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This book was written as a comprehensive guide for nonprofits who are looking
to move beyond basic commercial sponsorship with corporations and move into
long-term partnerships that gain the extensive benefits these relationships offer.

Business is business

Part One

Partnerships are business relationships and not just a check.

Checking their PEI Score

Part Two

The Partnership Evaluation Index makes it easy to see the overall value of a corporation.

Considerations in choosing a partner

Part Three

Some of the most important, but less obvious considerations.

Good alignment

Part Four

The importance of a tight alignment between your mission and their core business.

Help them evaluate you

Part Five

The value of making it easy for a company to vet your nonprofit.

Building a healthy partnership

Part Six

The nuts-and-bolts of founding an effective partnership.

Fundraisingthe new element

Part Seven

The exponential impact fundraising can have on a companys Cause Marketing.

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Part 1: Business is business.

It used to be that the relationship between a business and a nonprofit had a strict division,
like the separation of church and state: The company handed you a check and you plastered
their logo all over your event in return. That was it.
But in these days of Cause Marketingthats
all changed. Companies are not only open
to deeper partnerships with nonprofits, they
seek these partnerships because its good
for their business. In a recent Conference
Board survey, two thirds of the corporations
surveyed said that using philanthropy to
further their business goals was one of their
top three priorities. For more and more
corporations, Cause Marketing now has a
bigger importance than their conventional marketing.

THE RELATIONSHIP IS NO LONGER PLATONIC, ITS SYMBIOTIC.

As the relationships have grown deeper, theres much more symbiosis with the nonprofit.
Both business and nonprofit now depend on each other and both reap huge benefits in
return. To understand just how deep these relationships go, heres how the benefits are
currently playing out for both nonprofits and businesses.
Benefits for businesses:
Publicity For a business, the best good is a known good. When connected to an active
nonprofit partner there can be many more opportunities to tout their corporate good.
New customers According to an AFLAC survey 81% of consumers are likely to

purchase from a company with active philanthropic efforts. Consumers feel good about
buying from companies that do good.
New employees According to the AFLAC survey, 82% of Millennials are likely to seek
employment at companies recognized as responsible. And most employees are more
likely to stay at a company that values philanthropy.
Employee and customer engagement Companies are finding that engaging with
employees and customers through philanthropy can develop strong bonds to their
brand.
Results Companies form a partnership with nonprofits to be socially responsible and
attack problems. Many times solving these problems are essential to their bottom line.
Coca-Cola supports clean water initiatives in third world-countries and also needs clean
water to make its product, so everybody benefits.
Benefits for nonprofits:
Revenue Well beyond a check from the companys foundation or workplace giving,
nonprofits are seeing exponential growth in dollars through employee and customer
fundraising.
New supporters Customers and employees who give these dollars are becoming
long-term supporters of corporate causes they grow to believe in.
Volunteers Employees are even being paid today to volunteer for corporate causes.
Publicity Corporations are paying for advertising about events theyre involved in and
giving the nonprofit publicity through their stores and through other business partners.
Expertise Corporations are the most knowledgeable experts about their craft. When
missions align, nonprofits can take advantage of this expertise to improve performance
in the field.

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Access to influence Corporate executive ranks and corporate boards are filled with
affluent influencers who can connect the nonprofit to movers, shakers and policy makers.
Stability A partnership where both parties benefit tends to last longer than just getting
a check. This gives a non-profit a steady, stable source of income.
There are many benefits for both sides, which is why these relationships continue to grow
deeper.

THEY DONT WANT TO JUST GIVE YOU MONEY, THEY WANT TO DO BUSINESS
WITH YOU.
Its important to understand that the company is no longer looking to only give a donation,
but now looking for a business partner. As a result, nonprofits must start looking at these
relationships as business partnerships that are conducted on business terms. Companies are
now expecting your proposals and pitches to be just like those they get from any partner vying
for their business. They expect nonprofits to step up to their results-driven business world and
present them with numbers and projections.

