A new year is here, a fresh start and a built-in time to reassess, take stock and set meaningful goals.
We’re excited about 2015 for many reasons. First of all, our new stores are entering the year poised for success! (More about them to come later.) Second, each new year brings new opportunities for us to impact our local communities for good, which is one of our main goals as a company.
At Urban Mattress, we take our social responsibility as a franchise and individual franchisees very seriously. It’s one of the main reasons we’re here, as the majority of us came from the nonprofit sector looking to make a difference through sustainable business practices. So of course we keep track of trends among businesses like us—those that are constantly looking for the best ways to give back.
Apparently, movement that direction is growing, as more and more people see the results that companies like us are getting and understand that being good citizens is good for the bottom line, too.
A recent Huffington Post article quoted a manager of the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP), a coalition of CEOs from 150 of some of the world’s largest companies: “Corporate giving is being used as more than a way to manage reputation and stockholders, but as a growth driver, platform for innovation and a way to drive a corporate culture,” he said.
Companies are now using social impact as a performance benchmark and they’re working hard to engage employees in meaningful volunteerism or other community investment. Research has shown that employees who feel they are doing good with their work are happier and more likely to stay.
Simply running a good, honest business that provides quality products at reasonable prices should never be overlooked as a benefit to a community! But companies nowadays are thinking beyond that. There are lots of ways to give back—in-kind services, product donations, volunteer hours and employer-matching programs are some popular tools toward business social responsibility.
Over the years, we’ve learned that doing good in a community isn’t as easy as donating money to this cause or that. It’s about connecting with local folks, needs and opportunities in ways that create lasting change.
Of course, creating lasting change isn’t always that easy. There’s a complex interplay between societal forces and individual choices that affect each life and those it touches. But we try to be as smart as we can about what we do with our resources to invest in making our communities better off.
We like our model of partnering with hand-picked local nonprofits and letting our customers choose which partner gets 2 percent of their purchase. Our individual stores also donate mattresses to children’s homes and other nonprofits. But we’re always looking for other commonsense ways to make a difference.
As we enter 2015, we have so much to be grateful for and so much to look forward to. We’ve been growing and successful as a company and want to make the most of it.
If you have any suggestions on ways we could benefit society as a business, please let us know! We love new ideas and we’d love to hear from you!