Advancement Associates

Articles & White Papers

01/11/2007
Corporate giving

THE CORPORATE DONATION
Corporations play an important role in fundraising programs by setting the pace for community awareness and involvement. But seeking these dollars can be an intimidating venture. When preparing to approach a prospective donor one should be aware of several factors that influence giving:

1. Corporations focus their giving. Corporate donors do not give to pay salaries or to maintain an operating budget; rather, they target their gifts to specific problems and want to see that their support will make a difference. Corporate appeals should present concrete needs with measurable results.


2. Corporations align their giving with business or employee interests. Whenever possible, grant seekers should approach corporations whose mission is compatible with their own. Conflicting business strategies can detract from a corporations interest in philanthropy. For example, a pet food company is probably more likely to support a local animal shelter than an art museum. Similarly, corporate donors maintain good employee relations by contributing to causes in which employees have an active or substantial interest.


3. Corporations want gifts to bolster their image. Through their gifts, corporations benefit their local communities and in turn improve the quality of life for their employees. Support of the successful nonprofit leads to increased name recognition and a positive image for the corporation. Conversely, when the corporation has little or no involvement in the nonprofit solicitors community that is, the company does not have employees or a place of business in that area there is decreased incentive for them to make a contribution.


4. Corporations expect good stewardship. Corporations have to be efficient; they expect the same of the nonprofits that they support.


5. Mergers don't necessarily mean increased budgets or larger gifts. Corporations exist to make a profit. Their ultimate goal is shareholder satisfaction, not philanthropy. Mergers do not double the size of giving budgets sometimes they are actually cut. Some corporations don't budget for philanthropy at all, meaning that giving becomes an unaffordable luxury. A newly merged corporation should be treated as a new relationship, with fresh investigation of giving policies and habits.


6. Most corporations do not want or accept unsolicited proposals. As in so many areas, corporate giving decisions often come down to who knows whom. Having a personal relationship with a CEO or board member of a partnering agency improves ones chances for funding. Development officers should give top priority to establishing and maintaining such relationships for themselves, their CEOs and their board members.


7. Volunteering can be an effective way to initiate contact with a corporation. Many businesses encourage volunteerism among their employees. By offering opportunities for corporations to get involved with its work in a hands on way, a nonprofit also opens the door to future funding as these employee volunteers actually submit requests on its behalf.


8. Nonprofit support comes from many departments within the corporation. Contributions can come from marketing, public affairs, communications or other departments; knowing this allows a nonprofit to communicate directly with the department that might be most sympathetic to its request.


9. Corporations give with the customers in mind. Consumers make decisions based on community improvement or involvement. Corporate donors must ask themselves, Who and what would our current and future customers expect us to support?


10. New CEOs may lack a vision and commitment to the local community. Especially when dealing with large or international corporations, it is important to realize that a CEO may not be from your area. Such CEOs are constantly learning about the communities where they have plants. With attention on globalization, corporations may have less interest in local domestic needs. Cultivation and education are critical to success.


11. Peer pressure can be a powerful influence for corporate philanthropy. As various contributors come forth to support a specific need, it can become very obvious who is not doing their share. This is most readily observed when needs are of a large scale or in the public eye as in the case of Hurricane Katrina.

Corporate giving models

Ways corporations give

Corporate gifts are not always financial; nonprofits are urged to consider various goods/services from which they might benefit. Non-cash (in-kind) gifts can include:


  • Cause-related marketing—the corporation donates to a charitable cause a portion of every dollar a customer spends.

  • Matching dollars—used by a corporation as a way to encourage philanthropy among its employees.

  • Gifts in kind—organizations who cannot contribute cash are often willing to give a product instead; Microsoft, for example, has given much software.

  • Pro bono services—examples include an employee benefits review, marketing survey or audit.

  • Personnel—a corporation will sometimes loan an executive to serve as a spokesperson or to mentor individuals in his/her particular field of expertise; agencies are sometimes granted access to corporate employees to serve as board members and other volunteer positions.

  • Facilities—both organizations can benefit. For example, a corporation may let you use its training room in exchange for use of your cafeteria, gymnasium or other facility.

  • Lending—banks are sometimes willing to extend charitable rates to nonprofits that meet their qualifications for such a transaction.

  • Collaborations—in some cases, like national industry associations and unions, multiple corporations collaborate to support the same nonprofit.

  • Managerial advice on technological, communications or other needs.

How to approach a corporation
Remember that each corporation is a separate and unique prospective donor. Before approaching a corporation about a gift, do your homework. What are its interests? Through what individuals, services, products or programs might this corporation link with yours? To what extent is the corporation financially able to give to causes? What are its giving policies? Are its giving patterns changing and if so, how? What requirements does the corporation have for submitting proposals? Finally, and perhaps most importantly, who should you contact?

Answers to these and other questions you may have are available from a variety of sources. Business sections of area newspapers, while still useful, are quickly being replaced by websites as the best source of information. Within the corporation itself you can check with the public relations or corporate contributions departments. Request a copy of the annual report. Chamber of commerce directories, business journals and other periodicals, and recognition lists of event programs are also good sources.

Once you have done your research, its time to make a personal contact. As mentioned before, meeting with the right person is essential; while the CEO may be that person, he/she often is not. Identify opinion leaders within the corporation. If you can, have a mutual acquaintance set up and join you on the visit. Confirm the meeting beforehand, either by phone or in writing(email). If a physical meeting is impossible, write a good letter.

For the actual visit, take a short written summary of your case. Include facts to prove your case and tell your agency's success stories. Accentuate the positive, but also be prepared to provide more documentation and measurable results, if requested; you may also need to answer questions about your board and their involvement and to establish the accountability of your organization.

Make sure you respond to the visit appropriately; do not hesitate to ask for funding if you're invited to do so. But be aware that an actual funding request may or may not be the correct response on that first visit. Be gracious. A thank you is appropriate for your contact persons time even if you don't get funded. Remember that you are not entitled to the corporations money. Even if your contact does not produce a gift, cultivate the relationships you've begun by continuing to communicate with these leaders.
Finally, maintain a database of the corporations you research. Useful fields include:

  • corporate name
  • locations of headquarters and regional offices
  • nature of business
  • names of principals
  • number of employees
  • affiliations
  • areas of giving interest
  • type of gift programs
  • amount of giving
  • contacts/results
  • contact person
  • linkages list
  • evaluation
  • financial information
  • if the corporation gives through an affiliate foundation

All of the principles outlined here are even more important when working with a private business. When seeking funding from these entities one must remember that building and maintaining meaningful relationships is paramount. Ultimately, people give to people.