Why Local Businesses Should Support Local Education

It is a well documented fact that supporting a charity as a business has a positive effect on how customers view your brand, as well as, of course, helping a good cause. When deciding on a cause to offer support to, however, many businesses forget that it is not just charities that need help with fundraising. Schools are always in need of extra resources so that they can buy the best equipment to help their pupils learn important new skills, and schools that are successful when it comes to fundraising tend to get the best results. If you are a small business looking for a cause to support, then a local primary school could well be an even better choice than a charitable foundation. Here we look at why.

Schools Affect Almost All of Your Customers, Clients or Clients

Schools affect nearly everybody. Even if you don't have children yourself, you probably have friends or relatives who do, and of course, you will have gone to school yourself in the past. Schools are therefore a relatable subject for all of your clients, potential customers, and business partners, something that other charities may not be. Everybody is aware of the need schools have for funding, and the fact that a business is involved in helping with a school's fundraising efforts can help it to cultivate a reputation as a company that cares about the local community, local families, and the future of the area they live in.

Education is Important to the Future of Business

Primary school children may seem incredibly tiny when you look at them now, but it'll only be 10-15 years before they are your customers and even your employees. Unless you are running a business with a very short shelf life, which you probably are not, you should care very much about future business. The quality of education your future employees and clients get at a young age is important, and of course, by growing up in a school that has a positive relationship with your brand, this new generation of customers is likely to think of your business favourably in the future.

What You Can Do

Once you have chosen a local school to support and spoken to them about beginning a relationship, there are a lot of ways you can get involved. One is by simply offering financial assistance, for example gifting resources to the school. Another is to be involved on a practical level with the whole range of seasonal fundraising ideas schools tend to use. You could, for example, sponsor their summer fair, or buy up a load of their child designed Christmas cards or calendars to send to all of your clients or customers at Christmas. You can also offer practical help, like giving kids tours of your facilities, or having members of your team go and give talks about different interesting topics you are experts in, for example IT or design.
Get involved with a local school, and you should see plenty of benefits in terms of brand identity, as well as getting the satisfaction of making a real difference in your local community.