How Local Businesses Can Support Youth Programs

A local business is better placed to help youth programming than almost any individual donor, and not only because of money.

Money first, since it is the obvious one. A supporter listing or a sponsorship gives a small nonprofit predictable income, which is what makes year-long commitments to students possible. One-off gifts fund the past; recurring ones fund the plan.

Then the things that cost nothing. Space is the big one. A room on a weekday evening, a car park for an event, storage for a book drive. Organizations running on volunteer time lose an astonishing amount of it to logistics that a business solves without noticing.

Your trade is worth more than your cheque in some cases. Printing, transport, a van for a weekend, accounting help, photography at an event. If it is something we would otherwise pay for, it is a direct saving. If it is not, it is a polite imposition, so the useful move is to ask rather than assume.

Your staff. Festivals need more hands than a volunteer nonprofit can raise. Sending four people for a Saturday is a genuine contribution and it is the easiest possible entry point for a business that has never done this before.

Your customers. Businesses underestimate this one. Mentioning a cause you support, once, to the people already in front of you does more for a small nonprofit's supporter base than a donation of similar effort.

Your suppliers and peers. The single most valuable thing a supporter business does is tell another business it is worth doing. That is how a directory of local supporters actually grows.

If you want to start, applying to the supporter directory is free and payment is only requested after approval. For sponsorship or an in-kind offer, call (240) 330-5127.