So often I sit in meetings and listen to how companies did not have a good experience when they sponsored a charity event and then on the flip side, hear how nonprofits say that they wish the company had maximized their sponsorship opportunity more.
To put it simply, companies are from Mars and nonprofits are from Venus. They speak different languages. To really make the most of your corporate sponsorships and nonprofit partnerships, these two entities need to speak the same language. And that common language is building a corporate philanthropy plan. By building a plan, companies can put strategies in place and nonprofits will get more company engagement – a win/win for all. There are three key elements to establishing a strategic philanthropic plan.
Assessment
First, you need to dive into the details and get an idea of past giving efforts. By asking five questions:
- Five Questions to Assess Your Company’s Giving History:
- What has the company given in the past?
- What types of organizations has the company supported?
- How much money has been designated to those charities/organizations?
- Who is involved in the company and on what boards/committees?
- Who are our current nonprofit partners and how do they align with our corporate goals, values, and interests?
Assessment is such a critical part in the planning process because as the old saying goes, “you don’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been.” The assessment will give your company benchmarks that you can then track and evaluate year after year.
Plan
A strategic philanthropic plan is similar to a company’s own strategic plan. It puts philanthropic and/or community relations goals and strategies in place for the next 3-5 years that align with a company’s current goals, values and business interests.
- Five Key Elements of a Strategic Philanthropic Plan:
- Solidifying a company’s focus giving areas. These are the 2-4 over-arching charitable areas that a company wants to support (Arts & Culture, Education, Health & Human Services, etc.)
- Establishing giving guidelines. Determining the parameters that will guide a company in their corporate giving efforts.
- Creating processes. It’s important to flush out what the nonprofit application process will look like as well as determine who will oversee certain initiatives.
- Aligning the company with key organizations that meet their focus giving areas. This allows a company to determine what programs, volunteer initiatives, boards and events they want to best align themselves with.
- Establishing measurements based upon the goals and objectives.
Execution
A plan without execution is no plan at all. It’s important to make sure that your company has an individual or systems in place that can make sure the plan is implemented. The company needs to constantly be re-evaluating itself and making sure it is meeting the goals and objectives established in the plan.
When you build a strategic corporate giving plan, companies and nonprofits can then speak the same language. And when they speak the same language, they can have a beautiful and meaningful relationship.
Kelly Unplugged
Would love to hear from you about some great partnerships between a company and a nonprofit that you are familiar with.
**Picture taken from Amazon.com
Hi Kelly – great article! although the type and photos were merging together on the right-hand side so not sure if I was seeing the whole thing. I am on a MAC and viewing through Firefox – you just may want to check with your designer….
Cheers –
A great corporate example is Steelcase – they do an amazing job partnering with community….check out their 100 year campaign…phenomenal work!
http://www.steelcase.com/en/company/100-year/pages/main.aspx
Thanks for letting me know Linda. I’m viewing it on Safari and it appears fine. Will look into it. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing. Looks like a great company. Are they a client?
Very well written article. It will be valuable to everyone who usess it, including me. Keep up the good work – i will definitely read more posts.
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Thanks for the compliment. Glad the info was useful. Please feel free to follow me on Facebook/StrategicPhilanthropy or Twitter @StratPhil as I also share tips for companies and nonprofits.
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Thanks Gracie! You can follow us on Facebook/StrategicPhilanthropy or Twitter @StratPhil for more tips and resources as well.
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Hi Racheal,
Thanks for the comment. Let me know if you have any other topics you want to read about. Always open to suggestions. Also, feel free to like us on Facebook.com/StrategicPhilanthropy or follow us on Twitter @StratPhil.
I do trust all the ideas you have introduced on your post. They are very convincing and will definitely work. Nonetheless, the posts are too short for beginners. May you please extend them a little from subsequent time? Thanks for the post.
Thanks for the feedback. Agreed, this post is too short for this topic, but I was looking to give people an overview of how to start giving smarter. If you are looking for more guidance, I’d recommend “Smart Giving is Good Business” by Curt Weeden. Hope this helps!
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