Tag: business

Top US Charities

On April 3, 2017

In Social Entrepreneurship, Trevor Marca

In the United States, people make a conscious effort to give back to society. Most Americans want to contribute to the betterment of the world in some way. This culture has been much appreciated, and imitated too, by the rest of the world.

The US has some of the largest charities in the world. Below is a list of some of the biggest names in charities. If you are looking for a new charity to support, you should definitely consider one of the following organizations.

Learn More About The Top Charities In The U.S.

In the social service category, the best organizations that you can donate to are Habitat for Humanity International, Doctors Without Borders – USA, and Feeding America. All of these aid agencies do excellent work in the world. In fact, Feeding America not only provides hunger relief to more than 46 million people, it also runs a program to educate people about hunger and poverty.

The Institute of International Education charity is one of the top 100 charities in the world. Its noteworthy programs include Central Europe Summer Research Institute (CESRI) and Women’s Enterprise for Sustainability.

Some Other Charities Also Worth Donating To

YMCA of the USA – The YMCA works to give care to young children and teenagers and is one of the top charities to donate to.
Food for the Poor – This organization works for relief and development in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Goodwill Industries International – Through the ‘Donate Movement’ program, Goodwill distributes donated used goods.
American Cancer Society – Donated funds go towards research and cancer awareness programs.
The Nature Conservancy – The aim of this charity is to protect nature all over the globe.
Direct Relief – Direct Relief dispenses essential medical care and manages a program called Medical Reserve Corps.

Based In America But Doing Good Worldwide

There are a number of organizations all over the world that support hundreds and thousands of different causes. A donor should choose a charitable foundation whose cause touches the heart.

Many of the charities mentioned above have grown beyond geographical and economic boundaries, with good reason. The largest non-profit organizations in the world have reached that status by managing their duties with care and competence.

Why Donate To One Of These Charities?

By donating to the top charities, you can be assured that your money is making some difference. The management of the top charities hold themselves accountable for the work they do, and their hard work and care is evident.

Social Media Tips for Social Entrepreneurs

By Trevor Marca

On April 3, 2017

In Social Entrepreneurship

In today’s world, social media marketing is essential to every business enterprise. Using social media channels to develop your business and help your sales grow is important, but for social entrepreneurs, it’s especially important to get the correct message across.

In order to be a successful marketer of your business on social media, you have to make your presence felt through social messaging. You need to build a brand of your own, promote it with all sorts of marketing strategies, and advertise the site—all through the lens of social entrepreneurship.

How Can You Use Social Media To Promote Your Social Presence

The first step to successful social media marketing is creating sites on popular properties like Twitter and Facebook. Creating properties is also probably the easiest step. Below are some specific tips on how you can ensure a successful online presence once your sites are active.

Start with proper planning before you create any sites. Strategizing before doing any actual marketing is crucial and absolutely essential for success. Working out a strategy refers to keeping the number of channels to a maximum of three at first, and managing the posts on them minutely. Target the social sites where you will reach the biggest audience.

After you have set your mind on three social media sites, now it is time to start posting on them on a regular and disciplined manner. You need to plan how many posts per day per social site you intend to share and what type of content you plan to share on each site. Also, you need to make sure that you publish new and interesting content on the sites each day in order to draw the biggest audience.

It’s very important that you share content that’s engaging, interesting, relevant, and helps the audience learn more about your business and social message. The more your audience understands about how your business will make a positive impact the more successful you will ultimately be.

Managing Your Social Media Marketing With The Help of Efficient Social Sites

One of the most important issues with social media marketing is selecting the proper platforms to spread your social message. Many sites lure you with the number of hits that they get, but it is important to remember that quality matters a great deal more than quantity.

5 Ways Your Business Can Contribute to the Community

By Trevor Marca

On February 10, 2017

In Community Builder, Trevor Marca

If you’re a business owner or an entrepreneur and you want to give back to your community, you may be surprised to learn that it’s not that difficult. There are a number of benefits for businesses that help the community. Giving back reflects positively on the business, builds better relationships between you and your customers, and helps advertise your services. Keep reading to learn about 5 different ways you can help your community.

Support a Charity

Donating to charity is one of the easiest ways to give back to the community. Not only will a donation campaign help raise awareness for your brand, you will also have a positive impact. There are many different ways that you can raise funds for charity. Some businesses donate the profits from a particular item to charity. You can also organize a fundraising event like a 5K race, or you can let employees participate in a “dress-down” day in exchange for a small donation. In some cases, it may be a good idea to team up with another local business and participate in some sort of competition to raise money for charities.