ITS NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL FOR

NONPROFITS ANYMORE.
If this seems like a whole new world and
a daunting task to change within your
organization, the problem lies in those old
nonprofit attitudes from last century. On your
staff you probably have people with business
degrees. On your board you surely have
successful business people. Gather your in-house
business expertise and tell them to throw that old nonprofit ask model out the window.
Have them start evaluating companies that are good candidates. Then use their skills to create
a solid business plan you can present to potential corporate partners. By treating corporate
partnership as a business relationship, youre a lot more likely to find a great partner, as well
as to help your nonprofit grow in the process.

Part 2: Checking their PEI Score.

When it came to getting sponsorship dollars in years past, nonprofits often went year to
year with their fingers crossed, never sure if that big sponsor would pull the plug and decide
that philanthropy wasnt in this years budget. But thats changed as corporations have put
a bigger emphasis on Cause Marketing. Companies dont want to sponsor anymore: theyre
looking to partner. Theyll be evaluating your organization based on what you can do for
them. Likewise, you need to evaluate all potential corporate partners based on the total
impact they can have on your organization.

PARTNERSHIP EVALUATION INDEX SCORE.

In order to help nonprofits better evaluate corporations for partnership, Ive developed a
system that ranks a companys overall resource value to your organization. There are seven
metrics you should be looking at in order to find the PEI Score of any company:
1 Can they offer consistent financial support? (25 points max)
2 Can they offer in-kind donations? (5 points max)
3 Will they bring you volunteers? (10 points max)
4 Will their employees participate in events and campaigns? (20 points max)
5 Are there customer fundraising opportunities? (20 points max)
6 Will they provide marketing opportunities in their advertising? (10 points max)
7 Does this have the backing of their executive team? (10 points max)
On our blog weve created a calculator to make evaluating easy. If having trouble evaluating
criteria, google the companys relationships with other nonprofits theyve partnered with
in the past. This can give you vital clues on how to rate them. If you feel comfortable early
on in the vetting process, ask the prospects about each of these to get a feel of their intent.
This will give you a more objective assessment and help take any emotional and brand
attachment out of the equation.

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DETERMINING YOUR NEEDS.

Heres a deeper look at each of the criteria to help you score:
1 Consistent Financial Support It doesnt help a nonprofits growth to get a corporate
gift or support for one year. Long-term support is needed for budget consistency. The
ability of a company to support your organization over a number of years should be a
big factor in which company you solicit for a partnership. While cash isnt everything,
theres no shame if its a priority in a partnership. Some organizations have made
themselves more appealing to their donors by having a corporate partner cover all their
operating costs. This way the organization can promote that 100% of donations go to
the cause thanks to the kind support of the corporate partner. Everybody wins.
2 In-kind donations Some organizations thrive on in-kind donations and make those
primary importance. For example, a nonprofit that runs clinics in the Third World may
find their operating costs are greatly reduced by partnering with a medical supply
company or a pharmaceutical company. But depending on the partner, in-kind
donations from your sponsor may not play a role your mission.
3 Volunteers Corporations with
many employees can supply many
volunteers. A company with offices
or retail outlets in the same cities
where your organization operates
can provide a steady supply of
volunteers for all your events
and fundraising initiatives. But
dont discount smaller and local
companies that are genuinely
committed to your organization. They may make volunteering for your organization part
of their corporate culture and give you a more consistent stream of volunteers.
4 Employee participation in your events and campaigns Companies that run deep
with employees can quickly fill your event rosters with participants. These supporters

