It goes without saying that holidays tend to bring out the good in people. It’s a time to reflect on one’s good fortune and on those less lucky. During this time of the year many companies use it as an opportunity to give back. Yes, it is a great time to feed the homeless, adopt a stray animal, help build a house, send care packages to our troops overseas or give presents to children who would otherwise be forgotten. Our hats go off to all those organizations that do something special this time of year.

But what about this? How about for 2019 we look at giving throughout the year and not only during the holidays. All year long there are homeless people in need, animals waiting for their forever homes, houses to be built, brave servicemen and women away from home and children in need of care.  With that idea in mind, why not look at those things you could do during all the forgotten months of January through November.  A few years ago, Oster and Associates decided to do just that. The agency provided marketing services to one nonprofit for the year.  Here is what it brought us as a company:

• An opportunity to be involved in projects that would allow us to use our creativity in ways a paying client might not be able to afford
• Connections with a completely new part of the community that we didn’t previously know
• A learning experience for the entire staff about some new facet of our society, our service or our agency
• Newly energized and motivated employees that wanted to work with a company that thought differently from the average marketing agency
• Industry and community awareness for the uniqueness of our projects
• Strong team-building around the way we could make a difference

Let’s face it.  This is a hectic time of year.  I’m not suggesting you don’t do those “feel good” things at Christmas, but why limit it to just Christmas?  The benefits you will get back as an organization far outweigh whatever effort or materials you’ve given.  And if your heart is in the right place in doing what you’re doing, then it becomes something worth sharing with your colleagues, your customers and your community.  Sharing that kind of story is one of our favorite things to do from a PR perspective.

Interested in how you could take this idea into a new program for your organization in 2019?  Maybe the creative team at Oster could help you with a direction you had never considered!