Go Green

Saving energy is a great way to help the environment and support the community. The last thing that any business should do is add unnecessary waste to the community where it resides. In most cases, green initiatives save money in the long term. Green initiatives also show community members that you care about how you conduct business—an attractive quality to potential customers. One of the easiest ways to go green is to recycle and use environmentally-friendly light bulbs. You can also consider installing solar panels on the roof of your building. Green initiatives are great for the community, and they may even save you money on taxes. Take a look at this article to learn more about the benefits of going green.

Pro Bono Services

One of the best ways to support the community is to give away your services for free. You can either donate the goods you sell, or you can provide your services free-of-charge to community members who are in need. The community will thank you for your generosity, and your business will gain respect.

Free Training

Get to know your community members by hosting a training event. For example, if you are involved in technology, you can teach people how to use computers. You don’t always have to look outside of your business to help the community. By offering your employees training opportunities, you benefit the community. Community members will understand that your business cares about the growth of its employees and customers will be happy to support you.

Landscape

Sprucing up the landscape of your business is one of the easiest ways to benefit the community. By planting a few trees and flowers you will also contribute to employee happiness. Numerous studies show that time spent outside contributes to a person’s well-being. Give your employees an area where they can take a break and enjoy nature. You’ll make the community look prettier and your employees will be happier.

Tips For Starting A Nonprofit

By Trevor Marca

On January 11, 2017

In Social Entrepreneurship, Trevor Marca

Starting a nonprofit is one of the best ways to make a positive impact on the world. While profit isn’t the main motivator behind nonprofit organizations, they still need to be run like normal businesses. Taxes, laws, human resources, and funding still play a role in the success or failure of nonprofits. Before you start your own nonprofit, take a look at the below list. These tips will help ensure that you stay on the right path during the creation of your world-changing organization.

Do Your Research

Nationwide there are more than 1.4 million different nonprofits. During your planning stage, you need to consider the competition that you’ll face once you’re up and running. There are some important questions you should ask yourself before you get too deep in the process. Check out this list to see some examples of the sort of questions you need to answer.

Start With A Business Plan

The first step for any successful business—whether it’s a nonprofit or not—is to write a business plan. A proper business plan will increase the chances that you secure funding from either private funders or a local bank. It demonstrates that you are serious about starting your organization, and it will help you attract your first volunteers. Not having a business plan is like not having a map to success. If you don’t have a plan no one will follow you.

Incorporate

There are many reasons why you should incorporate your nonprofit. One of the most important reasons is that you’ll be able to apply for grant money. Learn more about this reason and some other important ones by reading this article. While the paperwork associated with incorporating can be a headache, in the end, you’ll be happy you completed the process and gained tax-exempt status.

Write A Mission Statement

The vision or mission statement that you create will help you attract the right people. Board members, volunteers, employees, and donors will either embrace or ignore your organization based in part on the vision you share with the world. Your vision statement can be the first part of your business plan. It explains who you are, what you do, and why your organization matters.

Learn More

The National Council of Nonprofits has a number of resources that you will find useful when getting your nonprofit off the ground. Their resources include guides about best practices, financial management, and fundraising. Visit their Tools & Resources page for more information.

Trevor Marca: Resources for Social Entrepreneurship

Resources To Help Social Entrepreneurs

By Trevor Marca

On December 12, 2016

In Social Entrepreneurship, Trevor Marca

Ask any entrepreneur, and they will tell you that finding success is difficult. For social entrepreneurs, though, success may be even more difficult to find. In addition to all the normal struggles that entrepreneurs face, social entrepreneurs also attempt to make a positive impact with their work—no easy task. If you want to be a social entrepreneur, the below tips will help you develop your business and find success.

B Lab – Impact Assessment Tool

B Lab is a non-profit organization founded in 2009. The company’s goal is to help social entrepreneurs and issue B Corporation certification to companies who score well on B Lab’s social impact assessment. While there is an annual fee associated with maintaining B Corporation certification, B Lab’s Impact Assessment Tool is free for any company to use. The B Lab site has many examples of B-Reports which can be used as references for creating a business that has a social impact.

Ashoka

Ashoka has been supporting social entrepreneurs for 35 years through fellowships. The fellows are able to use the grant money to support themselves while they work full time on their business. At the moment “more than 3,000 Ashoka Fellows [are] implementing system-changing solutions to human and environmental problems in 89 countries” (About Ashoka). Becoming an Ashoka Fellow is not an easy task. There are at least five phases to the selection process, and the business idea has to be truly innovative. However, the site also features inspiring stories and insightful articles that every social entrepreneur will find helpful.

