Philanthropy is Fun for Everyone: March Madness Edition 

Employees want to get involved. Let’s find creative ways to make philanthropy fun and easy.

We all filled out our brackets! Whether we are interested in the games or not, have you noticed that March Madness is something everyone can get into at least a little bit?  

I feel the same rings true with philanthropy.  In many ways, being philanthropic is just as basic, yet fun as participating in March Madness.  Here are some fun comparisons!  

You can care a lot or not much at all, but still participate. 

You know the person who picks the teams based on their mascot? Well, you can do that with philanthropy as well.   

Take for instance, you care a lot about children’s charities.  Then perhaps you support those and don’t do a lot of research on what each one is doing, but you at least know enough to feel confident in supporting them in some way.  

This is not the ideal way to give because a little research is always good, but it certainly is a strategy to start getting involved! 

There are big winners, but also small wins along the way. 

We all know the big non-profits and feel comfortable supporting them, again, because we know their logo, or they have a really strong reputation.  They always seem to win, right?  They might, but it is fun to consider your small, local non-profit that serves food on Sundays to the needy or something similar.  Everyone might not know their name, but they are winning by helping a specific population in a community.  

There is always a “Cinderella Story.” 

Remember that small non-profit?  If you look closely enough at organizations like this, they have amazing moments all the time.   

Because they are smaller, they often can have closer relationships with their clients and be more engaged with their communities.  Let these organizations shine because in many cases they are the ones doing the “bootstraps” work to make our communities better places.   

Lessons are learned, and strategies are adjusted. 

Just like for profit businesses, non-profits do not always get things right.  This can be hard when you have donated your time or money to an organization and then they somehow don’t succeed at something.  However, I can tell you from experience that non-profit leaders are scrappy!  They will pivot their strategies on a dime and try something new.  A lot of times they have the advantage of not climbing the corporate ladder to get something approved.  New approaches can be tried and adjusted, if needed.  It is fun to watch and be a part of!  

I must admit I did not fill out a bracket this year, but I usually do.  However, this has not kept me from watching some of the games, following the underdogs, and celebrating with my friends in just a few days if they end up picking the “right” team.   

I challenge you to look at philanthropy with the same lens.  Get involved, watch what happens, celebrate wins, learn from losses, and perhaps most importantly, have fun seeing others succeed.  

The Businessolver Foundation wishes all the teams participating in this month’s March Madness the best of luck and we will be eagerly watching while we are busy fulfilling the hearts of our communities as well.