Small businesses face the challenge of making a name for themselves in a large competitive field. The hurdles involved can be overwhelming, especially with only a limited budget and a small team of people to work with. Partnerships with nonprofit organizations can help you spread the word about your business while allowing you to support a good cause.
Looking for mutually beneficial partnerships takes a lot of work, but the results are worth it. You need to find the right organization to embark on the journey with.
Choosing a Partner
Choose your nonprofit partner wisely. It goes without saying that you should only go forward with an organization that aligns with your company’s vision and principles.
It is important to check the legitimacy of the nonprofits on your list. Do prior research with the assistance of online charity evaluators. Check their websites also to see their current projects and the transparency of their financial reports.
You should also consult your staff as they may have input that will guide your final choice. Because they will be working with the organizations daily, you have to know if the organization is one they will want to get behind.
Organizations like CAPP-USA promote Catholic social teaching in practice, working to achieve the people’s common good. This kind of message resonates with many people, whether it is inside or outside the workplace. Keeping both your team and audience in mind will best guide your decision-making.
What Your Business Gains
As a small business, forming partnerships with other organizations gets the word out about your company’s name and products. This increased exposure will make your business more credible to the public.
It increases brand loyalty.
Harvard Business Review HBR) reports that the world is moving towards the time of “corporate social justice,” which pays particular attention to initiatives that assist and empower disadvantaged groups in society. Customers want to support brands whose values align with theirs. People are searching for companies that they can trust to uphold their values in their messaging and business practices.
Consumers are not the only ones your business should listen to. According to HBR, employees are also seeking this level of responsibility with their employers. When employees know that their company’s principles align with theirs, they are more eager to work.
Through good partnerships, your business can gain the trust of both your customers and employees.
It broadens your network.
Forming a partnership with another organization makes you known to the organization’s affiliates, patrons, and supporters. This increases your reach not just for your existing products and services but also for future business partnerships. Increased connections mean increased opportunities.
These can also open doors for media coverage or features in various publications, which make customers curious about you. The possibilities are endless once more people become aware of your small business.
How Your Local Community Benefits
Your business’s partnership with a trustworthy nonprofit may also help the local community you are a part of.
It raises awareness on advocacies.
By becoming partners with a nonprofit, you assist in spreading awareness about causes the organization supports. People in your community or even farther will learn about the importance of the advocacies you are supporting. And awareness is the start for any good, widespread change.
Nonprofit partnerships also allow your business to support projects that the partner organization would otherwise have trouble funding. This increases the capability to put together events or campaigns that can spark a significant movement in communities.
It encourages people to get involved.
In your local community setting, increasing awareness about certain advocacies opens up the opportunity for people to extend their support in different ways. When they learn about the nonprofit, they can learn more about it independently and become interested in furthering their assistance.
This could take the form of simply buying products or making an in-store donation. But as they learn more about the causes, the more they might want to do their part as a volunteer.
Being a small business, you are in a unique position that places you closer and makes you more approachable to your local community. A partnership brings good causes closer to them, too, and lets them forward the advocacy through their own means.
In Summary
In an evolving social landscape, people are becoming more personal in their approach to business. Both consumers and workers want to support brands that understand and uphold their principles.
As a small business, this allows you to grow your network and experience through nonprofit partnerships. This arrangement, in turn, also allows nonprofits to gain more support for their causes.
