The Bill Gates Foundation. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Virgin Unite.

Every entrepreneur has probably heard of some, if not all of these nonprofit companies. Such organizations were created by select business magnates and moguls alike worth billions of dollars who have dedicated large percentages of their money to philanthropic work. Of course, philanthropy always seems more in reach when you’re working with billions.

It’s hard to even fathom the enormity or scale at which many of our idols are able to give back, and while it’s immensely inspiring to watch and celebrate them, it can become tiring and even defeating to try and emulate their efforts. The mere thought of finding the right cause, staying coordinated with the various groups and charities, and organizing company efforts collectively with limited resources can be exhausting.

So, as a startup, is it even possible to make a difference in our communities in a meaningful way without the access to bountiful funds and resources? And how can your small startup survive the hours of planning and volunteer work ahead of you?

Well, I’ve figured it out. While working 60+ hours a week over at Data Nerds the past few years, my company and I have found a number of unique ways to function at a high level while also being committed to our community and various organizations, both local and abroad. We have participated, volunteered, and fundraised for several events and ongoing causes that are now near and dear to us, and a part of the very fabric of the company. Let’s start local:

Nerd Olympics

Nerd Olympics was an event that saw its inception due to a number of things lining up. First, we were fortunate enough to get access to City Park in our beautiful city of Kelowna, BC. With a venue like that, we came up with our dream event for tech companies and young entrepreneurs in town, since very few fun events existed at the time. Of course, once we figured out the idea for having a bunch of competitive games between companies, we figured it’d be a great idea to align the event to support a great cause: the BC Cancer Foundation.

The inaugural Nerd Olympics was hosted in City Park, Kelowna, British Columbia on October 15, 2016. Located in the middle of the downtown core on the beach, what started as a small company vision turned into an inclusive community event.

A wide array of games was key to keeping it fun and competitive. We had classics like zorb soccer, ping-pong, jeopardy, bump basketball, and cult-classics like Human Hungry Hungry Hippo and of course, Angry Nerds. Which is exactly what it sounds like.

By the end of it all, we were able to raise $1800 for the BC Cancer Foundation, generate a massive amount of publicity and brand awareness for our causes, and receive the support to make the Nerd Olympics an annual event in the city.

CIBC Run for the Cure

Not every cause has to be planned and organized to fit your startup. Finding local and established events that resonate with you and your team is always an option. This may not build awareness and publicity like hosting your own event would, but coming together for a cause bigger than the company is always a healthy practice.

For me personally, the CIBC Run for the Cure has been a family event for longer than I can remember (Mother Bear confirms since 1999). Each fall, the goal is to run the fastest 5 km I can (and let the tears free fall) all in the name of the Canadian Cancer Society and a future without breast cancer.

This cause is very personal to me, as my mother, grandmother, great aunt, many close family friends have all been affected by breast cancer. In 2016, the entire Data Nerds team participated and it brought intense joy to my heart. We were also able to raise around $1000 collectively.

Run Across Haiti 2017

I had met Brandy Hagel through running marathons locally, and through training together I had realized that she was training for an ultra marathon while in her practicum at the local hospital.

Upon realizing she was doing all this with holes in her shoes, we decided to sponsor her running gear and her efforts to participate in the Run Across Haiti 2017.

Brandy committed to running across Haiti and raise funds to end poverty in the region. The ultra-marathon spanned 230 miles over a couple weeks and involved a group of incredible humans. Way to go, Brandy!

Ensenada, Mexico

Getting the opportunity to give back in Ensenada, Mexico gives me goosebumps every time it replays in my mind. Hosted by Thrive (Cole Hatter) and facilitated by Phillip McKernan, a group of 20 of us were offered to go through a deep personal journey of our own while giving back at a few orphanages in town. We played soccer, ate lunches, provided school supplies, and for the first time ever had a beautiful young woman paint my nails!

Above all else, being able to make a sincere emotional connection with the children was a surreal and humbling experience. The truth is that these children are in a position where they unfortunately don’t get attention in their day to day lives or even interact with adults in meaningful ways, and being with them for days at a time and participating in activities with them allowed for some much needed insight and perspective on my own life.

The important thing is that while this trip in particular was an incredible travel experience, it doesn’t necessarily have to be. You can do this anywhere. Whether it’s an orphanage or volunteering at schools or other local organizations, there are plenty of ways to interact with children in need and give to them in ways you never thought you could.

Ongoing Causes

Supporting nonprofit organizations and causes don’t have to be one-off events, either. Attaching yourself to an ongoing charity might be more of a commitment, but it relieves the frantic event-finding and coordination with your team.

For us Nerds, we have a few different ongoing projects. As a result of being a part of the TechStars network, we became involved with Pledge 1%. Pledge embodies Techstars core values and was initially introduced to us from Ryan Martens. As of 2017, Data Nerds has committed 1% of our employee time to volunteering within our community.

Pencils of Promise is another non-profit organization we’ve become closely involved with. They work with communities across the globe to build schools and increase access to education for children in the developing world. We first met them at an event in San Diego and their story resonated with us deeply, so we started the Data Nerds Academy through Pencils of Promise. This is our own individual fundraiser with a target amount of $35,000, and our goal is to have it fully funded by the end 2018.

Of course, there’s always the few other random company-wide initiatives that we keep up throughout the year. The annual Movember challenge and fundraiser that creates awareness around men’s health projects and has everyone looking a little more fuzzy, which is always a great result.

Random Acts of Kindness Day, was another entirely random event. Every Data Nerd was given $20 and one hour with a single mission, go make someone smile. Easy enough right? Some people bought lunches for the homeless, gave flowers to strangers, and took coffee into other businesses. The turnout was the same across the board, though: fulfillment and happiness for everyone involved.

This kind of generous spontaneity didn’t take long to bleed into the culture of our company, and now it is engrained in our employees. Once a quarter (sometimes more often), our team will seek to go help out others for no particular reason.

Hopefully by reading this, you’re able to take away some ideas and inspiration for supporting your own causes and using philanthropy as a resource to build the character of your company. Every startup wants team players and people who can contribute to a collective vision outside of their own, and when your team is routinely coming together to find and support charitable causes and organizations, it’s a great way to sharpen that quality.

Please, share this article and let us know: what you are going to do to give back? Are there any causes and organizations out there that you think we should be getting involved with? Leave a comment or e-mail us at info@datanerds.com.

How Data Nerds Make Money Matter was originally published in Data Nerds on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.