Doing Charitable Giving Right

In times of economic prosperity, I have encountered so many good-hearted, generous people in this business community. Countless times, I have had clients come to the Small Business Enterprise Centre asking how to open a non-for-profit or charitable organization. Additionally, I have had many established business owners meet with me to discuss events and promotions for their business with a fundraising purpose, and even to discuss the creation of a foundation that would be linked to their business.

Without wanting to discourage any of this generosity, my usual response to my small business clients is to focus on the success of their business. Initially, that sounds terribly selfish and capitalistic, but my end goal is altruistic. The more successful the business, the more profits they will then have to make generous donations to causes of their choice.

Running your own foundation of course would give you the chance to do something very meaningful and perhaps personal, but to do it right could be just as demanding as starting a new business. Indeed, it’s “venture creation”, requiring not just an idea, but a full business (project) plan, with a clearly defined purpose, product/service offering, target audience, competitive analysis, marketing plan, the works. And, it needs financial and human resources to envision, launch and sustain it. Leave these large foundations to Canada’s largest businesses.

Instead of a full-scale foundation, I absolutely encourage you to run small promotions with proceeds going to a charity of your choice. Just make sure that the charity is not only something you’re personally interested in supporting, but something that also has a connection to your business. Here are a few examples of good business – charity matching:

• Catering company – local food bank
• Sporting goods wholesaler – Canadian Olympic Team
• Bathroom Renovations contractor – colon cancer
• Landscaping firm – Nature Conservancy of Canada
• Business consultant – World Vision’s Micro Finance Program

Because there are so many great ways to give back to your community, it’s easy to think a big event with big proceeds is the only way to go. Not so; start with modest goals, and build the event over seasons or years. Many years of sustainable or growing donations are more valuable to a charitable organization than a one-time contribution. Linking business and charity makes sense to your customers, and sends a message of consistency and professionalism about your business, which will lead to more uptake from customers with your promotion, and long term business success in general. With over 90% of Canadian businesses being categorized as “small”, there is a big role for them to play as contributors to the charitable sector.