are prime for team participation and can really inspire the competition between teams.
Companies also commonly put their causes at the center or their culture. Theyre
doing in-office fundraisers, lunch-and-learns and providing other opportunities for
your organization to connect with their staff. These yield donations, volunteers, event
participation and other benefits to a partner nonprofit.
5 Customer fundraising opportunities The giving power of customers is multiplied
when a company encourages fundraising for your organization. A Fundraiser Your Way
peer-to-peer fundraising tool (such as DonorDrive) makes it convenient for customers
who are committed to the cause to generate revenue, while the company can take the
credit for their role in the process.
6 Marketing opportunities Many companies promote their causes in all their
marketing. Strengthening their corporate brand by aligning it with their cause can put
your organizations brand into hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars in
marketing buys. A companys reach goes well beyond their customers. Their marketing
and communication reaches a much broader audience of potential customers. And
today many companies look to reach potential customers that havent responded to
conventional marketing by promoting the causes they support.
7 Executive support A strong commitment from a companys executive leadership is
needed to produce a productive long-term partnership. Executive approval is required
for any budgeting of funds, employee involvement or marketing of the partnership. If
your nonprofit already has a friend on the companys management team, he or she will
be a great asset in forming a partnership.
A thorough assessment like this will keep you from pursuing relationships that are a bad fit
and help you avoid taking dollars from corporations that have little else to offer.
Youll notice that ability to write a check didnt make this list. Back in the day, that would
have had the most importance, but not anymore. While its nice to have a partner you can
ask for money right now, a quick infusion of cash shouldnt be a part of any organizations
plan, since theres no strategy behind it.

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Part 3: Further considerations.

Once youve thoroughly evaluated your needs, there a few other considerations before
choosing a corporate partner. A good relationship can run for a decade or more, so
examining scenarios of outcomes can help you avoid the problems that are responsible for
dissolving relationships in the future.

THE BIG CORPORATION MAY NOT BE THE BEST CORPORATION.

Size has little to do with commitment. A big company that makes a half-hearted effort at
supporting your organization can wind up being a weight you have to drag around. Examine
how theyve treated organizations theyve partnered with in the past. If those partnerships
have yielded few dollars, volunteers and engagement, they may not be a good choice. A
smaller, more-committed company thats enthusiastic about a long-term commitment to
the cause may be a better choice.

THE BIG CHECK MIGHT NOT BE A BIG DEAL.

In the past, landing that big check annually was the most important thing. But today its only
part of the package and may not be the most important part. If you take a big check from
a corporation that doesnt align well with your
cause, it can lock you in and prevent furthering
relationships with more appropriate partners
that come along. If a company gave you that
big fat check because they found you to be the
cause de jour, theres often no guarantee you can
depend on another one next year.
There are so many more factors that must be
evaluated in the deal today. For example: a
company may not have much to offer in the way
of sponsorship dollars, but are willing to give

you high-visibility fundraising opportunities with their employees and customers. These can
lead to incrementally more dollars for your organization. When a company buys into your
organization, it may not be with just cash today.

MAKE SURE THE GEOGRAPHY LINES UP.

Its important that a partner corporations customer base is the same location where your
organization is. A tractor company is not the best choice if youre in big cities. What that
company does isnt relatable to your supporters and your services wont be available to their
customers. Likewise, if your organizations reach is west of the Mississippi and the companys
reach is east, their investment will have little effect. One of the few times this would be of
an advantage to the company is when theyre expanding their markets or purchasing a
company in the markets that youre already in.

DONT PUT ALL YOUR GOLDEN EGGS IN ONE BASKET.

You should have a number of companies that you have smaller relationships with and others
that youre constantly evaluating. Look at these relationships like a portfolio. You need to
have a lot of people youre talking to in the pipeline. If you go after one, even if theyre the
perfect fit, they might have another partner and only want to make a small commitment
at the moment. Its wise to be having many
different conversations, even when you
feel your major partnership is secure. You
really need potential partners waiting in the
wings and doing small sponsorships as a
contingency for the loss of your major partner.
Some of the bigger corporations want to own
a program or an event exclusively. Youre not
going to mix smaller companies in with that.
If you have smaller programs or regional
programs you can go after smaller companies for those. The Fortune 500 companies will
want exclusivity and wont support smaller events unless its a region where they want to do

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business. You match the fundraiser and program with whos most likely to fund it.
Its also okay to turn down dollars and partnerships. If too many strings are attached or you
find out some undesirable traits of that corporation in the process, its okay to say no or tell
them you think the fit isnt right.

CAN YOU DELIVER WHAT THEYRE ASKING?

