It’s not all about the charity of the year! Our Chief Executive, Kerry Rock, takes you through some of the other corporate opportunities you may not have considered.
If you haven’t considered corporate fundraising before you may think your options are limited to becoming a company’s charity of the year. This can feel out of reach for smaller organisations that don’t have the connections and aren’t household names. Luckily, if you aren’t charity of the year material, that doesn’t mean corporate fundraising isn’t for you. Here are six other corporate opportunities you can pursue.
Marketing/Affinity partnerships
A marketing partnership between your charity and a company can be mutually beneficial. You have a pool of engaged stakeholders who care passionately about your cause and businesses will see the value of being associated with your brand. As well as marketing partnerships, consider affinity partnerships. This might mean your charity promotes a company’s products to your supporters. In return for this promotion, you may receive a commission for every referral you influence or a set fee for the duration of the partnership. As with any partnership, there could be reputational downsides to collaborating with some organisations, so make sure you do your due diligence before committing to anything.
Cause-related marketing partnerships
This is when a business aligns itself with a cause that’s important to them and runs a campaign to raise awareness for that cause and demonstrate corporate social responsibility. This could be something as simple as asking their customers to round up to the nearest pound when buying one of their products and donating the proceeds to your charity. As well as the financial implications, this will increase your charity’s reach and improve the public perception of the company you partner with.
Employee fundraising/matched fundraising partnerships
Employee engagement is vital for charities and companies. If some of your existing supporters work for a large corporation, asking them to recommend your charity for a matched fundraising scheme could unlock some fruitful corporate connections.
Sponsorship for events
If you’re running a fundraising event, a corporate sponsor could provide something for free to help increase the value of your event. This could be money, services or products that make your event more attractive and draw a large crowd.
Grants from corporate trusts and foundations
Corporate foundations are often set up by large businesses to make grants to charities from company profit. In addition to grants, these trusts may also offer the charity support via their expertise or volunteer hours.
Gifts in kind
Instead of a financial contribution, a business may be able to offer your charity a gift in kind, freeing up some of your resources to be spent elsewhere. This could be things like expert advice, drinks or catering for a fundraising event, rent-free office space or equipment to help you deliver your services.
At Prospecting for Gold, we have over 25 years of experience helping charities and non-profits meet their fundraising goals. If you have a question about corporate fundraising, email info@prospectingforgold.co.uk and we’ll happily help.