by
Laura Huff
| Jun 16, 2016
Adding a social mission to your ranch or small business design has many benefits you may have never considered! Of course others will benefit specifically from your donations or work, but what benefits will you feel on your side?
- You will bring in more business. This is because customers feel more inclined to buy knowing their money is going to a greater good.
- With the goal of sharing your profits, your business plan will have another driving aspect to keep you motivated on a regular basis.
- Publicity usually comes with donations or other acts of giving. Your business or ranch name could reach an entire new group of people through this extra media attention.
Examples of businesses with a guiding social mission:
Our customers the Chase family, of Sand Dollar Ranch, give large amounts of their own money each year to youth involved with the Texas Longhorn industry. They know the importance of education and believe all young people deserve the opportunity to go to college. Sales of their show-bred cattle are impacted by the generous amount they are able to donate every year through the Autobahn Youth Tour. They also play a role in the added responsibility to these students keep them pushing forward to better their program. See the
Sand Dollar Ranch website or the
Autobahn Youth Tour website for more information.
Charitable Agents is a real estate company with a different idea on service. Clients tell them what kind of property they would like to buy or sell and then they are matched with one of the Charitable Agents realtors. Once a sale is made, 10% of the realtor’s commission is donated to a charity of the client’s choosing. What a great way to ease just a little of the stress that comes with buying and selling property!
TOMS is a company that began by donating one pair of shoes for every pair sold. Today, they have many more products and many more donations. They provide eyecare, clean water, train birth attendants and donate needed supplies for safe birthing and train school staff on strategies to address bullying issues happening between their students. TOMS also sources their products in areas in which the community will benefit from the sale. Their stylish, responsible items keep customers coming back from more and allow them to continue the work they have started.
With locations throughout Texas,
Amy’s Ice Creams may be a family favorite for some of you! This company supports community events alongside non-profits, schools and other organizations instead of spending money on advertising. The advertising for each event does more than enough to get the word out about Amy’s Ice Creams and other press surrounding the the events only adds to their reputation. They make it easy for non-profits to partner with them through their donations of gift certificates, ice cream outings and ice cream socials (for larger groups). See a Pinterest board with a few of the causes they have supported
here, or
watch this video from one of the founders of Amy’s Ice Creams.
One of our customers is the
Texas Longhorn Heritage Foundation, or TLHF. This organization supports Longhorn breeders who find themselves in need of assistance and also provides scholarships to individuals carrying on the Longhorn tradition. This is a nonprofit organization, so it is a little different than the other examples we have given. However, their range of projects gives great ideas of different ways to help those right in your community. To see their list of these past projects, visit the TLHF
website.
As you can see, adding a social mission to your ranch or business plan could give you an extra edge and motivating factor. Plus, the opportunities for giving are infinite! We thank all of our customers already working to give out of their own pockets and encourage you to
share with us about any Longhorn or Whitetail breeders you know are going above and beyond.