Local Business Sponsorship is Lopsided:

H How to provide real change in your community without being invisible

The importance of our local businesses is underrated Your local business often doesn’t  get the recognition you deserve from a community sponsorship perspective. As a neighbours and friends, local business provides the backbone support for many of our not for profits and service organizations. Yet these businesses are often lumped in with the same values of big business like Walmart and Amazon. This can feel lopsided.

These larger businesses are driven by bigger profits, and often erode the values that are fundamental to our human experience in our community. When the focus is primarily on GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and profits at the expense of the common good, values such as integrity and human respect are eroded and the environment we depend on is abused to the point of no return.

Overlooking the positive role small business places in capitalism

Although there is  a strong argument as to how big business erodes our values , they overlook a critical element of capitalism. They overlook the critical role locally owned business play in our society.

Small, local businesses provide an important part of a healthy community beyond the goods and services they provide to their community. These local businesses provide the support that so many community service organizations depend on:

• organizations like food banks
• sporting activities
• service clubs like the Rotary and Lions Clubs

As a local business owner, you’re probably nodding your head right now. It’s not that you want to be the center of attention for your good will. Or that charitable help must be exchanged with recognition.

But perhaps there is this feeling that you could be supporting something deeper, more transformational than a donation? Maybe even some frustration that you’re expected to donate money or goods and fade into the background, because you’re lumped in with the “faceless entities” of larger corps when that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Frustrated by sponsorship requests without the recognition? You’re not alone as a small business.

In my work helping communities return to their roots of feeling a sense of belonging, I have talked with many local business owners about this topic. And they tell me they feel underappreciated. If you are a local business owner, every day you get requests for financial support and you are glad to offer it. But you and your businesses do not get the recognition and support you deserve for the contribution you make to your community. Often, the same people who ask you for money are the ones who then shop at the big box stores and there is no mention of the community support your business makes for your community.

So we here at the Happy Community Project got to thinking. What if there was a way to match our proven transformation system to businesses that want to do deeper work, but don’t have the person power or know how to do it?

From this concept of reciprocal sponsorship, we have created the Happy Community Hero Program. In this program, your business gets the recognition you deserve. For work that is deeper than any one-time donation of sporting gear or a signed cheque. You are recognized for the hero you and your business truly are.

Becoming a Community Hero: how to be recognized for truly meaningful change in front of your community members

Becoming a Community Hero is simple and has powerful effect for your business.

Your business gets the recognition it deserves for your contribution to your community.

• The community project can be named after your business as a permanent reminder to your fellow citizens.
• Your community will see what you are doing for your community on a weekly basis
• Local media like newspapers and radio often want to interview you for the contribution you are making.
• Your business will receive the word of mouth attention it deserves.

And here is all you have to do:

1. Together we select the Community Champion that will lead your community in developing a project that strengthens social connectedness, belonging and caring in your community. Either you can recommend an employee or fellow citizen or we will help you find one.
2. You agree to sponsor the Community Champion for $2,800 plus taxes.

That’s it – we take care of the rest. We will walk the Community Champion through our proven process to create a project that gets high visibility in your community.

• We will train the Community Champion on how to engage their fellow citizens and create a project that has high visibility and high impact within your community
• We will spend at least 12 weeks with the Community Champion guiding them to success. We will mentor, coach and hand hold the Community Champion and their team through the Happy Community Project process and any obstacles they encounter along the way. Our goal is their success at engaging the community and bringing their project to life. We often are able to engage up to 80% of the community in the community Hero project.

All the Community Hero business has to do is what they normally do – sponsor the Community Champion and we and the Community Champion do the rest.

Everyone wins – the Community Champion gets to fulfill their dream for a happier community, the community becomes a happier community, and the business gets the recognition it deserves for being a Community Hero.

Interested in being a Community Hero?

Curious to see if we have someone locally that would be the perfect match to an initiative you’d like to sponsor?  We look forward to the conversation. barry@happycommunityproject.com 902-830-6569

Know a business that deserves to be a Community Hero? Pass this along.