While were looking to get the most from a corporate partner, they have equally big
expectations of us. Its important to be honest and determine if the corporate expectations
are within reason for the resources you have available. For instance, if they want you to speak
at their lunch-and-learns every month, do you have 12 great presentations a year about your
mission that can fill that request? Or maybe they want you to house one of your staff at their
headquarters full time in order to give their employees better access and awareness of the
cause. Great, but do you have an employee and salary you can spare in order to make that
happen?
It commonly happens that large corporations seek smaller growing nonprofits in hopes the
company can own the cause. They may have bigger plans for your organization than you do.
That can be a problematic fit for both
of you. Its best to be realistic and
manage their expectations before
you start a relationship.
There are plenty more considerations
that can be specific to your cause,
your mission and the corporate
partner. Its only when you factor in
every consideration you can think
of that you can thoroughly assess a
corporate partner.

Part 4: Good Alignment.

There are so many factors that go into good alignment between a company and an
organization, but it basically comes down to this:
Your core mission and their core business will benefit each other.
When theres that symbiosis, both company and nonprofit gain. Here are a few examples:
Krogers Round Up For Hunger leverages their
grocery customers generosity to feed
the needy.
Lyft and Uber have partnered with MADD to help
keep drunk drivers off the road.
Luxottica enlists suppliers to donate glasses and pays employees to help at clinics that
provide sight in developing countries.
Each of these examples serves company and nonprofit in a very different way, but all greatly
benefit both business and mission.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK ONLINE.

Even before you talk to a potential corporate partner, its best to know exactly what they do.
Here are some online sources for fact finding:
Their company website
Their annual report
The Better Business Bureau
Wall Street Journals Quotes
The Company Page on LinkedIn
Glassdoor

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If it feels like youre stalking the company, thats good. Hopefully theyre doing just as
thorough an assessment of your organization to determine fit.

PUT THEM UNDER THE MICROSCOPE.

Remember, this isnt a gift from the company. Its a partnership that could last a decade or
more and can really power the growth of both your organization and their company. Youre
not only entitled to a thorough evaluation of a potential corporate partner, most companies
will expect it and respect you for doing your homework. If you do find a company who is
taken aback by your research, perhaps they have something to hide that you could easily
have been aware of.
Once a partnership is being considered by both sides, its pertinent to ask them what
information they want from you and ask them for a deeper evaluation. Organizations
commonly ask for:
A sit-down with marketing and executive senior staff
A tour of their office or facility
Copies of forms theyve filed with their government
A reference from a nonprofit theyve teamed up with in the past

DONT SELL YOUR SOUL.

Cause Marketing budgets continue to grow and
you may find yourself with big dollars waved
under your nose by companies that dont
align with (or even clash with) your mission.
For example: if your organization is fighting
cancer or lung disease and a cigar company
offers funding, the business and mission are
diametrically opposed. Even if theyre offering to

donate millions for a new research facility, the clash of cause and mission would be looked at
as suspect by your other supporters. Relationships like these can actually mean a loss of dollars
overall if youre offending smaller partners and donors.
Likewise, alcohol companies, payday lenders, companies that frack for oil, companies known
for bad labor practices in the Third World, etc., all may be willing to pay handsomely to try to
improve their image through nonprofit relationships, but they can be risky to partner with,
especially when mission and business clash. The tarnish from a companys image will definitely
wear off on a nonprofit partner.

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Part 5: Help them evaluate you.

If a corporation is talking to you, theyve already done at least a preliminary evaluation of
your organization. But you want to make sure they do a thorough evaluation, or at least
know that youve given them the opportunity. Its possible that your evaluation of them
failed to turn up an important element that signals a bad fit, but that their evaluation of you
will spot it. Make sure you give them whatever information they ask for and that they have
complete access to your organization. If youre transparent with them, theyre more likely to
be transparent with you. That helps for both sides to make sure the fit is good.

ANSWER THEIR QUESTIONS.

If youre reluctant, it might seem that youre hiding something. Prepare yourself with answers
ahead of time for the following questions they may ask:
Can you produce examples of how you achieve your mission?
What are the internal benchmarks of your success of delivering on mission?
How big is your supporter base in number of donors, number of followers, etc?
How involved is your board of directors in guiding the organization?
How will you set goals and measure results of the partnership?
How will you promote the partnership?
How will the relationship with your organization benefit their employees and
customers?

