It's the time of year when many corporations and small businesses are looking for ways to give back to their communities, whether that means volunteering at a food pantry, contributing to a charity, or sponsoring the local high school football team.

The "giving" spirit of the holidays prompts many companies to consider a one-time gesture of goodwill toward their community. Often, it will turn into an annual tradition.

Yet more and more businesses choose to make giving back to their communities a year-round commitment.

Here's why.

"The benefits of small businesses donating their time or money to local organizations are endless, and when businesses take the time to help their community, it improves the entire local ecosystem," writes Bridget Weston in a SCORE blog.

Good for Your Business

Your company doing what's right is essential to those you're helping and builds on your reputation in the eyes of others within your community, including consumers, local leaders, and other business owners.

The relationships formed between customers and prominent community members can be of great value to your company, says an Entrepreneur blog by digital media specialist John Boitnott.

"When businesses help other people, those people tend to want to support the company in return," Boitnott writes in the blog. "Building a reserve of goodwill in your community means there will be people there to back you up and speak up on your behalf in the future."

A Charitable Business

Further, you're doing good things in the community, which catches the attention of potential customers who are looking for more than your prices and quality of products when they shop at your store or website.

A study shared by Nationwide indicated 90 percent of consumers are interested in knowing what type of charitable contributions a company is making and 85 percent of consumers in that survey said they have a more positive view of a business that gives to charity.

According to a SCORE blog, more than half of customers (55 percent) told another study that they are willing to pay more for products from socially responsible companies.

Beneficial for Employees, Recruitment

Whether encouraging or organizing volunteer efforts or donations, companies that give back to their communities tend to have happier employees.

"Aside from a better community and happy customers, giving back also has a positive ripple effect on the company's employees," writes Weston in the SCORE blog.

A Deloitte study showed that employee volunteerism boosts morale, helps individual well-being, and improves leadership and camaraderie.

A HubSpot post shared a survey that said 93 percent of employees who volunteer with their company express being happy with their employer.

If you make your business a positive force in the community, it can improve your employees' regard for the company and you, their leader, says Boitnott in the Entrepreneur blog.

"The daily grind is difficult. Employees need all the motivation they can get," he writes. "Good morale is essential to a successful business, and this is one of the best ways to bolster it."

Further, doing good in the community can give your business an edge in recruiting new employees.

According to a SCORE infographic, nearly 80 percent of millennials consider a company's do-good efforts when deciding where they want to work. About 68 percent of candidates in the Generation X demographic will look at a potential employer's social responsibility before choosing.