Why A Non-Profit Organization Should Join VIA

Seven Reasons Why A Non-Profit Organization
Should Join VIA

 

Regardless of the size of a Non-Profit Organization, its marketing budget, or years in business, there are valuable reasons why a Non-Profit organization should join VIA. Whether the Non-Profit Organization is on the national or local level, all non-profits strive for the same goals……to promote awareness of their organization, the services they offer to the community, and to raise the much needed funds to ensure that the organization and the programs that they offer will continue to serve their clients and the community at large. Via offers ways in all these areas to achieve these goals. Below is listed a few of them……

1. Visibility. Yes, you’ve heard it said time and time again, that “out of sight means out of mind”. By being a member of VIA, attending their events, and participating in business related activities, your nonprofit organization stays visible to the business professionals in our community and informs them of ways they can support your organization..

2. Access To Community Leaders & Elected Officials. When you join VIA and actively get involved you’ll discover that meeting prospects who may have an interest in your organization or who can refer you to the key contacts you’re trying to reach, is a huge benefit of membership. From being on committees or attending specific events where prospects are likely to be, you’ll find yourself in situations where you can identify and meet decision makers face-to-face.

3. Ongoing Training, Education & Professional Development. VIA offers leadership training for members through their Leadership Academy.  Members can stay updated, informed and educated all included in the price of their membership. VIA also offers training and education periodically throughout the year on a variation of topics.

4. Networking. From seminars, luncheons, the VIA B2B Show, VIA Rocks Networking Mixers, membership referrals and various business committees, there’s absolutely no excuse for not being able to meet new contacts, referrals and people who can help you with ideas and additional ways to increase the visibility and goals of your organization. These avenues are great for promoting your non-profits events and fundraisers.

The old adage, out of sight, out of mind, is so true when it relates to networking. VIA gives you several different venues to meet new people and always stay “in sight”.

5. Low cost advertising opportunities. As far as visibility at the local level, VIA offers a wide range of affordable advertising options and sponsorship packages for just about every non-profit, regardless of how big or small their budget may be. VIA offers news and advertising opportunities through its web and printed newsletter, insert opportunities at the Monthly Luncheon, sponsorship opportunities at various events, and exhibitor opportunities to showcase your organization at the annual VIA B2B Show.

6. Advocacy. VIA researches, lobbies and routinely discusses with local and regional government units, politicians and the media issues that are relevant to the needs, goals, and challenges of the Non-Profit Community. VIA keeps their membership up to date on central issues of importance pertaining to their membership and the community.

7. Credibility. As a member of VIA, your organization will be viewed as a reputable, professional Non-Profit Organization that is connected to its business community. This affiliation is also important when applying for grants and other donations.

Top 10 Things Small Businesses Can Be Thankful For This Holiday Season

 

Well, we just all got through the elections and they may or may not have gone the way you had hoped.  Regardless of the outcome, we are all hopeful and optimistic that the future of businesses will continue to prosper and grow, especially for small business entrepreneurs.  After all, entrepreneurship is part of the American Dream! It is through entrepreneurial optimism that business owners are finding business and personal success. One way for small business owners (and the larger ones too) to remain positive and optimistic is to remember the things we have to be thankful for in our companies and careers as we start this Thanksgiving holiday week and move forward right into the holiday season. Below is a list I found created by AllBussiness.com of the top ten things small businesses can be thankful for.

So here they are….I hope you enjoy them and give thanks for them this holiday season.  The top 10 things small businesses can be thankful for this holiday season and throughout the year:

10. The economy really is getting better. No doubt about it, things are still tough for many people, but there are more and more positive signs out there, boding well for companies large and small. The major stock market indexes have shown surprising strength, credit card issuers report that delinquencies have slowed, and U.S. retail sales currently stand at their highest level in more than two years. That’s all good news for small businesses, especially consumer-facing firms. Even as most prices small businesses pay remain low, some small businesses are reporting that they’ve been able to increase profits by raising prices.

9. The Internet and social media. From Facebook to Twitter to eBay to email marketing, the Internet’s impact on small business is impossible to overstate. The Internet has made it possible for even the smallest companies to sell their products and services around the world, to work with suppliers and employees in remote locations, and to inexpensively market to millions (or billions) of people at once. On the Web nobody knows you’re a small business — in many ways you’re competing on a level playing field with the Fortune 500. And that’s not all. The Web also makes it easy to get the information you need to make your business successful — not to mention network with your peers for advice and support.

