Stronger Together: Four Ways Franchisees Can Build Lasting Community Impact

As a local business owner, your community is what drives your business. It’s crucial to get involved, not only for brand visibility but to give back to the people who support you. Businesses that routinely engage with their communities often see stronger customer loyalty and long-term success. Showing up is more than a kind gesture – it’s a year-round growth strategy.

Make an impact throughout the year

Many businesses participate in holiday giveback initiatives or host an annual charity event, but community engagement works best when it’s woven into your business plan. It’s not just a seasonal task – consistency matters. By scheduling initiatives throughout the year, you establish a consistent presence in your community, which fosters trust and recognition.

For example, you could sponsor a local sports team in the spring, host a back-to-school supply drive in August, or volunteer at a food pantry around the holidays. When customers see your business involved year-round, they’ll start to associate your brand with reliability, care, and commitment. That’s something a single campaign can’t accomplish.

Add a personal touch

Memorable engagement comes from action. It’s always impactful to make a monetary donation to an organization, but rolling up your sleeves creates an impression that lasts. Hands-on involvement demonstrates that you’re not just financially invested, but also personally invested.

Every Halloween, my team and I cut, haul, and hand out over 2,000 pumpkins. While we can simply sponsor a local Halloween event, going beyond the checkbook adds a personal touch that makes the experience more memorable and sparks word-of-mouth connections between your business and the community. If you’re authentic in your approach, you often have a stronger impact.

Listen to the community

The most meaningful opportunities to give back are the ones that directly affect the people you serve. One of my biggest campaigns came after a loyal customer told me her child had cancer. Using our platform as a local business, we helped rally the community around her family, raising more than $15,000 in a single day.

Be authentic and listen to what matters to the people around you. Business owners can find ways to give back by being approachable and responding with genuine support. Whether it’s donating prizes for a school raffle, volunteering with a nonprofit, or helping a customer who shares a personal cause, saying “yes” can lead to an impact far greater than expected.

Tap into corporate partnerships

As a franchisee, you don’t have to do everything alone. In fact, that’s a reason many entrepreneurs opt to go into business with a franchise model. Utilize your brand’s resources, vendor relationships, and fellow franchisees. Many franchisors already have established philanthropic programs and other tools that can help you maximize your efforts at the local level. Reach out to your network for partnerships, like pooling resources to host a fundraiser, teaming up to coordinate a multi-location campaign, or using co-branded materials to promote a cause.

By leveraging these built-in support systems, franchisees can scale their community impact and expand their reach. At the end of the day, strong communities are what create strong businesses. The more you invest in your neighbors, the more they’ll invest in you.

Gary Peterson is a multi-unit owner of Grease Monkey locations in Herriman and Lehi, Utah.