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Nonprofit organizations took a significant hit during the economic recession as charitable giving decreased by 15 percent. The good news is that charitable giving is now on the upswing and the upward trend has been sustained over the last couple of years. Charitable giving by individuals, corporations and foundations rose 3.5% from 2011, giving a total of $316.2 billion, according to research conducted at Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy on behalf of the Giving USA Foundation. Despite the struggles small businesses have weathered through the recession, a recent study conducted by American Express for The Chronicle of Philanthropy found that three-quarters of small-business owners donate an average of 6 percent of their profits to charity. The survey was based on interviews in August with more than 750 people who lead companies that have fewer than 100 employees. The study also found that companies with the highest revenues were the least generous, with just 69 percent of companies that earn more than $1-million contributing a percentage of their profits to charity. Small businesses donate twice as much per employee than large businesses, according to a study conducted in 1991 by Dr. Patricia Frishkoff, Director of the Family Business Program at Oregon University. Charitable giving comes in many forms and while small businesses are providing necessary support for the nonprofit organizations in the communities where they operate, they are simultaneously benefiting their own businesses in the form of customer loyalty and increased exposure to their customer base. Battery retailer donates one percent of earnings ImpactBattery.com is a small business that has put charitable giving at the center of their business model from day one. They state on their website: “At Impact Battery we believe it is our responsibility to model how a business can play a role in being a World Changer. We do this by supporting wholesome community initiatives and by giving back to charitable organizations.” “Without the support of local businesses, like Impact Battery, we wouldn’t have the programs that we do and we wouldn’t be able to keep the staff that we do. They [contributions from businesses] are a huge part of our funding,” said Cyndi Spencer, Resource Development Director for the Rogue Valley Boys & Girls Club. “It means the world to us. It is because of the community support that we are able to provide the services we do. When customers shop for battery chargers or replacement batteries for motorcycles, electric toys or anything else the site offers, ImpactBattery.com donates one percent of all proceeds to charity. They also allow their customers to choose which charity they want to support by selecting one from a dropdown menu upon checkout. Currently customers can choose from Pregnancy Care Centers, Search & Rescue, Ride for a Cure (Breast Cancer), Muscular Dystrophy and the Boys & Girls Club. Business consulting firm donates services In-kind donations and services offered pro bono are another helpful way businesses can contribute to their communities. Shelley Austin, Executive Director for the Jackson County Library Foundation says that both monetary and in-kind donations are hugely beneficial, but in some ways serve different purposes. “Sometimes it's a lot harder for me to go to someone and say, ‘I need money to pay for a photographer,’” says Austin. “It's a lot easier to go to the photographer and say, ‘I need your service, would you be willing to donate it?’” Dotcomjungle, Inc., a business consulting firm in Ashland, Ore., has been donating website and marketing support for Jackson County Library Foundation since 2009. “All along, Steve [President of Dotcomjungle, Inc.] and crew have not only given technical expertise, but advice on all sorts of things from spam, how to build an email list and how to utilize our website, over and above the basic functioning of it,” says Austin. “Because of this, we’ve been able to manage our own website, create events and sell tickets online, take donations online and utilize social media tools.” “We wanted to support our community, and as I looked around I saw that JCLF was deeply involved in events and programs at our local library that my own children enjoyed,” said Steve Rice, President of Dotcomjungle, Inc. “Also, the ‘library crisis’ has been an ongoing issue for a long time and I felt very compelled to help JCLF by providing a website and basic marketing knowledge so they could increase their reach, collect more donations and promote their events.” Movie theater hosts fundraising events Another small business took a different approach by hosting special fundraising events where all proceeds were donated to charity. SEE Film Cinema in Bremerton, WA, sees community-building as an important part of securing the future of their business. Mike Stitt, Digital Media Manager at SEE Film Cinema, explained that the owners have been focused on making the theater an important part of the community since before it existed. “Our whole goal for the theater, from the very beginning, was to be a vital component in the Bremerton area and to bring life back to that part of the community,” said Stitt. So, they started an event series called Midnight Madness where they host a midnight showing of old favorites like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off or Grease and donate all proceeds to charities like the Bremerton Food Line, Kitsap Pride, USONW, Northwest Derby Company and Hospice of Kitsap County. “There are a lot of people who could use that extra help to get food, coats or whatever it may be. Anywhere we can be an anchor in the community, and to be a part of the community, is important to us,” says Stitt. “There are a lot of illusions out there that businesses are there for people to spend their money with them, but we don't just want that, we want to give back.” Businesses benefit from being charitable Charitable organizations are not the only ones that benefit from donating. Businesses that prioritize charitable giving receive benefits as well. Spencer says that people in the community notice when a business owner is active in their community and when people see this, they are more likely to patronize that business. “I think it’s all about the relationships you are building within your community. When people in the community recognize that you are part of the bigger picture, they say, ‘this guy gets it,’” says Spencer. Steve Rice said that contributing his company’s services to JCLF brought his company a sense of community and recognition. “At the very least, being connected to Shelley and JCLF has given us a sense of pride of place in our community. Lots of important community activists, many of whom are influential business people, support and attend JCLF events,” said Rice. “So, we get our name mentioned along with community leaders we respect. That’s priceless.” Stitt said that doing the prep work for the Midnight Madness events has been a great opportunity for community outreach. He said he has reached out to almost every business in the community “I love going to other businesses and saying ‘what would you like, what can we do, how can we help?’ I love it, I absolutely love it.” He also noticed that employees appreciate the theater’s community focus. “The staff is excited for various reasons but the biggest is community involvement. Just to see our little theater grow in the community as rapidly as it is. It gives them encouragement just to know their job is going to be secure.” Small businesses have a huge capacity to make an impact on their community. Doing so not only helps the organizations they are benefiting but also provides benefits to the businesses that make the effort to give back.
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