4 Easy Ways You Can Give Back as a Business

How to incorporate philanthropy into your wedding business

Serving and supporting others is a big part of what you do as a wedding pro. From helping couples navigate through hard times and difficult decisions to finding ways to go above and beyond in order to make someone’s day, you likely got into the wedding industry because your heart wanted to help. But, in addition to making an impact on your couples’ lives, have you thought about ways you can make an impact on your local community? There are lots of ways you can think about giving back to your community and today we wanted to share four easy ways you can incorporate philanthropy into your business as a wedding pro. Read on to see what they are and make a plan to give back!

Donate money 

If you are wanting to make sure that you are helping non-profit and philanthropic organizations get what they need to do the work, distribute resources, and support people in your community, perhaps the most effective thing you can do is donate money. That is because most organizations rely on grant money and the generosity of their donors to keep the doors open. If you are in a position to write a check, here are two ways you can think about doing so:

• Commit to a regular donation that is a percentage of your profits, bookings, or shop sales to a cause you are passionate about. You might have seen companies pledging 1% to the planet and here are two wedding pros who have similar initiatives!

Florist Lily Roden donates a percentage of her bookings to sponsor 5 children to go to school in her birth country of El Salvador. And, WeddingPro Educator Leah Weinberg donates a percentage of her profits to organizations like the ACLU, ASPCA, and Project Q.

• Make an annual donation to your favorite organization on Giving Tuesday. The holiday season is always an important time of the year for nonprofits to fundraise, so you can support them in a time when people in your community are often in extra need

Volunteer time

If your core values include something along the lines of “being there for your people,” giving back with your time is an amazing thing to do as a business. Because, when you really think about it, supporting your community means showing up and really being a part of the solution. So, if you are ready to live your core values and show up in person, here are a few easy ways you can do that:

• Offer your team members paid time off as a thank you for volunteering some of their time at a local non-profit that needs hands-on help
• Book a day on your team’s calendar to volunteer somewhere together as a way to give back while also getting in some team bonding time
• Think about making yourself available for a pro bono project for your favorite organization
• Contribute in-kind donations of your time (think: something you can do from home or your studio and send)

Haven’t written your core values down? Block a bit of time to do so and then check out these ways you can incorporate your core values into your branding and marketing.

Educate yourself and your audience

More than giving your time and money, you can incorporate philanthropy into your business by using your platforms to help educate your audience about issues you care about. From channeling your passion for the environment into educating your couples about ways they can plan a green wedding to investing in your own education about how to be a better ally and then educating your audience about the issues LGBTQ+ youth face, you are already someone people turn to for information. 

• Regularly share smaller bits of information and links in your social media content
• Update the about page on your website to talk about your favorite organization
• Write a blog post once or twice a year that gives updates about things you have learned and the work the organizations you support are doing

Speaking of becoming a better ally—WeddingPro Educator Kirsten Ott Palladino has a great LGBTQ+ certification program.

Host a drive 

Our last way you can give back as a business puts your skills as a wedding pro to work—host a drive! Whether you host a toy or food drive during the holidays or collect school supplies to send to kids in need, you have the unique ability to plan and execute a successful give back campaign for your community. Need a little inspiration? We heard that wedding photographer Cavin Elizabeth recently rallied her San Diego community to collect items that are highly requested by the homeless and then she distributed them with her husband!

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