Small Business/Non-Profit Partnerships: The Future

It's clear that we’re embarking on a "Brave New World" of doing business. I’m sure when Aldous Huxley wrote his famous book, he couldn’t have imagined the current economic and environmental crises we humans collectively face. Rather than infinite horizons, our world has hit a wall, and is now facing the difficult task of retracing steps to figure out how it all went wrong, as well as produce a roadmap for the future so it’ll never happen again. It’s safe to say that whatever happens in the future won’t be the same as the past!

While government has a clear role to play in developing this roadmap, it’s becoming increasing obvious that small business will have to largely fend for itself. As for non-profits, how can they depend on a stable source of funding if municipal governments are tapped out? There is going to be definite downsizing, and lowered expectations across the board. There are limits to what any government body, be it at a local or federal level, can do. If the current crisis of the our commerce system has taught us anything, it’s that everything - countries, economies, people - are inexplicably linked. For better or worse!

There is a transformation afoot however, and it’s essentially this: The age of faceless big business is loosing ground and It’s being replaced by a more accountable small, "face friendly" business model, operating at a grassroots level. 

So what does this mean?

I think we’re slowly, but steadily getting rid of the concept of "get rich quick at someone else’s expense" and replacing it with "get rich slowly and steadily - together" This "quasi socialist concept" is the sustainable alternative that just might benefit small business, non-profit groups and ultimately society as a whole. I’m not talking about the end of "free enterprise", but a re-working of the concept allowing it to be more inclusive. Hence the title of this article -'Small Business / Non-Profit Partnerships: The Future' or to put it differently, small business owners and non-profit organizations coming together for common benefit.

So what are the exact benefits for each group?

That’s an easy one for non-profits: they need money in order to fulfill their mandate, but simply asking for a donation may not be as effective for the future as it's been in the past as the competition amongst non-profits for an ever shrinking public pot is fierce.

What’s in it for Small Business Owners?

As for small business, I’m not suggesting they have an opportunity to make up the funding gap in non-profit’s balance sheets by simply donating money to the cause per say. What small business brings to the non-profit table is not necessarily money (this helps though), but an urgency, and a "can do" attitude that advance fundraising initiatives the group may have. Also, one shouldn’t underestimate small business owners ability to think laterally or "outside the box" for a solution to non-profits funding woes.

A business owner could lend their expertise and resources to a charitable group of their choosing. This allows them to align their "core beliefs" to a specific non-profit interest in a tangible way and this is good for everyone. Small businesses generally grow out of a need that a community has for a particular product or service. These same small businesses, by giving back to the community that gave rise to them, thus creates a mutually beneficial virtuous circle.

Small business owners generally have next to no marketing budgets. For those that do, I’d wager that they probably have no effective way to measure the success of their marketing efforts. An ad in the local phone directory may not be enough to tell prospective clients what you’re really about and why they should call you. What small business needs is exposure and involvement in their communities is meaningful exposure for all the right reasons.

So what are some of the specifics you ask? You could, for instance, be a local catering company with an interest in sustainability and the environment. So, why not join your local "food policy council" and offer to develop a product for sale in public markets. It could be that you have a surplus of delivery vehicles your company doesn't need. Why not donate them to a group that wants to take surplus food from restaurants and bring it to local food banks? The point is not in the specifics, but rather something that has lost it’s value to you could be extremely valuable to non-profit group.

Or perhaps your interest is in animals. You could offer to lend a hand to your local SPCA by designing animal blankets that could be monogrammed with a sponsors name. Okay, that one is a little goofy, but I think you get my point: there is no end to the possibilities.