Most business owners love giving to charity, in theory at least. But oftentimes businesses are strapped for cash, limited on staff, and short on time. Running a business often takes priority over charitable contributions. Yet many remain committed to giving back, even making it part of their company's core values. Have you ever wondered how supporting a charity can benefit your business? Corporate volunteerism and donations to charity don’t have to be a zero-sum game, and being involved can have a far-reaching positive impact.
There are many great charities in mid-Missouri that can be beneficial to your business and marketing strategy if you choose to support them. The Children’s Miracle Network is one of the best in the state, which is why Zimmer Communications continues to support them every year. Below we’ll give you some additional tips, tricks, and best practices to conduct cause marketing with charity organizations like the Children’s Miracle Network and reap great rewards for your business.
Why Zimmer Supports the Children’s Miracle Network
The main reason Zimmer holds radiothons to support CMN is to raise money and awareness for sick children at MU Health Care's Children’s Hospital. Besides volunteering to help, it shows the community why Zimmer Communications and its team are a valuable asset to the local area. These efforts can be massively effective! Charities benefit from the compound interest, credibility, and energy provided by partnering with businesses for support. For example, through the combined efforts of Zimmer Communications, along with our partner companies, our radiothons average a quarter of a million dollars each year - making it one of the top radiothons in the country!
And it’s not just Zimmer making a difference; it’s the incredible people in the local community that make the event a success. People genuinely care about making mid-Missouri, or their local communities, a better place to live. Supporting a local charity inspires other people to join the effort, challenge each other, work together and make a difference. Charitable support not only helps the community...it creates community as people are drawn together by a common cause.
Zimmer’s partnership with the Children’s Miracle Network is an ongoing, long-term relationship dating back quite some time. In fact, this year’s radiothon will mark the 14th year that Zimmer has partnered with CMN through MU Healthcare's Children’s Hospital for the annual Miracles for Kids Radiothon. During that time, Zimmer has raised more than $3.5 million to help benefit sick children right here in the Mid-Missouri area. Just ask someone in the local community, and you’re almost guaranteed to find someone who has a story about how they relied on the local Children’s Hospital for help and care.
Another reason that Zimmer supports CMN is that its effort to save kids’ lives is felt throughout communities in Missouri and across America. Think of it this way, there are 62 children that enter a CMN Hospital for treatment every minute—that comes out to one child every second. Some are battling cancer or are suffering from traumatic injuries, while others require constant care due to premature birth or genetic disorders. Regardless of their condition, the doors to CMN Hospitals are always open. As a matter of fact, the University of Missouri’s Women’s and Children’s Hospital admitted patients from each and every county in mid-Missouri, totaling more than 43,000 children admitted in 2015 alone.
Why Zimmer Does CMN Radiothons
Radiothons capture the story and challenge the community, drawing people together in a way that no other fund-raising opportunity can. The beauty of Zimmer’s CMN Radiothon is that every single dollar raised stays within the local community. And most importantly, CMN-Columbia, MO is one of the nation's top facilities where no child is ever turned away because their family is unable to pay for care. Now that's an inspiring story!
Our radiothons have also become an annual tradition, and the core message every year is the same: No parent should ever have to hear “Your baby isn’t going to make it.” This core goal and common objective tie employees together. Staff members from across different departments, who may not normally interact just because work responsibilities don't provide them the opportunity, stand shoulder-to-shoulder during a radiothon. Employees man the phone banks, broadcast live for extended hours, interview doctors, nurses, staff, and patients to hear their stories, and challenge & motivate their network of contacts, both business and personal, to help hit the campaign goals. There's no better team-building experience on the planet.
Why Your Business Should Support a Local Charity
The best thing about tying your business to a local charity is that it creates a positive brand image in the eyes of consumers. Now more than ever, people want to see that brands they purchase products and services from are socially conscious and support an important cause in one way or the other.
Supporting a local charity also gets your business more involved with the community, which is especially important if a majority of your business is generated locally. Ultimately, the support you give will go towards generating greater levels of brand awareness as the community sees your name associated with various charities or hears it mentioned in conjunction with radio advertising.
If you choose not to support a local charity, you’re missing out on a great marketing opportunity. It’s a great way to promote your business without having to actually promote too much. In fact, over-promotion while working with a charity can come across as distasteful, so be cautious. The focus should be on the cause or organization you’re supporting and generating positive outcomes. Consumers and other advertisers aren’t foolish, and will ultimately see through any phony attempts to leverage relationships with a charity.
Get out and step up. We challenge you! Find a cause or charity that makes sense for your specific business or industry. If you own a restaurant, for example, you could support a cause that helps feed the homeless or improve the quality of public school lunches. However, don’t be hamstrung if you don’t see a perfect fit out there. By taking action and supporting any cause or charity that does good for the community, you’ll be taking the most important first step. With that being said, those benefits will pay even more dividends the more closely aligned it is to your business and industry.
Hopefully, now you’ve been inspired to support a local charity like the Children’s Miracle Network via cause marketing and can see that it makes an impact for both people and profit.
What is your passion? What are areas of your community where you would most like to make a difference? As a business owner, you provide the knowledge, skills, experience, and relationships that these charities need. Get out and make a difference. We challenge you!
Find out how your business can join the effort by clicking here or on the image below. We'll be in touch with options that are the right fit for your business.
