This past week, we had the pleasure of attending the Northwestern Michigan Fair held in Traverse City. For the past seven years, we’ve been “going to the fair, going to the fair, going to the Northwest Michigan Fair” to support our local 4-H programs and this great community event.
Businesses, particularly financial institutions, are notorious for putting their names on events and causes. This is mainly done via sponsorships, and most businesses would put this under their business's marketing and advertising umbrella. While at the fair, it got me thinking about why and when businesses should sponsor and support local causes, events, and nonprofits.
P.T. Barnum is credited with saying, "There is no such thing as bad publicity." Although there is some truth to that adage, most business owners would agree that they probably wouldn't want to gain notoriety akin to Jack in the Box in the early 1990s or Enron in the early 2000s. Many small business owners consider their reputation one of their most significant assets, meaning anything they align themselves with will likely be congruent with their values. As a business grows and decisions spread amongst other employees, the events and causes a business aligns itself with will change. The business, however, should continue to ask itself if this sponsorship, cause, or event is a good investment, in line with its values, or even appropriate at this time. Whatever cause a business chooses to support, it should be able to affirm at least one of these questions. I have attended many awkward luncheons in which the main sponsor is recognized with a round of applause, yet no one representing that sponsor was there. Sometimes, this can be a scheduling issue, but more often than not, there was no authentic reason that the business sponsored that cause or event. Not making authentic investments in the community can almost create a feeling of bad publicity. If your business is looking for an organization or cause to support, find one that fits your organization's values.
At 4Front, we partner and participate in several community organizations and events. With the large number of requests we receive, we’ve developed a few areas of focus to help guide us toward the community investments we make. Two areas are financial literacy and youth empowerment. Both hit the mark when looking at the context of the local 4-H programs. The swine auction (or any of the livestock auctions) requires these young people to essentially run their own small businesses. To have a successful fair, they must invest their time, market their project, and be accountable to themselves and their project. When they do these things, they tend to maximize their profits. We truly believe that engaging and supporting the community is essential in making the places we live, work, and play better for ourselves and for those who come after us.
Announcing recent closings:
$270,000 to enable the purchase of an automotive repair shop
$1,327,000 to facilitate the purchase of a Northern Michigan lakefront cottage resort
$850,000 to finance the renovations of a bar/restaurant
Saving our members' money!
Recently, we worked with a borrower looking to expand her business. The credit union financed the purchase of her business in 2020, and she found herself going from a $60,000-per-year employee to the owner of a company. In her first year, she had just under $400,000 in sales. She then grew that into over $1 million in two years. Not only did the business grow, but she could pay off her initial acquisition financing. This expansion loan was an SBA 7a loan for $80,000, which the borrower could take over more office space for her staff, have additional working capital to increase capacity, and continue growing and becoming more profitable.
