Giving back to the community – and considerations for your tax and accounting business
“The spirit of the Holidays is the spirit of love and of generosity and of goodness. It illuminates the picture window of the soul, and we look out upon the world’s busy life and become more interested in people than in things.” ~ Thomas Monson
As we approach the end of the calendar year, many individuals and businesses focus on charitable giving. Giving back at an organized event or donating time to those in need has many positive effects. Not only do you help those in need, but you also get the opportunity to promote teamwork, enhance client relationships and more.
As a tax professional, you already understand how charitable giving and tax deductions work. But did you know that charitable giving helps you spread brand awareness and can help you build your business?
How Volunteering can increase the visibility of your brand
Volunteering is a great way to help increase the visibility of your brand by positioning you as a leader in the community. Consider volunteering at (or organizing) an event that helps those in need and creates opportunities to connect with other volunteers and business professionals. By volunteering your time and talent in a space with other professionals you are more likely to generate talk about your firm and gain business referrals.
Volunteering with Clients
Some tax and accounting professionals like to organize volunteer opportunities that include both professionals and clients. For example, Feed My Starving Children is an organization that packs meals for kids around the world. You can invite business professionals, clients, and their families to participate in this type of event. The bigger the volunteer group, the more food you are able to pack and give back!
Feed My Starving Children
People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel. ~Maya Angelou
Volunteering as a team is one of those events that can unite a group of people and make people feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude and generosity. Clients might not always remember what you did or said but they will remember how you made them feel when you volunteered together to positively impact your community. Choosing to organize volunteer opportunities can naturally and indirectly promote your firm’s brand. More importantly, participants will remember the feeling of happiness, empathy, gratefulness, fulfillment, and connectedness for years to come and positively associate those feelings with your firm. Volunteers will start to see your firm as a pillar of leadership in the community not just another accountant or tax firm.
Giving can happen year-round, not just around the holidays
Charitable giving, volunteering time and money, and other forms of giving back don’t need to stop once the holidays are over. In fact, it’s a smart idea to give back throughout the year. You could make a commitment to organize various quarterly events and use that as an internal team-building activity. Consider working with various local, regional or national non-profit organizations. As a year-round volunteer/contributor you may also be able to indirectly or directly promote your business. Many non-profit organizations to place company logos on their website or in their lobby of their contributors. This allows you to help out others while generating positive buzz about your brand and business services.
Connecting with clients with cloud-based platforms like Mostad Marketing Cloud
By demonstrating best practices through your own firm’s generosity, your clients will naturally be reminded to ask questions about year-end giving and how they can also give back. You can also send clients friendly reminders about charitable giving and what to do come tax time with cloud-based platforms like Mostad Marketing Cloud. These communications and posts can be automated and specifically designed for busy tax and accounting professionals. Schedule your personalized demonstration today to learn more.