Business leaders are always trying to find ways to improve engagement and retention with their employees. In previous posts, we outlined ideas for team building events and showed how crucial it is. But what about your business and philanthropy? There are so many unique ways to expand your business opportunities by connecting with different industries.
From creative events and guest speakers to donation matches and excursions, there are many ways to think outside the box to keep your team fresh and connected to their community. The best part — when business and philanthropy connect, it’s proven to help business development.
In this post, we’re showing you creative ways to help your team think differently and explore other industries. So often, we get caught up in the day-to-day. It’s easy to get stuck in the daily activities that we block ourselves from innovating. Whether these new outlets turn into business opportunities, or provide us with diversified and more exciting work experience, we believe that expanding your horizons is necessary for expediting growth.
How Business and Philanthropy Create Important Opportunities
We all love to make a difference. Giving back is not only good for the soul, but it’s also good for business. How so, you ask? There are many reasons.
- Philanthropy helps build relationships with current and prospective clients
- It helps build and support your brand
- It promotes employee engagement
Overall, good corporate citizens want to do business with others who share their values.
Social Responsibility Impacts Consumer Decisions
In the past, only a handful of Fortune 500 companies reported their corporate responsibility practices. Today, it’s easier than ever for consumers to access a company's records regarding their contributions to their community. This access is critical because according to a 2014 Nielson survey, more than 55 percent of online consumers worldwide prefer purchasing from companies with substantial social and environmental commitments, even if it meant paying more for products and services.
An Impact on Talent Attraction
How your company interacts with your community impacts finding great talent, too. A Deloitte survey showed that 70 percent of Millennials considered their company's social commitment as a significant factor in their decision to work there. A focus on philanthropy and diverse events not only attracts potential employees, but it also provides an excellent environment that motivates staff, creates positive team culture, and enhances work performance.
Thinking Differently about Business and Philanthropy
The most important takeaway from this idea of connecting business to alternate activities and philanthropy is thinking outside the box. Creativity in this realm creates new opportunities for your business and your people to discover unique scenarios and contacts that aren’t available behind the desk.
While it’s essential to connect with your community, sometimes the best impact comes from within. Penguin Random House believes charity starts at home. They help individual employees repay $1,200 in student loans each year. Helping to reduce debt can have an incredible impact on team morale (and can helps reduce financial stress). Currently, outstanding national college debt adds up to $1.5 trillion, and likely impacts your workforce. By improving your team’s economic situation, you provide a strong incentive to stay.
How We Connect with Our Community
In 2019, our team found creative ways to forge new connections through business and philanthropy. Use our ideas to ignite inspiration in your path to creating opportunities for your company
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- We brewed our beer at CO Brew in Denver. This experience helped our team bond. We also joined the CO StartUp Brews competition and met other startups to create new business connections.
- Our team hosted an Avalanche Awareness course with CAIC/Friends of Colorado Avalanche Information Center. It helped broaden our horizons, continue our education, and spread the word on something very near and dear to Colorado while building connections with our community.
- BWBacon is also a proud supporter of Bags of Fun, a Denver based organization that brings relief and joy to every child fighting a life threatening disease or condition by providing incredible bags of activities and fun. Delivering bags to these kiddos makes their day and giving back to these exceptional spirits brings heart into our work and community.
- Team building meets charity at the Startup Games, a lively event geared towards camaraderie and giving back. A entire day's worth of competitive events from Mario Kart racing to Foosball concludes with raising money for nonprofits and community building organizations- what's more fun than that?
Overall, it’s vital to think differently about the connection between business, life, and everything in between. Participating in a variety of events keeps our work fresh, engaged, and focused. It also helps us get to a place where we’re ready to meet new people and help them grow their businesses.
Here at BWBacon Group, we know and live what you are experiencing as an employer or job seeker in Denver, Boulder, Dallas, San Francisco, New York City or any of the other cities we work in. We believe great recruiting starts and ends with understanding people.
If you have any questions about living, working or playing any of the areas we serve, please contact us. We are happy to help. Seize the day, every day, that’s what we say!