GIVE THEM ACCESS.

Its helpful to suggest opportunities for a potential corporate partner to evaluate your
organization. This is especially helpful if the fit is great, but they still need a little extra
convincing:
Introduce them to those who
benefit from your organization
This is often what seals the deal. It
gives them a direct and emotional
connection to the good you do.
Meet with your board This not
only shows them how well run your
organization is, but also makes it
evident how well connected your organization is.
Invite them to an event If you do a walk, this is a great opportunity to show the
size, enthusiasm and commitment of your supporter base. Remember that they look
at your supporters as potential customers. Its also good to have them talk to your
top fundraisers at an event. Not only can they impress a company with the number
of dollars theyve raised, but these evangelists for your organization will give great
unsolicited testimony on your behalf.

THE PAPERWORK.
Most documentation a company could want from you is already public. You just want to
make sure they have easy access. What theyre looking for is your:
Annual report
Tax return
Paperwork you file with the government

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EXTRA CREDIT.
If youre close to landing an organization you really want to partner with, there are a few
things you can do to help sway the decision in your favor. Showing a deeper commitment to
the relationship can get you out front of other organizations they may be considering:
Draw up a letter of intent This will lay what youre offering on the table. When a
potential corporate partner sees the complete list of what they can expect from your
organization in the relationship, it can be obvious that youre a good investment.
Do an event with them A trial run is a great way for a corporation to minimally
commit, but still see your organization
in action. It will also show you how
much theyre willing to support your
events. This can be an especially good
option for organizations lacking a
big event sponsor for their upcoming
event to fill that void for a year. Also
consider working with the company
to create an event just for them. This
will show them the partnership in
action, reveal the value you can bring, allows them to have an impact and will bring
more money and new supporters to your organization.
Encouraging a corporation to thoroughly vet you as a partner always runs the risk that you
could lose a good prospect. They may find out youre smaller than they thought or that you
spend a larger portion of revenue on infrastructure than they knew. But most likely the ones
that you lose would probably have been a bad fit anyway. The goal of this exercise is to really
show a prospective corporate partner what youre made of and how your enthusiasm and
dedication can improve their Cause Marketing effort.

Part 6: Building a healthy partnership.

The goal with any partnership is that its symbiotic and helps nonprofit and company thrive.
When you achieve that it can be beneficial to both for years to come. Its important to get the
ball rolling immediately.

MEET AND GREET.

Once the partnership begins its a good idea to sit both staffs down for an introductory
meeting. Its best not to make this a formal start-work meeting where timelines are drawn up
and responsibilities are doled out yet. Those typically mean that one or both partners have a
plan and havent consulted the other about it. Avoid this train wreck by meeting without any
separate agendas, or meet and brainstorm ideas to capitalize on that early enthusiasm. After
all, a new relationship can bring with it many new opportunities for both the organization
and the corporation. Putting faces on both the company and nonprofit really helps to get the
collaboration moving.

CREATE A JOINT COMMITTEE.

As opposed to having a nonprofit
committee and a corporate committee,
set up a joint committee that has all
their meetings together, has enough
key players included and is empowered
to act on behalf of both the nonprofit
and the corporation. Youll be surprised
how much this committee can
accomplish when theyre given the freedom to make things happen.

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MEET REGULARLY.
Companies realize today that theyll get the most out of a partnership when theres regular
collaboration with their nonprofit partner. Productive monthly meetings with agendas, goals,
assignments and reviews help to keep focus at the forefront for both parties. A monthly
meeting also provides opportunity to keep projects on track and fine tune the relationship
for the benefit of both the corporation and the nonprofit.

ADD A CORPORATE SEAT ON YOUR BOARD.

In the days when nonprofits were just
seeking sponsorships, a member of a
companys staff may have been put on
a nonprofits board and was never really
expected to show for a meeting. Those days
of lackluster involvement are over. This
isnt a ceremonial position anymore and
most corporations are well aware of that.
A partnership seat on your board will allow
their corporation to really feel theyre a part
of making a difference and communicate that back to corporate. And often your new board
members business acumen becomes a valuable asset.

