As an entrepreneur, your first goal for starting a business may be profit, but giving back to the community should not be far behind. While your business may already contribute through the jobs it creates, this may not be enough. A survey conducted by Ernst & Young showed that 90 percent of their respondent entrepreneurs give money to charity and 70 percent give their time.
Here are ways to give back to the community:
Donate to charity
You can donate to charity in monetary and non-monetary form. For example, you can donate your used employee service cars when they reach a certain age or mileage. The charity you choose may elect to use the cars or sell them for funds. Old computers, furniture, and others are also welcome donations. Instead of giving money or used items, cars, and equipment, you can also give brand new gifts to a charitable organization.
Sponsor a project
There are many projects that help people. These are not limited to donating a piece of land for a park or playground. Sponsor the construction of a school in a poor community. In areas where clean water is not as easy to get as in others, you can partner with companies like Ashton Tucker, an online source for water treatment equipment, to launch a humanitarian effort of cleaning water for the residents.
Hire handicapped people
This depends on the types of jobs you have at your company. If it’s possible, hire handicapped people. Getting a regular job is not as easy for handicapped people, so you will be empowering them by recognizing their capability to handle regular jobs like everyone else.
Volunteer
Spend some time at the soup kitchen or community produce garden. These efforts are easy and you may even find them enjoyable. You get to mingle with people and let them know you genuinely care for their wellbeing.
There are many ways you can give back to the community. You just have to work with the right people to make the experience worthwhile.