{"id":1565,"date":"2019-09-03T17:25:21","date_gmt":"2019-09-03T17:25:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/impactpossible.com\/voice\/?p=1565"},"modified":"2019-09-03T17:25:29","modified_gmt":"2019-09-03T17:25:29","slug":"volunteerism-is-good-for-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/impactpossible.com\/voice\/index.php\/2019\/09\/03\/volunteerism-is-good-for-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Volunteerism is Good for Business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Guest Blog Post by Martha Londagin of Startup Junkie Foundation<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mother Teresa called the world to volunteerism stating, \u201cLet us not be satisfied with just giving money.\u201d\u00a0 The act of serving others is powerful not only for individuals but also for any successful business enterprise, small or large. As a 6th<\/sup> generation Northwest Arkansas small business owner, I was taught by my family that if we make a living from our town, we have a responsibility to give back. \u00a0Below are three reasons why I encourage all entrepreneurs, small business owners, corporate employees, and individuals to volunteer in their communities:

1. Volunteerism presents a real personality to the public for your business and yourself beyond branding.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you as a business owner sometimes complain about customers \u201cbuying online\u201d or at \u201cchain stores\u201d are those same customers witnessing you or your employees out building their community? Customers may not mind paying a small amount more for your products or services if you SHOW them how those extra dollars support their town. Further, the types of non-profit groups your business chooses to support tell \u201ca story\u201d about what your company values, i.e. if you send employees during paid work hours to serve at a homeless shelter, you show that you have a heart for those down on their luck, those who can often contribute more to a community if provided proper resources and hope. If you personally serve with a local habitat or home improvement group, you show that you have a respect for those earning lower wages and their families, or perhaps the elderly or veterans who served their employers or country for many years but now need some assistance. If you sponsor or volunteer for local entrepreneur educational events, then you show that you care about our NWA entrepreneur eco-system; you aren\u2019t just out to gain another accounting, marketing, or legal client. Volunteerism is especially vital for those businesses and people \u201cnew\u201d to NWA to help you build \u201ca story\u201d and \u201chistory\u201d here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Workplace volunteerism programs build employee retention.<\/strong>

Attracting and RETAINING employee talent is a huge challenge in NWA due to our robust economy. So, ask your employees what local non-profit groups or needs in the community they want to serve. Allowing them to be part of the volunteerism plan for your business empowers them, makes them feel valued, and increases their desire to come to work. This may in turn cause them think twice about that job offer to make a few more dollars an hour elsewhere because they are proud of the culture they have helped build at your business. Studies evidence that employees don\u2019t leave jobs- they leave managers whom they don\u2019t feel value them, and companies they don\u2019t believe have a purpose. Millennial workers especially look to work for companies that support social causes-this generation is looking for life experiences, not just a paycheck. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Volunteerism opportunities provide very low-cost marketing opportunities. <\/strong>

I admit that I am a person who is very passionate about volunteering in my community. I absolutely thrive on these experiences and seek them. However, if this is not your natural practice, then know that from a revenue analysis aspect I have frequently witnessed small businesses and individuals grow their business exposure, gain massive marketing opportunities, and earn excellent reputations due to their volunteerism efforts. Local non-profits in our region often have huge numbers of social media followers, and our local media often kindly and freely promote non-profit events with photos posted of business teams serving there. This exposure increases your branding message to the public. Serving side-by-side with other business owners and corporate managers you might never have otherwise can also provide incredible opportunities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider having a specific,\nteam-driven, volunteerism program at your small business or company or\ninstitute one personally as part of your career path. \u201cGivers get\u201d I have often\nheard from those I have seen who consistently and passionately practice\nvolunteerism in NWA. Regardless, increasing awareness of your business or your\npersonal skills, empowering your team, and expanding your reach in NWA can only\nimprove your business and our communities. Get busy, give back, and get out there!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Guest Blog Post by Martha Londagin of Startup Junkie Foundation Mother Teresa called the world to volunteerism stating, \u201cLet us not be satisfied with just giving money.\u201d\u00a0 The act of serving others is powerful not only for individuals but also for any successful business enterprise, small or large. As a 6th generation Northwest Arkansas small […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[705,1479,43],"class_list":["post-1565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chambernews","tag-martha-londagin","tag-mother-teresa","tag-northwest-arkansas"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/impactpossible.com\/voice\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/AdobeStock_97365513.jpeg?fit=6000%2C2950","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8RhO8-pf","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/impactpossible.com\/voice\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/impactpossible.com\/voice\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/impactpossible.com\/voice\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/impactpossible.com\/voice\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/impactpossible.com\/voice\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1565"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/impactpossible.com\/voice\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1568,"href":"http:\/\/impactpossible.com\/voice\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1565\/revisions\/1568"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/impactpossible.com\/voice\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/impactpossible.com\/voice\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/impactpossible.com\/voice\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/impactpossible.com\/voice\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}