ESTABLISH AGENDAS.
Its important that the partnership gets off to an effective start. Both sides should come in
with a plan for what you want to accomplish. Its likely that your corporate sponsor will ask a
lot of your organization and in return you should be prepared to ask a lot from your sponsor.
You both will be making a serious investment of resources in each other and should have big
expectations from your partnership.

TURN YOUR SUPPORTERS INTO THEIR CUSTOMERS AND VICE VERSA.

Probably the most valuable aspect to both sides in a partnership is you both have an
audience that you can introduce to the other partner. As a result of their relationship, your

supporters will become their customers and their customers will become your supporters.
Ultimately this can yield the most out of the relationship for both of you. Come prepared
with ways you can introduce your supporters to them and ideas on how their customers can
be introduced to your organization.
For example, you can hold a
supporter appreciation day and
offer your supporters coupons,
giveaways and special events at
retail locations. Likewise, when
you do a walk, the company can
promote it at their retail locations
and in their marketing, as well as
offer you employee volunteers.

DEVELOP A COMMUNICATIONS PLAN.

Co-branding is key in order to take advantage of each others brand halo. You both have
extensive communications and marketing where you can cobrand. Stick both your logos
side by side on all your communications and get them to do their same. When you announce
new initiatives and new projects, do joint announcements and press releases. Working as a
coordinated team, your communications can go much further.

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Part 7: Fundraising...the new element.

Today were seeing fundraising play a substantially larger role in a corporations Cause
Marketing efforts. Workplace giving has been around for a long time, but workplace
fundraising is a sexy new concept for some corporate partners. Businesses are gravitating to
the idea because it not only brings more funds theyve helped generate to the organization,
it also amplifies the impact they can have on the cause. When an employee shifts from being
a donor to being a fundraiser, they can graduate from a $100 donation to raising $1,000 or
more. Today the dollar amount of a corporations donation and their employees gift can
be small when compared to what a company can energize in employee, customer and
community fundraising. The business gets credit for bringing the money in without having to
fork over all that cash themselves.

FUNDRAISING CAN INCREASE YOUR VALUE TO THE CORPORATION.

When you empower your corporate partner to fundraise, you may be opening a door that
they didnt know existed. Many corporations today are looking to have a bigger impact
on causes and fundraising amplifies this impact. Even when a corporation has multiple
nonprofit partners, the organization that first brings them the vehicle for effective fundraising
not only increases the nonprofits revenue, but also increases their value to the company.
This leads to a stronger relationship and can often be accompanied by more sponsorship
dollars and more exclusive involvement with your organization.

SUGGEST EVENTS AND CAMPAIGNS.

In the past its seemed that nonprofits were constantly throwing fundraising ideas to
corporations, hoping they could get one to stick. Back then, some corporations looked on
this as an annoyance. But that climate has drastically changed. Cause Marketing is now
considered a product line and not an afterthought. It has its own goals that need to be
delivered on. Cause Marketing directors expect new fundraising ideas from their nonprofit
partners and organizations that dont deliver them may be brushed aside to make way for

nonprofits that are more business savvy and offer solid plans for helping the company grow
their Cause Marketing.
Work with your corporate partners to create new events and campaigns specifically for them.
Theyre looking for ideas that will help their staff, customers, your supporters and the public
join with them in impacting your cause. Note that every event and campaign must build
stronger relationships with their public. Here are some popular areas:
Marketing tie-ins These give companies opportunities to promote fundraising
around the companys marketing campaigns. For your organization, this means dollars
as well as great publicity. Work on ideas that gracefully tie their sales or promotions to
your event or campaign.
In-store events Campaigns connected with events that draw people into physical
locations mean more business for your corporate partner and more funds for you. They
also provide you with an opportunity to show the public exactly how your organization
is having an impact first hand.
In-office challenges Fundraising between departments, stores, corporate offices,
lines of business, etc. is a great team-building activity. Provide each team with a photo
or in-person meet-up with an individual that theyre helping. It can really give them
something to fight for.
Fundraise-your-way campaigns These are rapidly becoming an organizations best
friend. Give the corporation the ability for their staff, customers and the public to do cobranded campaigns in your fundraising software. Theres minimal involvement needed
from your staff and fundraise-your-way campaigners raise more than five times as much
as event participants.

