42 Percent of Small Businesses Give Up to $1,000 to Charity and Prefer to Donate Cash

It’s the time of year when a lot of people think of others.

Small business owners are no different. In fact, you could argue that small business owners may be exceedingly generous when it comes to donating to charity.

New data from Funding Circle shows just how selfless small business owners really are.

Small Business Donations By the Numbers

Turns out, just about every other small business owner donates to charity regularly. And they plan to do so this year just as they did last year.

Funding Circle conducted a survey of about 1,400 small business owners recently on the topic of charity. Namely, the survey sought to find out how much and how many small business owners are giving to charity.

A total of 52 percent of small business owners told Funding Circle they did plan to donate to charity this year or they already have.

Forty-six percent say they will donate up to $1,000.

“The holiday season can be a pretty hectic time for small businesses, so it’s incredible to see so many business owners prioritizing charitable giving this year,” says Liz Pollock, a spokesperson for Funding Circle.

So, if you’re not planning to donate to any charities this year, there’s a good chance the next small business on your block or your competitor will do so.

And you can count on small business owners to figure out exactly what a charity appreciates most. Of the 1,400 or so surveyed by Funding Circle for this data, 44 percent said they preferred to donate cash over anything else.

Several Ways Your Small Business Can Donate to Charity

Picking the right charity is important. A charity that addresses an issue close to you is a good choice.

Do your research on the charities you intend to donate to. Find several that match your or your business’s philosophies. Make sure as much of your money goes to the actual cause as possible — rather than to administrative costs, among other things.

Cut a Check: No one is suggesting you go take out a thousand dollars from the bank and drop it in your local red kettle. Outside of donating money directly from yourself or your business account to a charity, there are other ways you can make donations on behalf of your business.

Set Aside a Portion of Sales: For a certain period of time or on certain items, you can commit to donating a percentage of sales to a charity. This could be a charity of your choosing or one of several charities or a group of charities or even one of a customer’s choosing.

Pass the Hat: Collect money or items in your office or your store and donate it to a charity. Be sure to take care of all legal responsibilities when starting a community drive. The last thing you want is to have a good gesture turn into an accounting or PR nightmare.

“Whether it’s donating a percentage of sales to your favorite charity or volunteering with your team at a local food bank, charitable giving is not only good for the community, it’s good for business,” Pollock says.  “Outside of the potential for tax deductions, having a charitable giving strategy can help enhance consumer loyalty, company culture, goodwill in your local community and brand awareness.”

Kettle Photo via Shutterstock

This article, "42 Percent of Small Businesses Give Up to $1,000 to Charity and Prefer to Donate Cash" was first published on Small Business Trends