Every successful business depends on something it doesn’t own: a healthy community.
We depend on customers who can support local businesses, employees who can afford to live here and families who see a future in Kitsap County. We depend on good schools, safe neighborhoods and the quality of life that makes people want to put down roots.
Much of the work that supports those things happens outside the business community, through nonprofit organizations operating with limited resources and considerable demands.
As the holiday giving season approaches, I think it’s worth asking: If our businesses benefit from strong communities, what responsibility do we have to help build them?
Across Kitsap County, nonprofits provide food, housing assistance, youth programs, health services and opportunities in the arts and education. Their work often happens quietly, one person or family at a time.
But its impact reaches far beyond those directly served.
Consider the challenges facing local employers. Housing costs can make it difficult to attract and retain workers. Unreliable child care can keep parents from maintaining steady employment. Financial hardship leaves families with less to spend at local businesses.
These aren’t simply social concerns. They’re business concerns, too.
When a nonprofit helps a family find stability, that family is better positioned to participate in community life and the local economy. When a young person finds a mentor, we may be helping develop a future employee, entrepreneur or community leader.
The results may never appear on a company’s balance sheet, but they help create the conditions in which businesses can succeed.
That’s why I believe supporting nonprofits should be viewed as more than an annual charitable obligation. It’s an investment in the long-term health of the place where we do business.
That doesn’t mean generosity needs a financial justification. Helping people because they need help is reason enough.
But understanding how closely our fortunes are connected can change the way we approach giving.
Over more than three decades working with businesses and community organizations, I’ve learned that strong communities aren’t built by any one group acting alone. They’re built through relationships.
Business owners, nonprofit leaders, educators and volunteers bring different strengths to the table. Together, they can accomplish things none could achieve independently.
And not every contribution has to be financial.
I know small business owners are managing payroll, rising expenses and the daily pressure of keeping their doors open. For some, another donation simply isn’t possible.
But a marketing professional might help a nonprofit tell its story. An accountant might offer budgeting advice. A business owner might mentor a student, serve on a board or introduce an organization to someone with the expertise it needs.
Sometimes the most valuable contribution isn’t a check. It’s a connection.
Sometimes it’s sharing knowledge earned through years of running a business.
The key is to ask what would actually help, rather than assuming we already know.
There’s also a difference between seasonal generosity and sustained commitment.
November and December bring food drives, fundraising campaigns and opportunities to give. Those efforts matter, and I hope they continue.
But families need assistance in February. Students need mentors in April. Community organizations need volunteers in July.
The challenges nonprofits address don’t follow the holiday calendar.
A modest, ongoing relationship can be more useful than a single burst of attention. That might mean supporting one organization throughout the year, encouraging employee volunteerism or donating professional services when they’re needed.
At Ward Media, we see how much Kitsap County depends on people willing to invest in something larger than themselves. Through Kitsap Business, Hey Neighbor! Kitsap and West Sound News, we have opportunities to tell those stories and connect readers with organizations making a difference.
We also recognize that our own success depends on the strength of the communities we serve. We should be willing to ask of ourselves what we ask of other businesses.
As the year winds down, I’d encourage every business owner and leader reading this to make one new commitment.
Choose a local nonprofit whose mission matters to you, your employees or your customers. Reach out. Listen. Ask what it needs. Then identify something your business can realistically offer, whether that’s money, expertise, time or connections.
And consider how that relationship might continue into 2027.
It doesn’t need to be a grand gesture, and it doesn’t need a press release.
We often measure business success in revenue, growth and profitability. Those measures matter. But I believe another question belongs alongside them:
Is the community around our business stronger because we’re part of it?
When we invest in the people and organizations strengthening Kitsap County, we’re helping create a place where families can thrive, businesses can grow and future generations can find opportunity.
A stronger community isn’t just good for the people who live here. It’s good business.
Terry Ward
Publisher, Kitsap Business
