How can a business give back to the community?
Whether you’re a small business or a multi-national corporation your local community is integral to what you do. Employees, local suppliers, council authorities, and more all impact your company’s operations to a greater or lesser extent.
If you’re looking to develop your community involvement there are a number of different ways to give back. This can take the form of giving your time as a volunteer, your products and services, or offering your personal or company expertise. This way small business owners and larger organisations across all industries can get involved in a way that is manageable and sustainable for their companies.
Looking for inspiration? We’ve outlined a few examples below about how you can give back to your community and naturally how Tempo Time Credits can support you in the process.
Giving your time and expertise
Local non profit organisations really value business expertise either to use as a different way to raise funds or to drive their charities forward. Advice, particularly financial and legal, is expensive, so volunteering time to support as part of your business’s wider social responsibility framework is a win-win for both parties. This can be on an ad-hoc basis or you may feel able to take a position on an organisation’s board of trustees.
Some local charities just need extra support at their fundraising events. Encouraging your employees to get involved with key events in your area can develop greater brand awareness for your business and allow your teams to lend their support to charities that mean something to them. Many organisations allow their team members to take paid time off each year to do some charitable work, or incorporate supporting their community into a team-building exercise with a litter pick or sponsored activity.
Tempo Time Credits work with a wide range of charities and community groups to help them develop their volunteer base and recruit for specialist roles. Vacancies are advertised on our dedicated website by activity type (admin, promotion and fundraising, practical help etc) and by cause (community development, skills & employability, families & children etc) allowing potential companies and volunteers to determine the best fit for them.
Giving your products and services
Our digital platform not only allows our charities to advertise their vacancies but the ability to recognise their volunteers by awarding Tempo Time Credits for the invaluable contribution they make to the respective organisations. These can be redeemed at a number of local businesses, our Recognition Partner network, allowing volunteers to enjoy cinema and theatre trips, sporting occasions, or a coffee and a cake.
Our Recognition Partners provide their products and services on a flexible basis to ensure their offering not only gives back to the community but also benefits their business either by increasing awareness or by generating more footfall at a time when it’s needed most.
Any type of business can get involved. Hairdressers, cafes, attractions, museums, theatres, sports clubs, and a range of online providers too are all part of our growing network. Each business can switch its offer on or off as demand dictates or be specific to certain parts of the week, month, or year. There is no minimum contribution, contract or hidden fees to negotiate.
We have on average over 500 offers live on our network at any one time that our volunteers can ‘purchase’ with their Time Credits. Offers are communicated via our social media platforms, regular email newsletters, and via a dedicated website where volunteers can search via location or type of activity. This provides targeted awareness for businesses to volunteers in their local community.
Giving your products and services is not just a free ticket, it makes good business sense too.
In our most recent survey:
77% of our volunteers spend at least £5 during a visit
74% ‘sometimes’ or ‘always’ bring a paying friend with them
54% return as a paying customer
Want to get involved?
Having a good relationship with your community can not only have a positive impact on your business but can place your company at the heart of your local area too. Improving the awareness of your brand and footfall through your doors to the well-being of your employees as they get more involved in causes that mean something to them.
Tempo Time Credits can support your business to give back to the community in a way that best fits your organisation. Get in touch with the Tempo team and we can start the conversation.
