Love Local Without Wrecking Cash Flow: A Simple “Community Support” Plan for Small Businesses
February is the month of love, so let’s talk about a kind of love I actually care about: local love.
If you own a small business, you’ve probably been asked to donate a gift card, sponsor a fundraiser, support a school auction, or contribute to a nonprofit event.
And you want to say yes. You genuinely do.
But sometimes the asks stack up and suddenly you’re like…
“Wait, how did I spend $600 on ‘supporting the community’ this month… and now payroll feels tight?”
This post is a simple plan to support your community in a way that feels generous and financially sane.
The problem I see all the time
Most small businesses support the community in one of two ways:
Impulse yeses (because you have a big heart and the ask is awkward)
Avoidance noes (because cash flow is tight and you’re tired of feeling guilty)
Neither feels good.
The goal is planned generosity. It lets you say yes with confidence and no without stress.
Why it matters
When community support is unplanned, it can:
quietly drain cash flow
make you resent giving (which is the opposite of the point)
create messy bookkeeping (no record, no consistency, no idea what you spent)
lead to weird “marketing spend” that does not actually market anything
When it’s planned, you get:
predictable cash flow
cleaner books
better local relationships
more visibility, because you can choose support that aligns with your audience
The Love Local Plan (simple and repeatable)
1) Decide your monthly “Community Support” number
Pick a number you can sustain, even in a slower month.
Two easy options:
Flat amount: $50, $100, $250 per month
Percentage of revenue: 1% to 3% is common for businesses that want it tied to sales
No right answer. The right answer is whatever you can do consistently.
2) Create a rule for what you say “yes” to
This is where your life gets easier.
Examples:
“We support one school fundraiser per quarter.”
“We sponsor causes tied to families, mental health, animals, or local events.”
“We only donate if our business is listed as a sponsor with a link.”
“We prioritize organizations our clients care about.”
This rule turns awkward asks into a simple decision.
3) Choose your “support styles”
Not all support has to be cash. Sometimes the best support is visibility.
Here are solid “support styles” that do not crush cash flow:
Cash support (use sparingly but intentionally)
donations
sponsorships with clear visibility
memberships
In-kind support (high impact, lower cash strain)
gift cards with a cap
service bundles
a donation of time if it makes sense for your business
Free support (underrated and powerful)
leaving a real review for a local business
sharing an event flyer
featuring a nonprofit in your newsletter
connecting two people who should meet
Hot take: a thoughtful referral is sometimes more valuable than $50.
4) Use a “cap” for gift cards and auction donations
This one is huge.
If you donate gift cards, pick a standard amount and stick to it:
$25 is fine
$50 is generous
$100 adds up fast if you do it often
Also decide how many you’ll do per month or quarter.
Your heart is allowed to have boundaries.
5) Track it cleanly in your bookkeeping
If you want this to be sustainable, it needs a home in your books.
At minimum, track community support in a consistent category so you can answer:
“What did I spend supporting the community this year?”
“Did it fit the plan?”
“What kind of support actually brought relationships and visibility?”
Even better: separate categories like:
Donations
Sponsorships
Advertising and promotions
This keeps things clear and helps you make better decisions next year.
6) Say no with kindness (and without guilt)
Here’s a simple script you can steal:
“Thank you so much for thinking of us. We plan our community support in advance each quarter, and we’re at capacity right now. Please keep us in mind for the next event.”
That’s it. No over-explaining. No guilt spiral.
Mini example (real life)
Let’s say you set a Community Support budget of $100/month.
In February you decide:
$50 sponsorship to a local school event (your logo is listed)
$25 gift card for a nonprofit auction
$25 allocated to “free support” (you feature two local businesses in a post and leave genuine reviews)
You supported your community, stayed on budget, and built visibility without messing up cash flow.
That is a win on all sides.
Quick checklist (save this)
Pick a monthly community support budget
Decide your yes-rule (what you support and what you do not)
Choose 2 to 3 support styles
Set a gift card cap
Track it consistently in your books
Use a kind “no” script when you need to
If you want help setting up clean categories for community support, building a simple plan, or getting your books to a place where giving back feels easy, I can help.
Book a consult here: https://calendly.com/sara-dunhambookkeepingservices
Secure upload link (if you want me to review your current setup): https://www.cognitoforms.com/DunhamBookkeepingServices/SecureDocumentUpload
(This post is for general education and not individualized tax advice.)
