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Hitching your wagon to a worthy cause lets you give back to the community that supports you. Giving also can attract high-paying clients.
April Shprintz, a business accelerator and creator of The Generosity Culture, “helps entrepreneurs do what others say is not possible.” She is a big advocate of earning a reputation as a businessperson who cares about more than the bottom line.
“For entrepreneurs looking to sell high-ticket services, becoming involved in philanthropy can have an even larger impact on their business,” says Shprintz. “Clients must know, like and trust you in order buy from you and those you meet in a philanthropic setting have the opportunity to do all three before you ever start business conversations.”
She says she has personally generated over a billion dollars in additional revenue for the Fortune 500 companies and clients she worked with and for over her career. Before entering the business arena, she was chosen as AFN Europe’s Service member of the Year in the US Air Force and given the Outstanding Volunteerism Medal.
Shprintz thinks of doing good as an investment. She contends that those willing to invest their time and money in helping others already have the intrinsic understanding of the value of investing for better outcomes.
“Our businesses are part of a greater ecosystem and that relationship to our communities, be it local, national, or global is symbiotic,” says Shprintz. “Companies benefit from the interaction with clients in their community and giving back to those same communities closes the loop and allows for continued growth and prosperity for both sides – similar to cultivating and enriching soil you wish to growth things in.”
Although few get into giving for the sole purpose of building a clientele, it is a happy byproduct. When pressed, many business people I have interviewed agree giving is a way to expand contacts, to earn referrals, and to broaden their experience without the self-serving hype of blatant marketing approaches.
“As business owners and leaders, we’d like to believe that our employees love coming to work and are living their purpose by working with us,” says Shprintz. “The truth is, for many of them, their work is just a job. Giving employees the chance to give back gives them purpose. Purpose is what pulls us out of bed in the morning with a spring in our step instead of having to push ourselves to go to work.”
Here is evidence to back that up. In 2018, Great Place to Work, a consulting company, did a study on several hundred companies and more than 380,000 employees found that people are 13 times more likely to look forward to going work when they believe their company gives back. That sentiment led to higher employee retention for those companies and greater brand ambassadorship from workers.
“One of the best ways to give back from an employee perspective is allowing employees to work with charitable organizations on the company’s time,” says Shprintz. “Employees get to see their direct impact to others, the company has the opportunity to better publicize the involvement through storytelling and it can be more cost effective for the company than donating money. Writing a check make seem like the easy way to give back, but truly getting involved is what reaps the greatest rewards for both sides.”
Shprintz acknowledges her career has been very different from most. “That’s what gives me a unique viewpoint that most don’t have,” she says. “What is most important to me is helping people and I’m able to help them achieve what they think or have been told is impossible.
