Business Leadership: Donating to Katrina Relief

Americans are in need right now as a result of the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina.

There are plenty of things businesses and business owners and managers can do to help. Here are a few:

• Donate personally. The Instapundit blog has a huge list of links to charities. Take your pick. Or you can give to the Red Cross by clicking on the donation banner above in this post.



• Ask employees to donate (also, they can consider skipping a 401K contribution or two).



• Pledge to donate a percentage of revenues from sales of some or all products sold.



• Add a line to your email signature suggesting that people donate with a link to a charity of your choice. It is a gentle reminder to everyone who gets your email.

The idea here is to leverage your position as a business leader, because you are in communication with many people. Sometimes this gentle reminder is all people need to write a check.

(This post was adapted from the new blog of Robert Levin, Editor of the New York Enterprise Report, a publication serving New York small and midsize businesses. Thanks for letting me know, Robert! Great idea.)

UPDATE: The Truth Laid Bear site is tracking individual contributions and also linking to blogs that are helping raise money. Go here for more information.

Technorati tags: Hurricane Katrina; flood aid; business