Offering small business grants isn’t just about handing out money—it’s about creating opportunities, promoting growth, and building bridges between corporations and the communities they serve.
Small business grants benefit corporations by helping them build their reputations and bottom lines. Supporting small businesses with capital positively impacts your company, employees, and the communities you serve.
Small business grants are funding opportunities given to small businesses without any repayment requirements. Unlike loans, they are direct investments that help businesses launch, expand, or innovate.
Corporations that create grant programs for small businesses tap into a powerful tool for strengthening their brand and driving economic development in the communities they serve.
Offering small business grants isn’t just an altruistic endeavor for corporations; it's a strategic move that empowers organizations with several benefits. From strengthening employer brands to promoting economic development, these benefits are strategic tools corporations can use to their advantage.
A strong brand makes your company more attractive to top-tier professionals. Supporting small businesses aligns your organization with innovation, social responsibility, and purpose-driven values. It positions your corporation as forward-thinking and compassionate, something many prospective hires value.
Grants help stimulate local economies by creating jobs, encouraging spending, and improving local infrastructure. For example, FedEx’s Small Business Grant Contest has supported countless businesses, indirectly increasing demand for their shipping services while helping to build its reputation as a community partner.
Entrepreneurs who build successful businesses because of your corporation’s grants typically become lifelong customers. Providing grants creates ambassadors for your services, which helps to increase brand loyalty.
Employees love to see their employers making a difference. Corporations boost morale, loyalty, and productivity by promoting social responsibility through small business grants.
Corporations are increasingly being judged by their social impact. Offering grants helps to strengthen your organization’s connection to the local economy, establishing you as a partner in the community’s success.
Providing funding solutions for small businesses allows you to explore untapped markets. For example, grants targeting physicians who specialize in spinal leak care could help you enter an underserved niche in the healthcare sector and help address critical patient needs.
FedEx’s grant initiative is an excellent example of how businesses benefit from giving grants. Their contests offer $50,000 to small businesses, stimulating local economies while driving up demand for shipping services.
The Cupcake Collection, one of FedEx’s grant recipients, turned a small business started with a $5 investment into a company worth over $5 million when its founder, Mignon Francois, leveraged the $50,000 grant she won and FedEx’s shipping network to sell cupcakes all over the country. Mignon came up with the idea to sell cupcakes after selling a batch that cost $5 to make to a neighbor for $60.
Let’s examine the ripple effect of FedEx’s grant program:
The success of FedEx’s grant initiative can be replicated in other industries, such as healthcare, retail, and information technology. With the right approach, the possibilities are endless, inspiring business leaders to consider the potential for success in their own industries.
Grants have a far-reaching impact beyond the businesses they directly support. Some of the ways they benefit communities include:
Thinking about starting a grant initiative? Here’s the blueprint for building a successful program:
Identify your target businesses
The most vital component of a successful grant program is aligning your grants with small businesses whose success will positively impact your organization. For example, a corporation that offers WiFi services could offer grants for newly launched private practices focusing on accessibility via remote services to rural areas. If these businesses succeed, you probably end up with loyal customers.
That’s one of the strategies that make FedEx’s Small Business Grant Contest so successful. It’s only available to small businesses that sell a product, have been open for at least six months, and have a shipping need.
Offer multi-phase grants
A phased approach, such as startup funding, expansion support, and innovation grants, ensures your company’s sustained impact on local communities.
Market and measure
Promote your grant program with digital campaigns and track metrics like job creation, success rates, and community engagement. These stories are marketing gold.
Supporting small businesses with grants is a cornerstone of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and is excellent for public relations. Companies that prioritize CSR with grants reap benefits like increased customer loyalty, more substantial community support, and an improved reputation with stakeholders.
Providing small business grants is a smart growth strategy for corporations. It’s a valuable tool for exploring new markets, positively impacting local communities, and building your employer brand.
Ready to learn how to create impactful grant programs? Contact Medical Office Marketing to explore the best strategies for your organization.