Quilters, it turns out, are pretty generous folk. So when Susan Webster, owner of the Gathering Fabric Quilt Shop in Woodinville, Wash., USA, asks her customers for help with a charity project, she usually gets a good response. “We’re able to mobilize people in the community to fulfill needs in the community,” says Webster, a member of the Rotary Club of Woodinville. “The quilters are very ready to respond.”

Her latest project, Operation Quilters Care, works like this: Customers buy a $24.99 kit including materials (sold at cost) and directions for making a quilted lap blanket that folds into a pillow. When the quilters finish their projects, they bring them back to the shop, and Webster distributes them to local organizations including a domestic violence shelter and a hospice. The quilters get charitable donation tax deductions.

“Being a Rotarian and being a part of the community, you feel like it’s a duty almost,” says Webster. “You kind of feel a sense of responsibility to take care of some of the less fortunate people in the community, and you realize your business can actually take a big role in it.”

Of Rotary’s four Avenues of Service, Vocational Service is often harder to grasp than club, community, and international service. But there are many ways Rotarians can fulfill this responsibility, starting with the most basic tenet of being an ethical professional.

As Webster’s project demonstrates, there are also ways to incorporate good works into your business. The translation of concept into action might be obvious if you’re a lawyer who handles pro bono cases, for example, or a doctor who volunteers at health clinics. But with a bit of creativity, any small business can find ways to serve others – and that effort could wind up being good for business, too.

Indeed, Webster says the charitable endeavors of her shop, which has eight part-time employees, create positive activity there. “Anything you can do to pass on goodwill through your business is only going to help your business,” she says. “That’s not the reason to do it, but it just comes back.”

In Kansas City, Mo., the 35 employees of All Star Awards & Ad Specialties can take time off, without losing pay or vacation time, to do volunteer work. “We think a healthy, vibrant community helps us as a business,” says co-owner Chuck Vogt, past president of the Rotary Club of Kansas City. The policy has other advantages.“ Instead of us picking one or two of our favorite charities and nonprofits and saying no to everyone else, this allows our teammates to participate where they feel their passion,” says Vogt. “That makes them happier teammates because they know, in essence, we’re supporting what they feel strongly about. It’s good employee relations as much as anything else.”

One endeavor that boosts morale at Yurchyk & Davis, a 16-person accounting firm in Canfield, Ohio, is the monthlong campaign every March for America’s Second Harvest. Clients and employees can bring in food or donate funds, and staffers can “pay” to wear jeans on Fridays, with the money benefiting the hunger-relief organization. “I think our employees know it’s a sincere effort, not a publicity stunt,” says David Buttar, a share holder in the firm and a member of the Rotary Club of Austintown. Clients pay attention, too. “I’m sure it probably helps your image a little bit,” he says. “They know you’re out there trying to help the community anywhere you can.”

Karim Kaderali, of the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara, Calif., has found a way to embed school fundraising into the DNA of his four-person company, Santa Barbara Axxess. The firm sells $30 membership cards good for discounts from hundreds of advertisers, including local spas, pet stores, restaurants, and even Disneyland. Each membership sold by students at the 31 participating schools nets $10 for the school. In five years, students have raised almost $300,000, which has been used to buy school supplies, fund a science camp, and even keep a librarian employed.

Santa Barbara Axxess has also been rewarded for its efforts. “The company is respected for being such a leader in fundraising, that’s kind of what we’re known for,” says Kaderali. “It opens doors, it builds legitimacy.” Having the positive public perception also helps attract the right employees, he says, and builds employee loyalty. “We are often praised by our customers, schools, and the like, and I know that makes [staffers] feel good.”

Although giving back to the community can help a company differentiate itself from competitors, incorporating service isn’t always easy. Many small businesses, especially new ones, are strapped for time and money. And compelling employees to share in a boss’ particular philanthropic passion is generally not a good move. “If the staff is not on board and behind it, if they’re doing it grudgingly, it’s not true service,” says Suzanne Ferguson, a business coach and member of the Rotary Club of Three Rivers in Pittsburgh.

Webster encourages small-business owners to think positively. “Your whole mission can go to the next level,” she says. “If you have that in the back of your mind, then your business can do a little bit more in your community than just providing the service that you provide.”