Charity May Start at Work

Pro-bono pumping projects offer feel-good benefits and can bring your business recognition in the community.

Schonstedt Instrument Co. sells sophisticated electronic devices to locate underground sewer pipes, water lines and other utilities. But the company also gives away its products for another use.

Around the world, unexploded land mines linger long after wars end, lying in wait to take life and limb of innocent victims — often children. By donating its locating equipment to help get rid of those mines, the company aids the healing of countries ravaged by war.

Schonstedt also engages outsiders. The company solicits donations from customers and other groups in a two-for-one deal: If someone pays for one device for the mine-detection program, the company adds a second one. Since the program started a year ago, Schonstedt has supplied more than 100 locators to the cause, says James Bach, company spokesperson.

Schonstedt is not a small business in the mold of local service contractors, but its basic example is one that any business can follow on whatever scale is appropriate. Smart businesses are discovering distinctive, personal ways to give to charity. And you can too.

Giving back

Businesses give back out of a sense of obligation to the community, and certainly that is reward enough. But thoughtful choices in community service can also boost your business, promoting good will and name recognition that drives future sales.

Giving back is not limited to supporting the local United Way drive or providing uniforms to the youth soccer or baseball league. Savvy business owners instead find ways to tie their community service to the work they already do.

Lawrence Snow once operated a septic system and grease-trap pumping business in Las Vegas. In summer, he went to local camps and pumped their systems at no charge.

“This gave us a lot of mileage with the adult leadership at camp each week,” says Snow, now a business coach for Quality Service Contractors at the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association. “Each week there was a different group of adults at the camp.”

The camp’s weekly newsletter to parents and campers invariably included a thank-you to Snow’s company. Publicity wasn’t the main goal — being a good neighbor was. “But the overall outcome was that our name was out there,” he says.

Look around

Look around at your own business and the markets you serve. Do you have opportunities to offer pro-bono work or discounted service to charitable causes?

Mortenson Construction is a national building contractor based in Minneapolis, Minn., with offices across the country. Mark Sherry, managing director of the company’s office in Brookfield, Wis., says charitable donations of all kinds are a standard budget item — 1.5 percent of pre-tax earnings, not counting the time individual companies may donate for certain services.

Mortenson has a formal process to evaluate charitable work. “You don’t want to just say ‘no,’ and you don’t want to just say ‘yes,’” Sherry says. “We don’t have an open checkbook, but we have a pretty high budget to be able to do that.” A key is to choose projects that employees care about or are the priorities of major customers.

If Mortenson staffers are loyal to a particular charity, that group will jump ahead of charities that simply cold-call the company. Mortenson is a large company, but its principles easily adapt to small businesses. They include:

Set a benchmark for charitable and pro-bono work. You don’t have to give 1.5 percent of earnings. Some business owners use charitable work as a personal incentive: They set a high standard for contributions, and that helps motivate them to work harder.

Set criteria that will boost buy-in from employees or key customers. If your business has several employees, consider establishing a committee to screen charity requests.

Keep books on the work. Your records don’t have to be elaborate, but they should be detailed enough so you can figure out whether you’re meeting your benchmark. It also helps make sure you aren’t giving so much work away that your business suffers.

Watch the deductions

One caution: Even though you keep books on your contributions, you can’t deduct donated time on your taxes. You can deduct material, supplies and mileage just as on for-profit jobs. But the Internal Revenue Service considers your time “intangible” and so not deductible.

Some people think they can get around that rule by charging the charitable organization for work and then refunding payment for a deduction. Don’t do it. Remember, you have to declare the income, even if you deduct the donation on the other end. And if the income actually bumps you into a higher tax bracket, you could end up money behind. So keep it simple and just write off the tangible items.

Giving back to your community helps you remember some of the bigger things in life beyond the bottom line. Doing it smartly helps you keep the bottom line healthy, too.



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