I’m excited to announce the launch of Small Biz Cares. Our mission is to connect, mobilize, and strengthen small businesses to create lasting positive impact in our community.

Small Biz Cares provides a unique opportunity for small businesses to join together to make a positive impact in the community. We make an impact through Fundraising, Volunteering, Storytelling and a Scholarship Fund. The organization is a membership model, with all member contributions going towards philanthropic efforts.

In addition to the knowledge of doing good, Small Biz Cares members benefit through increased exposure, branding and networking. It is our belief that if we can increase the value a business receives from Small Biz Cares, we can increase the contributions to the community that same business will give.

The vision for Small Biz Cares was created based on a few things:

• My personal experience in building Outreach Promotional Solutions as a for-profit business that does creative things to give back – including in-kind creative work, special discounts for nonprofits, volunteering, social media awareness and an annual charity event.
• I’ve also seen other businesses in the community give back in creative ways. It is really inspiring to see what others are doing. These types of companies provide a great example for others to follow.
• We also see an important trend where it is becoming more and more important for businesses of all sizes to be socially conscious – not only in gaining more customers, but also in attracting talent and helping build a strong brand.

We are building an organization, including a founding Board team, Advisors and Ambassadors that are small business leaders. While we intend to have larger company support, we want to make sure that the efforts are driven by small business.

We hope that the Columbus region can set an example for other regions across the country. What if the collective strength of small businesses across the nation could drive millions of dollars of community impact, thousands of volunteer hours, send hundreds of kids to school and provide awareness for businesses and nonprofits doing great things.

We are excited to welcome all small businesses, larger company partners and nonprofit organizations to join us as we launch an exciting organization aimed at making our community a better place.

Nevin Bansal, Founding Member of Small Biz Cares