Your startup should consider how to integrate giving back from the beginning. There are several impacts that will make this approach a hit for your venture. Giving back is key to letting the community know you are actively helping make the community a better place. Exposing your venture to the community by giving back will also help your company gain trust and some word-of-mouth buzz.

There are many noble causes that your venture could help, but I would recommend choosing local non-profits and events as much as possible. This will enable you to directly see the outcomes of your participation.

I believe there are 3 categories of giving back. They are time, talent and money (TTM). I strongly recommend giving back in the order I have listed those categories.

• Time - Before really making a great impact you should get to know your community and non-profits within your community. It is important that you are sure you understand the cause and that it potentially in some way aligns with your venture. Offering time initially also gives you insight into what would really give the greatest benefit when giving back. Allowing team members and employees time during the work week to help out these ventures is also a great way to help without requring them to use weekends and vacation time.
• Talent - Offering talent is a great way to give back in areas that may be more important than a monetary donation. Maybe there is a need for design work or providing some additional marketing or advertising. This is a great approach because it gives individuals a chance to provide something aligned with a passion or a hobby (that may or may not be directly aligned to their role within your venture).
• Money - Money being infused into the community or a local charity is always appreciated. There is a good chance that local parks, events and charities have slim budgets to provide the community with what is needed. You can feel good about helping local causes, however, you will see more of the benefits when giving back in the first two categories.

My original interest in offering more than my time, led me to thinking about volunteering my talents as well. I was also inspired by Skills for Change. When giving back, figure out the best fit for your venture and put action behind your plan. The local community will be a better place for your efforts.