NYU Speaker Series

Social entrepreneurship is the focus of the Catherine B. Reynolds Speaker Series. Entrepreneurs located in the NYC area should make a point of going to one of the discussions—they’re free and anyone can attend. The events can also be downloaded for free via iTunes. In the past, John Mackey (Whole Foods Market), Elie Wiesel (Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity), and Seth Goldman (Honest Tea) have participated in the series. Many other universities around the country have similar events, so if you don’t live in the NYC, you might still be able to attend an event in person.

Unreasonable Institute

The Unreasonable Institute “provide[s] entrepreneurs what they need to create scalable solutions to the world’s greatest problems” (We Believe). Entrepreneurs can apply for the chance to attend an “accelerator” program. Some of the programs are short (5 days) while other programs last for weeks. Entrepreneurs who participate in a program get the chance to speak with mentors and learn about numerous topics like raising capital and strategic planning.

5 Ways That Small Businesses Help The Community

By Trevor Marca

On December 11, 2016

In Community Builder, Trevor Marca

Small businesses are one of the most important aspects of every community. Not only do small businesses “account for 99.7% of all business in the US,” they are also leaders in giving back to the community through charity (Schmid). In fact, a survey conducted last year found that “92 percent of U.S. small business owners… [surveyed] said they personally donate to charities and nonprofit organizations” (Hernandez). To learn more about how small businesses help the community, take a look below.

Local Identity

Small businesses give a community its unique identity. Art galleries, bookstores, cafes, yoga studios, and corner grocery stores add character to the communities that they call home. Many towns are proud of the number of local businesses that inhabit their community. In an effort to attract visitors, local tourism boards often advertise the number of local businesses as a sign of community health.

Community Involvement

The above statistic makes it clear that small business owners want to give back to the communities they live in. Many small businesses sponsor local sports teams or donate money to local charities around the holidays. Since small business owners usually live in the communities where they work, they care about their neighbors. In general, they don’t make decisions that will negatively affect other community members.

Build Relationships

Small businesses benefit from customer relationships. When you visit a local business, it’s very likely that you will meet the owner. Oftentimes, owners make an effort to get to know their customers, learn their names, and remember their preferences. Small businesses don’t have all of the advantages that big businesses have, so they care about providing great customer service and establishing lasting relationships with their customers.

Help the Environment

When numerous small businesses are located in one area, foot traffic is increased and people don’t have to rely on their automobiles as much. This contributes to better air quality. Today consumers are increasingly concerned about the health of the environment. They also care about walkability. Since small businesses tend to be located close to one another, this helps increase a community’s walkability and attract health-conscious residents.

Local Employment

Small businesses provide jobs to community members. When someone can get a job in the area where they live, they don’t have to commute to another city, and they may even be able to walk to work each day. Also, when community members shop at local businesses, they help put money in the pockets of their neighbors behind the counter.

4 Ways Your Business Can Go Green

By Trevor Marca

On November 7, 2016

In Community Builder, Trevor Marca

Each year more and more businesses are adopting green practices. There are numerous benefits for businesses who implement environmentally friendly practices, such as tax advantages and saving money, and positive public response. Below are four different ways your business can go green and make a positive impact.

Recycle

Recycling is crucial in today’s society. It’s important to recycle items such as paper and plastic because the practice adds less waste to landfills. It’s easy for a business to get started with recycling. It’s as simple as setting up recycling cans throughout the organization. Businesses can also get creative with their recycling process. For example, instead of throwing away used and old furniture, businesses can have a contest where employees revamp the furniture for different uses.

Lower Utility Costs

Using LED or CFL light bulbs use less energy and can last up to 20 years. At the same time, they lower your energy bill. Unplugging devices when they’re not in use is also a great way to reduce energy. It may be a good idea for your business to get an energy audit done. An energy audit will help your business develop an energy-efficient plan that is sustainable for the environment.

Implement A Green Space

Landscaping is a fun and great way for your workplace to create a positive impact on the environment. Creating a garden full of plants or even a vegetable garden outside of your building will grab the attention of outsiders and make your employees happier. Studies show that spending time in nature makes people happier. Why not bring nature into the workplace by adding plants to the office space?

Stay Clean With Green

Many offices use harsh chemical cleaners that are toxic to the environment. A great way to make an impact is to buy biodegradable or non-toxic chemicals for use in your office. They only cost about 5% more than regular cleaners but do a lot less harm. Offices can also consider using recyclable kitchen items such as silverware, ceramic plates, and coffee mugs/glasses. Americans throw away over 25 billion styrofoam cups and 2.5 million plastic cups every year. Coffee pods, such as a k-cups create an enormous amount of landfill waste. Using an old-fashioned coffee pot is one of the easiest ways to keep businesses sustainable.