charitable organization that the business will make a donation to.

5. Pro-Bono Work

Finally, business owners and their employees can give back to communities by offering their services to local organizations. For example, a small event planning firm can organize a silent auction, or a boutique ad agency can create an advertisement for a local charity. There are a multitude of ways to apply business skills to make an impact.