How to Create Win-Win Fundraising Opportunities for Corporates: Boost Success

Fundraising can be fun and rewarding. When businesses and charities work together, everyone wins. Let's learn how to create win-win fundraising opportunities for corporates.

Why Corporates Love Fundraising

Businesses love to help good causes. It makes them look good and feel good. Plus, it builds their brand and helps their community.

• Helps build a positive brand image.
• Engages employees and boosts morale.
• Creates strong community ties.

The only problem is that in many cases it isn't a win, win relationship. Teams of volunteers turning up to paint walls, do gardening etc often take up more resource in the planning, health and safety and dispacement of existing skilled volunteers than those efforts contribute. Simply having opportunities for employees to give or fundraise can create administration, with no tangible benefit to the business.

Creating a Win-Win Proposal

Whislt there are clear benefits for both the corporate and the not for profit of traditional activities, there are ways some of our clients have worked to create 'no brainer' opportunities i.e.

• Employee benefits that cost the same as existing programmes but with the procedes going to the charity adds a real sense of engagement.
• A team away day, where teams identiy ways to increase profits for the business that they can deliver - with a small percentage pledged to the not for profit - means the company is better off as a result too.
• Employee or customer incentives and loyalty programmes that earn personal recognition and reward and helps a charity through improved behaviour.

Making Involvement Easy

Whether it is CSR, Human Resources or Events Managers a charity needs to engage with, they are busy with loads on their plate. By creating a portfolio of ways that companies can engage then you are much more likely to get a deep rooted relationship. This is also key where you have a relationship with an individual (i.e. you cared for a loved one) where they need to engage with key stakeholders:

Ideas For Fundraising

• A portfolio of 50 team away days and team building activities where the procedes go to the not for profit
• Promotional offers i.e. adopt an animal when you buy xx for animal charities, buy one feed one free opportunities for restaurants helping third world programmes
• Incentive ideas - how corporates can drive improved employee performance and behaviours (productivity, error rates, absenteeism, innovation) using systems and rewards from the charity with procedess benefiting the charity.
• Charity backed subscriptions - get membership benefits when a consumer subscribes to a reoccuring subscription from the corporate - with procedes to the named charity.
• Suppliers that, by switching to them will donate to the charity
• Opportunities for the charity to promote your goods and services to other businesses in return for an affiliate commission

Promoting the Event

Promotion is key to success. Use both your channels and the corporate's channels to spread the word - a key benefit for a corprate can be that wider visability and association for the initiative.

Ways To Promote

• Social media posts
• Blogs
• Influencer and celebrity posts
• Using some of your $10,000 per month of Google free advertising
• Email newsletters
• Press releases
• Posters and flyers

With a typical support campaign having a reach from one of our charity clients having a reach of over 40 million people, is it surprising that they are finding it easy to get corporate partners?

Measuring Success

After the event, measure the success. Look at both financial and non-financial outcomes.

Metrics To Measure

• Funds raised
• Employee participation
• Media coverage
• Community feedback

Building Long-Term Relationships

One event can lead to many more. Build a long-term relationship with the corporate partner. In exactly like a key account manager would be tasked to create a deeper relationship with a corporate customer by taking a more consultative approach to that corporate. Developing solutions that can drive positive change for the corporates whilst contributing to the charity.

Ways To Build Relationships

• Understanding the corprates pain points and looking for ways to solve them together
• Positive publicity - with reports shoing the reach
• Regular updates
• Thank you notes
• Future collaboration

If you would like to understand how your charity can exponentially increase support through creating a more proactive approach to engaging with corporate partners - or if you are a corporate wanting to get more out of your relationship with charities, feel free to reach out - happy to provide some free, no obligation pointers