Around November in the UK each year an annual fund raising event occurs aimed at raising money and awareness for Children in Need. In 2008 and in the grip of falling house prices, redundancies and businesses closing down, the recent Children in Need are forecast to raise the most money ever. So how did this happen when people clearly have less money to spend on themselves let alone give to others?

Well the secret to the success of not for profit organizations and charities is that they can give their donors and supporters something which many businesses in the for profit world fail to grasp and that is a genuine feel good factor and a sense of making a difference.

People on the whole donate to charity and support good causes because they want to make a difference but with that very often come an enormous sense of well being for the person donating or giving. This feel good factor should not be confused with being selfish or supporting a cause for the wrong reasons as it is perfectly natural to feel good about you if you carry out or perform a good deed.

So how can businesses that are looking to survive and indeed grow learn from this? Well, the reality is charities like Children in Need have done well because they give something back.

Companies can learn from this by starting to look at their business in a different way and from the customers point of view. An example could be that an insurance broker who provides charity insurance to charities, community groups and not for profit organizations. Instead of focusing on the features of a charity insurance policy, they could instead focus on how the charity would benefit from using them. This could be that they get cover that is not available from other charity insurance brokers. If could be that the charity will be able to protect and insure their donors, trustees and volunteers or that the community group will get free expert advice that will reduce their exposure to risk and therefore reduce their community group insurance premiums.

Businesses of all types need to focus on their customers and how they will benefit and this is particularly important in the times of recession or during a credit crunch.

The charity and voluntary sector prove that by giving something back, they can remain strong even in the toughest of times. Focus on your customers, focus on promoting the benefits to them of using you and focus on trying to exceed their needs and expectations at all times. Do this and success can be and is achievable even when times are hard.