Corporate partnerships are a growing focus for many charities. And when done right they can be incredibly beneficial to both the charity and the business.

According to research from New Philanthropy Capital, 41% of charities expect to partner more with private sector organisations in the future.

Corporate partnerships benefit charities through an increase in funding streams, gaining knowledge of the corporate sector, and sometimes even dedicated mentoring support.

Businesses also benefit from creating an impact in the areas that matter to their employees, meeting corporate social responsibility goals and gaining knowledge of the charitable sector.

How to attract the right business for your charity?

Be specific about what you want to get out of it.

As with our advice to corporates, it’s important that when entering into a partnership both parties are clear on their expectations. For example, make sure your corporate partner knows whether you are looking for funding, time, or services volunteered.

Focus on your unique selling point.

You might feel like your charity is competing with thousands of others for that perfect corporate partnership. So it’s important to focus on what makes your charity different to others.

Charities Aid Foundation has some handy tips for preparing your pitch and capturing your charity’s story. “It’s important you show your charity’s human side. Demonstrate clearly what you do and how your services make a tangible difference to people’s lives and society.”

Brevio’s grants matching service lets you create a profile to capture your organisation’s focus areas and beneficiary groups from carefully researched industry keywords. You can then share this profile with corporates who you want to partner with, giving them greater insight into who you are and what your focus is.

Set measurable goals.

Charity Digital recommends setting clearly defined goals. “Measuring impact has never been more important in the charity space. Having clearly defined, measurable goals towards progress is central to keeping the relationship on track.”

What does a good partnership look like?

One recent example we love is the partnership between Deliveroo and Switchboard LGBT+. The two teamed up to mark the anniversary of the first ever Pride event by selling ‘alphabet soup’ to raise funds for Switchboard LGBT+.

Another great example is the partnership between comparethemarket.com and multiple charities - including The Charlie Gard Foundation, 4Louis, and Kidney Research UK. Data experts from comparethemarket.com used their company volunteering day to teach data skills to the charities as part of their Data4Good initiative.

Have you had a successful corporate-charity partnership? We would love to hear about it, email [[email protected]] and let us know what made it work.

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Are you looking for advice on how to partner your business with charity? Find out more here.

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