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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Entrepreneurs
may work eight days a week -- but it's not only for themselves and their
families.
Nine out of 10 business owners (92 percent of women and 88 percent of men)
contribute money to charities, compared to a giving rate of 70 percent among all
U.S. households, according to a new study released by the National Foundation
for Women Business Owners (NFWBO).
Although women and men have similar giving habits, the study found some
interesting differences between the ways men and women view charitable
contributions.
"High net worth women business owners are even more philanthropic than
their male counterparts," observed Doris Meister, chairman and CEO of
Merrill Lynch Trust Co., which underwrote the survey conducted by NFWBO. Half of
women with assets of $1 million or more contribute at least $10,000 annually to
charity, compared to 40 percent of male entrepreneurs. While women and men
business owners with a high net worth both volunteer an average of about 16
hours a month, 94 percent of these women, compared to 83 percent of these men,
serve in leadership positions with charitable organizations.
Making a year-end contribution
With the holiday season approaching, and as year-end profit and loss
calculations roll in, many business owners begin thinking seriously about making
contributions to their favorite charities.
"The old adage that it's
better to give than to receive is never more true than during the holiday
season," says Ira Almeas, vice president of sales at Impact Incentives and
Meetings Inc. of East Hanover, N.J. "Our employees got together years ago
and agreed that in the season of giving, let's give to those that might need it
most. Our cause is the Valerie Fund, an organization that manages treatment
centers for children with cancer and blood disorders."
Founded in 1976, in memory of Valerie Goldstein, the Valerie Fund is a New
Jersey charity that offers support groups, a day school and free summer camp for
children with cancer and blood disorders.
"We go one step further by acknowledging the gifts with greeting cards that
benefit other nonprofit organizations," Almeas said. "Three years ago,
one of our clients called me after receiving our holiday charity card. In tears,
she informed me that her 3-year-old is a cancer patient at one of the benefited
clinics."
Making a gift of time
If you can't contribute cash, you can still give your time to a favorite charity when your business is stable. "A person with a growing business may have no time, energy or money to give," says Jay Goltz, CEO of Artists' Framing Service in Chicago. "If your company is on shaky ground, your first responsibility is the company," adds Goltz, who is now an active mentor and volunteer in his community.
Although he's turned down invitations to sit on nonprofit boards because
"they want money and friends with money," he serves on the board of
the American Cancer Society. He volunteers and often donates in-kind services
from his company -- like frames for a photo exhibit the charity produced.
If money is tight, entrepreneurs volunteer their time to aid good causes.
Shelley
Seale, president of RPS, a relocation business in Cedar Hill, Texas, started her
business in 1990. Seale has always been an active volunteer and continued to
give her time when she went into business for herself.
"Time is just as or more valuable than money," she said.
Seale manages a program called Girls Who Dare, which introduces girls to the
concept of business ownership during meetings held once a week over an
eight-week period.
"When I was starting out, it never occurred to me that I could fail,"
Seale said. "But a lot of these girls come from families that tell them
they can't be anything or do anything."
Employees get involved
Seale's company also started the Making a Difference Fund in 1996, which donates
10 percent of her company's profits to charity. Her employees, who can adjust
their schedule to volunteer and are encouraged to do volunteer work on company
time, also decide which charities will receive funds.
A happy result of her philanthropy has been the hiring of two top employees.
They actually sought her out after learning about her company's commitment to
charitable work.
"Our work has attracted good publicity," Seale said. "People get
to see what I'm doing in the community."
Marilyn Heise, president of Heartfelt Greetings, Northfield, Ill., the card
company that sells cards to Impact Incentives and Meetings Inc., says businesses
often buy her cards to use for bonus checks, holiday greetings and thank yous.
"It's good for their image and marketing," says Heise, who has a
background in marketing. "It presents them as caring."
This time of year, entrepreneurs are bombarded with requests for contributions
by all sorts of organizations. Be sure to do some research before making a
donation.
"There are about six charities out there called the '(something) cancer
society,'" but only one is the American Cancer Society," said Deborah
Strauss, executive director of the IT Resource Center in Chicago, Ill., a
nonprofit organization that provides technical support and advice to other
nonprofit organizations. She said they are focusing more attention on soliciting
donations from small businesses because big corporate mergers tend to reduce
local big business support for charities.
While you should deduct the true market value of your donation, be able to back
up your claims with solid documentation in case the IRS questions the
deductions.
Jane Applegate, a
syndicated columnist and author of
201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business, covers small business for CNN.com. "Succeeding in Small Business" appears on CNN.com on Wednesdays.
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