Of course you want to help others, it’s human nature. Most likely, you get more requests at your salon than you can easily respond to. Sponsorships, donations, gift certificates, and services—there are nonprofit groups that can benefit from anything we have to give.

Don’t be afraid to draw attention to all your efforts to help others. There’s nothing wrong with benefitting from what you’re doing for the community, in fact it’s necessary because the more you benefit from your efforts…the more you can continue to do for others.

Just a few very simple ideas include:

1. When giving away gift certificates for charity, make sure to get a photograph of someone picking it up, that way you can post it on social media and tag the recipient charity. Their followers and yours will be excited to see your involvement.

2. Be a collection point. Several nonprofits need companies to step forward and take collections to further their cause. Collect coats, food, or even school supplies. Research first, and find the appropriate nonprofit to align with, and spread the word.

3. Make donations part of your marketing budget. It’s easier to stick with a plan when you actually have one.

4. Let the local media know what you’re up to. Local media loves public interest stories, and they want to hear from you. If you’re collecting school supplies for those in need, reach out to all the local media and let them know. Once you’ve created a list of media friends to reach out to, it’s easy to stay in touch when something happens that you think they’ll like to know about.

5. Choose wisely. You can’t do it all, so make sure you pick community support projects that allow you further your cause as well as theirs.

6. Make a page on your web site to show what you’ve done. The search engine results alone make this page worth the effort.

7. Ask your staff about causes they would like to support. Many of your stylists already have organizations they relate to, so they’ll be even more excited to work on projects that have personal meaning.

You’re most likely already donating quite a bit of time and energy to community causes. Don’t beshy about benefitting from this and drawing attention to it. The more you benefit from your owndonations, the more donations you’re able to make. Support others by supporting yourself.

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