8. John Boehner is one of us. No matter what your political persuasion, it’s not insignificant that the incoming Speaker of the House comes from a small business background. Boehner often speaks in emotional tones about his experiences tending bar and mopping up the floors at his family’s small business, Andy’s Cafe, a pub in Carthage, Ohio. Before entering Congress he also worked as a salesman for Nucite Sales, a marketing firm for plastics manufacturers. It remains to be seen if Boehner’s real-world experience will prove a boon to small business once he takes the helm of the lower chamber — but the opportunity is there.

7. Small businesses can expect some relief on health care. The Obama administration is relaxing health care regulations so businesses can jump to another insurance company without having to conform to new coverage mandates. The biggest beneficiary of the recent ruling by the Department of Health and Human Services is expected to be small employers, which were just hit with a big rate increase.

6. Great employees. Small business owners have the privilege of leading some of the most dedicated, resourceful, productive workers in the world. And unlike large multinational corporations, small businesses often get the opportunity to work directly in cooperative teams with their employees, free of much of the bureaucracy and red tape that hobble bigger organizations.

5. It’s easier than ever to hire new workers. One positive side effect of the economic malaise is the creation of an employer’s hiring market. Small businesses that are hiring have access to better, more qualified workers than at any other time in memory. And many of these exemplary employees are happy to work for reasonable wages.

4. New financing options. Traditional bank loans and venture capital may be hard to come by these days, but we’ve also seen the emergence of innovative new ways to raise money. Small business grants and microloans, for example, are increasing in importance and availability. Angel investors are also taking on new importance. Perhaps even more important, if you can land a loan, interest rates continue to remain at historic lows.

3. Small is the new large. Revolutionary changes in technology– including the increasing consumerization of business tech, the rise of cloud computing, and Software as a Service (SaaS) are dramatically cutting the cost of equipping a business and building a computing infrastructure. Best of all, these trends seem tailor-made for the needs of small businesses — especially startups — not saddled with the legacy systems that can hinder many older, larger companies.

2. America. Small business owners like to carp about overregulation, taxes, and other problems. Those are all very real issues. But compared to most other countries, the good old USA still represents a unique combination of freedom; relatively low taxes and non-intrusive regulations; a skilled, diverse workforce; an entrepreneurial culture with unlimited opportunities; rich and varied sources of capital; and a transparent and consistent business culture maintained by rule of law, not connections, bribery, and influence. Really, where else would you want to run your small business?

1. You are your own boss! The best part of running a small company has always been that you’re in business for yourself, not someone else. So go ahead, take Friday off — the boss won’t mind.

Laura
Laura Kirchhoff
Development Associate-Special Events
Child & Family Center
21545 Centre Pointe Parkway, Santa Clarita, Ca. 91350
661.255.6847 x3166   Laura.Kirchhoff@childfamilycenter.org
SCV Chamber of Commerce Ambassador of the Year

It’s Never Too Late!!

Well, with the Labor day holiday behind us, I guess Summer is officially over and Fall is upon us. This means we only have four more months to the end of the year. Back in January, were you one of the many people who vowed to make this year the year that you were going to become more aggressive in meeting new people and getting more involved with the business community? The growth and success of your business is counting on you! Yes, it may be September, but it is not too late if you have not yet started or have not gotten as far as you had hoped.

VIA offers you a chance every month to meet new people, promote your business, and get involved with the business community. The VIA monthly Luncheon gives you a chance to network before and after the luncheon program with the people you have been wanting to connect with. Each month, you will also enjoy a program focused on one of the many current topics of business that affect us all in Santa Clarita. Give Nancy at the VIA office a call today to reserve your seat at this month’s Luncheon on Wednesday, September 19^th,  11:30am, at the Valencia Country Club. There are also numerous committees for you to be involved with that will put you out there and in front of many fellow business professionals and companies. Check out the VIA website for details on these committees and all the ways that VIA is there for you! Remember…..It is never too late!

Laura Kirchhoff
Development Associate-Special Events
Child & Family Center Foundation