The Bottom Line

Odds are good that you've reached this blog from our website (www.riddicksfolly.org, just in case you came to us another way). If you saw the website, you probably noticed the snazzy colors, sharp layout, and efficient interface. This is what friends are for.

The Addison Group, an advertising agency located in Suffolk, designed not only our new website, but also our new logo:


We're especially grateful to them, because this was purely an in-kind donation, and it's an indicator of how businesses can affect more than their own bottom line.

Some for-profit businesses have stockholders that make decisions. Others have Boards of Directors, and still others are just Mom and Pop, doing what they feel is best for the business. But they all have a bottom line -- profit -- that informs every decision, and that influences every action. How does this action make money?

Non-profits have lots of decision-makers, too. Boards of Directors, staff, volunteers, and even donors affect the direction of the organization. Their bottom line, though, is quite different. It's not about a financial profit, but about a social profit. How does this action make this community better?

What many in the for-profit and non-profit sectors don't realize is that these two bottom lines, these two questions, are not mutually exclusive. One can make money and make a community better at the same time. Likewise, one can improve a community, and not lose money doing it. In other words, "non-profit" ain't nothin' but a tax status.

Businesses such as The Addison Group have caught on, and even when the economy slips and budgets get cut, some still find time (and money) to do their part in their community. Riddick's Folly thanks The Addison Group. Now, Riddick's Folly is offering other businesses the chance to do their part.

This month, Riddick's Folly launched its new Business Partnership Program. This is an opportunity for businesses to use their resources to improve their community. As every good businessman knows, a better community yields better customers. By partnering with Riddick's Folly, businesses can receive benefits for their employees, recognition in Riddick's Folly's publicity and publications, but more importantly, businesses can see a tangible improvement in their community -- a return on their investment, as their bottom line would dictate.

But businesses are not the only ones who can improve their communities. Riddick's Folly's membership organization, the Friends of The Folly, is looking for new members, too. New benefits are available, as is public recognition for helping to make this community better.

What better bottom line could there possibly be?