Back to: Charity: The Best Kept Secret to Business Growth
Ways To Give:
Cash, Product, Time, Expertise
Cash Donations
Basic and simple. Give cash donations. No fuss, just give money. Collect it from customers, employees, neighboring businesses, whatever. Present the money to the charity.
There are other resources – other than cash – that you may be able to offer a cause or charity. Consider what your best resources are.
Product / Service
“In-kind” donations, or “gifts in kind,” are a type of charitable giving in which, instead of giving money to buy needed goods and services, the goods and services themselves are provided. If a charity needs money to buy paint for their building, and in-kind donation alternative could be to purchase the paint.
Donate: Labor or Expertise
Can you offer people power – volunteers to help a charity? Or what about sharing what you’re an expert at doing. For example, if you own an accounting firm, you could volunteer to help a nonprofit set up their accounting practices or do their taxes.
In the example of charity building needing painting above, you could offer the labor to do the painting and make it a team event.
Tax & Legal Considerations
Check your local tax laws to find what, if any, deductions apply to your charitable contributions. Be sure you’re securing the proper documentation and complete the appropriate forms.
If you host a contest to help drive donations (we talk about this later), be sure to check your local laws and regulations for contests and sweepstakes.
In short, work within the laws and local regulations. Here are some resources to help…