Rewarding Neighborhood Heroes

Corporate America and chains have taken over what used to be the purview of mom and pops, namely community involvement.

Starbuck's, Ben & Jerry's, and now, Citgo? Yes, Citgo. The gas station. Nominate yourself as a community hero and win a free gas card worth $2500.

So why wouldn't you, as a local restaurant owner, do something similar? It doesn't have to be grand, because you still have a leg up on corporate America: you can put a face with the gesture.

- Have your target audience (principals, HR directors, charity directors) nominate their employees and volunteers.

- Recognize a different person each week (in-store); their co-workers come with them to celebrate

- Recognize them in a wider forum in your email distribution (Bob G. of Smyrna was last week's Hero - raising over $15,000 for Children's Hospital, for example)

- At the end of the year, donate $1,000 (or more) to the charity of one of the year's 52 winners

Total cost: 52 x lunch (@ food cost) + $1,000 (about $100 per month)
Benefits: an easy conversation with community leaders (fire chief, principals, pta, volunteer coordinators), a strengthened relationship with their organizations, increased frequency of message and (hopefully) email sign up.

If you're the mayor of your village, you can steal these ideas, make them your own, and do them way better than the corporate monoliths. (BTW, corporate monoliths do these things for a reason.)