Ever feel like your company does not have sufficient financial resources to contribute as much as you’d like to local nonprofits?  Here is an idea that I personally do that can be done by ANY company that has employee travel — all it takes is a little time and a minimal amount of extra room in a suitcase. 

As you know, hotels provide personal product amenities in your hotel bathroom.  If you use them one day, they provide a new set for the next day when they clean your room.  If you are like me, you don’t actually use all of those bottles of lotions and potions or maybe you take your own along or don’t like the brands they use. 

So here is the idea…every day, take the bottles you don’t open to use (you’ve already paid for them…) and put them in your suitcase, maybe using the plastic laundry bag from the closet hanger so things won’t leak on your clothes during the trip home.  The cleaning folks will give you a new set and you can do it again for each night you are on the road. 

Back at the office, set up a collection point somewhere at your location and have everyone that travels deposit their extra toiletries there.  Then periodically take all the collected items and drop them off at a shelter – maybe for the homeless or battered women.  This doesn’t really cost your company anything extra but can be a much appreciated donation for a worthy organization trying to make ends meet.  Remember this on your next trip!!

I decided right before Christmas to get involved in the blogging world as a way to get more engaged in conversations related to my passion which is gratefully also my work – business involvement in communities and business philanthropy.  When I set up the blog, I was immediately drawn to the Regulus template by Binary Moon.  Today when I was trying to research a few things I have not yet figured out, I found a section on the Binary Moon website, “Want to say thanks?”  It says, “I’ve been asked about a Paypal button for people who make use of the theme who want to say thanks. Well I didn’t make the theme to earn money but if you want to say thank you then you can do one (or more?) of the following.

• Post a comment on the latest Regulus Post saying thanks
• Post a comment on YOUR blog saying thanks and linking to me (I like links )
• Give some money to charity
• Donate some money towards my web hosting charges (uses paypal) – if I make more than I need to cover my server costs then I will give the remainder to charity
• And finally – if you really want to give me something, you can head over to Binary Sun – and buy one of my games. That way I won’t feel bad about taking your money and you get a game to play. “

I really liked that two of the ways to say thanks to Binary Moon for offering a free template were to either make a direct contribution to charity or to donate money toward their web hosting with any remainder being given to charity.  Now I feel even better about my new blog.  Is there something like this your company could do?  Thanks Binary Moon!! 

When standing in the checkout line at Whole Foods, I periodically see a display with tear off tags ($1, $2, or $5) inviting me, the customer, to select a tag in the amount I would be willing to donate to the Whole Planet Foundation. The mission of the Foundation is to create economic partnerships with the poor in developing world communities that supply Whole Foods Market stores with product by providing microloans to encourage entrepreneurism.  Microcredit is one of the causes my company, Business Nonprofit Connections, Inc., supports through various local and international NGOs.  So…what’s a buck?  A good cause that I believe in and it’s easy for me to take a tag and make a small donation.  Requires no preplanning, no strategic thinking, and I won’t notice not having that money.  Even if I wasn’t such a microcredit fan, it is still easy to do.  Combine my buck or two with the money from a lot of other customers and it can really add up.  This is a great example of a way any retail business can engage their customers to support the cause selected by the company, build reputation and customer loyalty.  Requires no big up front cash outlay by the company – just some signage and tags and a way to track donations in the cash register system.

Today in the Baton Rouge Whole Foods checkout line, I saw the Whole Foods Market 2008 Calendar for sale for $2.00.  What a deal!!  I needed a calendar to hang in my office and this one was the perfect choice.  It is a glossy page calendar with great photos from various countries and of Whole Foods team members with $13 in savings coupons inside for a super deal of a price…AND…100% of sales of the calendar go to benefit the Whole Planet Foundation.  On the January page of the calendar, it states that Whole Foods covers Whole Planet Foundation’s annual operating budget and that donations received by the Foundation are directed to microlending programs in the developing world.   The calendar reports on every photo page that “As of November 2007, Whole Planet Foundation has authorized over $5.9 million to support microlending programs in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, India and Indonesia with plans to expand to east Africa in 2008. This support has helped 14,429 entrepreneurs create small businesses in the developing world.   Average loan size is $157 with an average repayment rate of 99.8%.” 

Go buy your own calendar while they are still available! 

For information, go to:  www.wholeplanetfoundation.org  

Does your company give gifts to your clients during the holiday season as a way to say thank you for their business? This year, why not do something different? Some ideas could include:

• Make a donation to a nonprofit in your client’s name.  For example, see Mercy Corps Gift Kits which include a children’s food kit for $20, a women’s small business development kit for $40, and many more.  Their website says: “What’s the best present you can give a poor family in need?  Hope.  Change the way you see gift giving. Mercy Kits are a convenient way for you to give a gift while helping people in need. Perfect for birthdays, weddings and more. And it’s easy to send your personalized gift announcement: by mail, by e-mail or by printing your own card.” (http://www.mercycorps.org/mercykits/?source=1018)
• Instead of a traditional gift like a calendar, pen and pencil set, logo mug, sausage and cheese basket, buy a product produced and sold by a local nonprofit – like a soup kit made by Denver’s Women’s Bean Project - a nonprofit business dedicated to helping women break the cycle of unemployment and poverty through on-the-job training and life skills coaching,(http://www.womensbeanproject.com) or an American Red Cross disaster kit (http://www.redcross.org/store). 
• Send a greeting card that highlights your holiday give back to a local nonprofit…plus your message of thanks.  No gift necessary – just a card which you’d probably send anyway!

What have you done that could inspire other companies? Please share!