Jesus was all about serving the community. We should not be any different.
As a Christian business owner who wants to help the local community, you have to be selective when supporting charity organizations. Make sure that their beliefs are aligned with our Christian faith.
You don’t want to donate to an organization that supports abortion, for one. If education is your advocacy, you should partner with one that supports creation rather than atheistic evolution.
Distinguish between liberals groups and left-leaning parties that seek to limit the freedom that we enjoy. Supporting equal rights as Biblically defined is good. Chanting anti-discrimination slogans while discriminating against other groups is not.
Some of the groups that chant equal rights for LGBTQA+ community want to impose those rights on everyone. For example, these groups are forcing Christian ministers and businesses to cater to same-sex marriages.
Do your homework and don’t just support every cause that comes along blindly.
There are a lot of things you can do to help your local community, build up your company culture and help spread the Word of God.
1. Use company time to encourage employees to help.
This is a biggie for employees.
It’s hypocritical for a business to push their employees to help but they have to do it on their own personal time like on a weekend. Then the company gets all the credit in the news and gets the gratitude of the community.
Even if the employees took the initiative to donate on their own, they should get the full credit. Employee unions usually do this with full billing.
If you are going to make your employees help then make it equitable by doing it on company time. Provide the safety gears, materials, and equipment. The employees will provide the labor.
2. Donate your time and knowledge.
Aside from money, you can also help with the knowledge and expertise that your company possesses.
You and your employees can volunteer at a local school for career day to inspire students. A lot of organizations could use expert advice on operations and running their facilities. Send your electrical department over to your local high school, or evacuation center for the maintenance of the buildings.
Maybe your mechanics can volunteer to maintain the school bus or fire truck? This will save the city a lot of money in the long run, just make sure your lawyers review the partnership agreement.
3. Get local
Hire locally, get local contractors, and buy local. One of the best ways to support your community is to support it economically.
Cycle money back into local businesses and households by doing your business with them. There must be talented, skilled, and qualified people near your place of business. It’s a win-win if you get to hire one.
The employee won’t have to suffer through traffic with the long commute. The company gets to hire a productive member of the local community. Contractors and suppliers can also be sourced from the surrounding community. You can easily find out about their quality of work by interviewing neighbors and former clients.
As a business, you regularly buy supplies, right. Support the local community by buying from the local hardware, office supplies, and groceries.
You funnel money back into the community helping support its progress which in turn also supports your business. That’s a self-sustaining cycle of goodwill.
4. Consider long-term partnerships with local charities.
There are organizations with causes that need long-term support.
There is always an ongoing fight for good like care for the sick, medicinal research, supporting veterans, education, sustainable energy, and conservation, the list is endless.
Consider adopting an ongoing project like a local woodland, nature reserve, park, or a local body of water.
5. Offer facilities as disaster response centers.
You can designate a certain area of your facility as an assembly area or evacuation center during times of natural disasters.
Coordinate with your local disaster coordinating council to get recognition. Then secure training and accreditation for your volunteer employees to serve as responders during a crisis.
6. Institutionalize helping.
If you want a sustained long-term initiative of helping your local community, you can designate certain days of the year as the company’s official volunteerism week.
This is the time when everyone at the company goes out to volunteer time, energy, and resources to help your host community. Divide the activities in your advocacies like coastal cleanup, tree planting, livelihood training, health, and wellness.
Think of an official name for this program then brand it into the employees’ and the community’s consciousness.
7. Make helping part of the company culture.
The company’s advocacies and social investment projects should be clearly stated in the company manual.
Right before joining the company, potential hires get to see the effort your business spends in living out the company values. Either they say “thanks, but no, thanks.” Or happily sign on the dotted line knowing they are joining a company that shares their values.
8. Support education.
This is a long-term but worthwhile engagement. The results can be measured in the lives of people who get the education they need and go far in life.
There is always a public school that could use help. There are always students who are at risk of failing due to family problems or economic troubles.
One company I know encourages their employees to volunteer 2 hours every weekend to personally tutor kids who are having problems with their reading or math.
The kids are enticed to go back to school with the promise of a delicious meal after every session which they share with the employees. The tutoring goes on four Saturdays.
The improvement in the grades of the students was remarkable. This program saved quite a few pupils from dropping out of school.
9. Always follow up on the results.
Avoid dole-outs or one-time donations. Always see to it that there is ongoing monitoring and that the results are reported on a regular basis.
If it’s a community cleanup, assign somebody to count the number of trash bags collected. Record the types of garbage such as PET bottles, plastics rubber, etc. File the report with the relevant government agencies and concerned NGOs.
This will help the regulators create the ordinances and policies to help the environment. The NGO can raise the issue with companies so that they can make their products and package more environmentally friendly.
All these results and subsequent actions should be reported to your employees. They will know that their efforts count, are sustained, and make a difference. This will help reinforce the culture of helping among your employees.
10. Make use of in-kind donations.
One man’s junk is another man’s treasure. This saying can be true if you donate smartly.
Company equipment has its lifetime use such as vehicles, generators, and computers. When these already reach the end of their service life, they can find new use by donating.
With regular maintenance that they get, some of these just need a little refurbishment before going to the donee. With the company taking the lead, you can encourage your employees to do the same.
They can de-clutter their stock rooms and garages. Items that no longer speak to the heart can still bring joy to another person. Old toys, fishing gear, sports equipment, and furniture can be donated to organizations that work with the poor.
Final thoughts
If giving to the community is to become part of your company culture, you need to be strategic about it. Make it relevant to the business, its services, or products.
If you are into marine products or services, then consider doing good for water-based flora and fauna. Businesses in electricity or fuels can promote renewable energy.
The success of your social investment can directly lead back to your business which sustains the cycle of giving and receiving.