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THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD FUNDRAISING SOFTWARE.

The ease-of-use and effectiveness of peer-to-peer fundraising software is rapidly taking
on a new importance as companies realize the impact that fundraising can have on their
corporate cause. Theyre most impressed when their employees and customers can use the
same software with corporate branded pages for events, fundraise-your-way campaigns and
internal corporate fundraisers. These are features that DonorDrive is having great success
with for corporations using peer-to-peer. Make sure your fundraising software offers easy
fundraising, a simple donation process and mobile-friendly fundraising pages that match
your corporate partners brand. If software is hard to use, doesnt work on mobile and is too
generic to match corporate branding, you run the risk of the corporate partner thinking a lack
of money raised is because your organization is not up to the task. Successful fundraising is
rapidly becoming an indicator of a successful nonprofit partner. For a long-term partnership
to succeed, fundraising software issues cant become a focal point.

IN CLOSING...
Were seeing a trend in corporate partnerships that moves beyond giving an organization
one-off sponsorship dollars to long-term relationships that supply organizations with
so many of the resources they need to deliver on their mission. A final point here: Make
sure that everyone in your organization, from the board on down, is onboard with a new
corporate partners expectations.
Job number one is to deliver on
your promisesif you expect that
relationship to last. Corporations are
now expecting a business relationship
with their nonprofit partners and since
theyd dump any business partner that
doesnt perform, organizations can
expect the same treatment as Cause
Marketing evolves. But one thing is for sure: Companies really love when an organization
over-delivers.

Ed Lord
Chief Strategy Officer

Ed comes to Global Cloud from a 25-year career in fundraising for the American Cancer
Society that helped generate over one billion dollars for the organization. His last role at ACS
was Senior Vice President of Business Development for the South Atlantic Division. He was
instrumental in the development of Relay For Life and a pioneer in peer-to-peer fundraising.

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Special Bonus Feature

5 WAYS TO RETAIN A CORPORATE PARTNER.
With organizations focusing on long-term partnerships as opposed to annual or onetime sponsorships, its important that you work to retain those sponsors. Its a given
that your organization will deliver on promises to your corporate partner, but there
are simple things you can do to ensure that you continue that partnership for years to
come.
1 Share results Businesses are results driven and want numbers about the
success of your partnership. What they really want to know is how much theyve
helped raise and the tangible impact of their dollars on your mission.
2 Publicize their efforts Organizations look to you to tell the world of their good
deeds. Talk about them whenever possible through your newsletter, social
channels and any media opportunity you have.
3 Give recognition Your events are ideal opportunities to thank your corporate
partner in front of many of your supporters at events. Also give awards both
in front of their executives and employees, as well as in front of your board.
Individual executives and employees whove made the partnership a success
should be publicized in a press release.
4 Present them with a photo of their team When I was with the American
Cancer Society, We had one corporate partner which was vital to our success.
They gave sponsorship dollars but more importantly their employees supported
the event. To highlight this support, every year we hired a photographer and
brought in a crane to take photos of the employee team at the event. We made

sure that we included a banner for ACS. Then we presented them with a big copy
of the photo that was nicely framed. These graced their lobby with a new one
added each year. It helped cement the relationship and made it difficult for them
to even think of changing the partnership.
5 Keep your promises This is most important, dont over promise when youre
trying to obtain a corporate partner and do over deliver on what you promise.
All these moves are effective, but the most important aspect of building a
relationship is trust. Trust is only established by doing what you said you
would do.
In addition to helping maintain the relationship, these ideas can also help you grow
the relationship for the future. After all, the more you show your appreciation for all a
partner does, the more they may show appreciation with bigger programs and more
sponsorship dollars in years to come.

2016 Global Cloud

27

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