Do you believe it’s better to give than to receive? Sometimes it’s hard to believe that old adage is true, but there’s a reason people who make a habit of giving choose that route over withholding their time and resources.
When it’s done with the right attitude, there’s a satisfaction in giving to someone in need that runs much deeper than the joy of receiving a gift yourself.
As an organization, giving back to your community is one of the best ways to make an impact both internally and externally. Building a giving back culture will organically create more trust, innovation, camaraderie and engagement within your company, along with many other benefits.
Giving is never meant to be done from a sense of obligation. The sentiment behind a gift is just as important as the gift itself. It’s meant to be joyful!
That can be easy when giving gifts to your family, friends or a cause you truly believe in, but how do you shape a joyful attitude when it comes to giving from an organization?
Give more than money
At BizLibrary, Giving Back has been one of our values from the start, and we’ve found various ways over the years to contribute to our community’s needs.
One very important aspect of a giving back culture is building participation by actually going and doing. Let your employees take time off the job to go use their hands and feet in tangible ways where your community needs them. Monetary corporate giving is valuable, but if that’s the only way your company gives back, you’re missing out on all the benefits of a giving back culture.
Some of the ways BizLibrary employees have used their hands and feet to give are through:
- Regularly helping out at the St. Louis Foodbank
- Participating in Walk MS to support a coworker
- Personally purchasing supplies for a school supply drive
- Buying gifts for Adopt-a-Family during the holidays
Give employees a voice
Part two of building a giving back culture that engages your employees is letting them be the ones to choose how the company gives. Don’t put these opportunities in leaders’ hands alone – your people are passionate about many different causes and can creatively find ways to reach out to others in need.
BizLibrary recently formed a Giving Back Committee to give a stronger voice to every employee, involving them in the conversation about how and where we give. Each department has a representative on the committee, and they meet regularly to discuss and plan event ideas.
The first event planned by our new Giving Back Committee was a book drive and breakfast in conjunction with Dr. Seuss’ birthday on March 2nd. Employees brought in new or gently used children’s books to be donated to St. Louis Children’s Hospital. They didn’t have to be Dr. Seuss books, although many were – I was personally excited to donate a copy of Green Eggs & Ham because it was the first book I ever read on my own.
Making room for that personal touch in your giving is what really gets employees invested in a culture dedicated to giving back!
Along with the book drive, we started the day with a pancake and sausage breakfast provided by Chris Cakes STL, and those pancakes were flippin’ awesome!
As our company grows rapidly, we’re realizing the importance of building a giving back culture just as quickly. More employees means more ways to make an impact! Some other giving back events currently in the works are:
- Cooking for Ronald McDonald House visitors
- Teaching Junior Achievement classes
- Participating in a Walk for Childhood Leukemia to support a coworker
These events give our employees the chance to make a difference in the community on a much larger scale than they could do on their own. We’re excited to continue finding more ways to grow our collective impact through giving back!
P.S. – We’re hiring! If Giving Back is a personal value you’d love to share with us, click here to check out our current open positions and get in touch.