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Ways to contribute to the community through volunteer efforts and run your small Small Business

This is the second column in which I share some ideas of how small businesses participate in volunteer work without sacrificing too much time/energy?  I have observed that many CEOs do this and find that it is a valuable experience for their business.  Brett Farmiloe, one of SCORE’s content partners, asked CEOs and small business owners this question for their best insights. Here are some ideas that he reported:

Use a Corporate Volunteering Platform

• Kill two birds with one stone and save time in your work schedule by creating employee-driven volunteer opportunities and becoming a more socially responsible company. Your team can volunteer, team-build, and build corporate responsibility, made easier with the help of an expert organization like Visit.org, Alaya, or Selflessly. Corporate volunteering platforms develop your entire program and connect you with the right organizations so you can save time and focus on what matters most - the volunteer efforts.   Samuel Devyver, EasyLlama

Work With Established Nonprofit Organizations

Volunteer work is an excellent way for small businesses to communicate their values. However, working with some nonprofits can require a lot of legwork, taking time away from business initiatives and even cutting into a company's bottom line. One of the best ways to avoid this headache is to work with established, well-known nonprofits that have strict guidelines on how to run their events. When businesses partner with these larger organizations, they can benefit from guidance and authority, which means they have to do less legwork to make events successful. 

• Many larger nonprofits provide everything a small business needs to hold an event benefiting a specific cause. This can include merchandise or collateral, marketing material, event guidelines, and more. That means businesses really only need to initiate the relationship and follow the steps to have a successful event. Both the business and the nonprofit benefit from the volunteer work, making it a rousing success.   Kyle Risley, Lift Vault

Promote Employee Volunteering

• Stepping back, reconnecting with your company values, and incorporating volunteer work into your busy schedule might feel like a waste of time and energy, but many great nonprofits can benefit. Giving your team time to perform charitable work is a win-win situation, and as a small business, you can afford to lose one team member at a time.

Apart from supporting a charitable organization, corporate volunteering can benefit your business and your employees. As well as being good for society, studies have confirmed that volunteering boosts mental health and helps develop your employees’ leadership skills.   Hakeem Shittu, iPad Recycle.

Offer Mentorship or Training Programs

• There is much for a small business to gain from offering mentorship or training programs to those in need in the local community. Many of the disadvantaged people in the community struggle to find a way to gain the knowledge or skills required to help them gain a foothold in the jobs market.

By opening your door to those in need, you can use the skills of your workforce and the utilities you already have to help them build an independent and rewarding life for themselves. It is usually unnecessary for much expenditure to be assigned; you already have most of what you need. Nor is it a requirement for extra time to be expended; those in your program can spend much of their time shadowing and working alongside willing team members. You may even find that after training, you have a new, talented pool to recruit from.   Jonathan Zacks, GoReminders

Use Ecosia Search Engine

• One way for a small business to do something prosocial for little effort is to use the Ecosia search engine. Based out of Berlin, Ecosia puts 80% of its profits toward nonprofit reforestation efforts. You can help plant trees in almost every continent doing everyday tasks by using their search engine. Boasting nearly 150M trees planted already, this company is one of the few sustainable businesses whose entire business model is designed to make a difference in the environment. By encouraging your employees to use Ecosia, powered by Bing, your entire office can contribute to replanting trees worldwide at no cost to your business.   Brad Neathery, Oak & Eden.

Have Every Employee Teach a Class

• Have each employee sign up to teach one class, every few months at an after-school program for at-risk kids. Offer examples of subjects such as yoga, dance, singing, coding, karate, acting, etc. Clubs such as the Boys and Girls Club of America and so many more like it will be thrilled to have so many new teachers! Class times often conflict with work but if you encourage most employees to participate. Only one employee will be missing at a time. Win-win!   Elliot Schwarcz, Becca's Home

Search Through Volunteer Match

• One extremely easy option to find creative ways for your organization to give back within your community is volunteermatch.org, a national Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). Volunteer Match is the web’s largest volunteer engagement network, serving over 130,000 participating nonprofits and 150 corporate network partners, Founded in 1998, the non-profit has offices in 35 states and a full complement of virtual opportunities to help communities across the nation. With the infrastructure in place for individual and group opportunities, Volunteer Match can probably help match your organization with a cause near to your heart, no matter what size your organization is.   Nirav Sheth, Anatta Design

Make a Donation to a Local Charity

Donating to a local charity is an excellent way for a small business to participate in volunteer work without sacrificing too much time and energy. You can donate money, goods, or services, but a better practice would be to contact the charity and ask what type of donations they are most in need of. This way you can be sure that your donation is going to a worthy cause and making the most significant impact possible. Donations are less time-consuming than other forms of volunteering that involve actually going out and helping with events. However, they are still a meaningful way to give back to the community.   Danielle Bedford, Coople