We are nearing the end of the year when we will be asked to give to numerous charitable causes. Many times, business charitable gifts are tossed to the marketing department to fulfill. Often that requires you to put together an ad for a sponsorship, press release, social media post, etc. Is there a marketing bounce to be gained out of charitable giving or are you simply being a good corporate citizen with your marketing dollars?

If you are smart about how you go about your corporate charitable giving, these kinds of opportunities can be great for marketing. It takes some planning on your part to make this work. That means you cannot say yes to every charity that comes calling. The first step I would encourage you to do is some soul-searching. Ask the following questions:

• What is it you are passionate about? Define this in specific terms. For instance, if you want to give to children’s causes, do you want to support children’s literacy, health causes, sports teams, poverty, STEM ed, etc.?

• Are there some charities that align well with your brand? I know corporations in the health industry that are involved with specific community health charities, such as supporting mental health or corporations in the construction industry that support charities such as Habitat for Humanity.

• If your industry does not align with a specific charity, do your customers or vendors? Can you help support a charity that would be a passion of theirs? Does it make sense for you to collaborate rather than going it alone? If so, find your charity in the company of others.

Whatever you decide, get specific with your corporate giving direction. This will help you focus on the types of groups that fit you and help you say no to the ones that do not.

The next step is to create a unique marketing opportunity for your brand. Try to do something that not everyone else is doing. Are there top sponsorships? Take advantage of the exclusiveness these opportunities grant you. Try to own the sponsorship. If that does not fit, look for other ways your brand can stand out from the crowd by supporting a charity. That could be as simple as opening your doors for gifts to be gathered for Christmas, promoting the cause on your social media, or putting a giving thermometer in your front yard that shows how close the charity is to reaching its goal. These are all ways to get behind the charity and link your brand to it – a marketing win for you.

One more step I would encourage you to do is find a cause that your employees can get behind, and not just by giving money. There is something to be said about a charity that allows employees to get their hands dirty. You will get much better buy-in from the entire organization if you open up opportunities for them and their families. Along those same lines, I would encourage you to do the same thing with your customers. Encourage them to get involved with you too. There are tons of marketing opportunities at fundraisers, volunteering to help after hours, sitting on charitable boards, etc. together with your customers. Remember that marketing is not just promoting your brand with your customer, but forming a relationship with them so that they become lifelong customers.

The charitable giving season is upon us. Look for ways you can bolster your marketing efforts through your giving.