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The Professional Approach to Attracting Corporate
Funders
by Linda Zukowski
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The Professional Approach to Attracting Corporate
Funders
by Linda Zukowski
Corporations consider their charitable giving to be an investment in the community and they do not invest their dollars recklessly. The money used to support non-profit programs is money that is not turned into profits for shareholders. As a result, corporate executives must be able to demonstrate the sound underlying reasons for their investments, or they risk the disapproval of their shareholders. Companies, therefore, fund those non-profits that they determine to be good business investments.
Regardless of whether a company's charitable giving is due to an honest desire to positively impact social issues, or less lofty reasons such as public relations, employee motivation or increasing sales, most companies recognize the advantage of developing partnerships with non-profit agencies. Since companies want to be seen as supporting social issues of importance to consumers, charitable giving programs are frequently a strategic part of a company's overall business plan.
When seeking funding from a corporation, non-profits should recognize the value they bring to the transaction. The non-profit is requesting support, but at the same time, the non-profit is offering the corporation something of value. Non-profit agencies speak for the community. They are supported by clients and donors who recognize and respect the value of the services provided by the non-profit. These same people, an agency's donors and clients, are courted by corporations looking to attract new customers and markets for their products and services. Corporations want to link their company name with the name and good reputation of non-profit agencies engaged in exceptional work in the community, and so successful non-profits are an attractive investment for companies seeking to sway a particular customer set or constituency.
Although the process of seeking corporate funding can be intimidating, it is not as complicated as it may seem. Once you determine a match between your company's work and the corporate funder's interests, you then must utilize the rules for interacting in the business world. Notice that I used the word "company" to describe your non-profit agency. If you are to successfully navigate around the world of business, begin to think of your agency as a business. This means your interactions must be professional and confident, and you must use terminology familiar to business people.
All your written and spoken communications must be professional, brief and to the point. The focus should be on facts. Including some emotion in a proposal is fine, but avoid filling the document with heart wrenching tales and anecdotal comments. Properly used, drama and emotion can increase a proposal's readability, but overused, it can make a project seem amateurish and untested.
When requesting financial support, you are asking a company to enter into a partnership with your agency in the creation of a solution to a particular issue. Your communications must demonstrate that your agency will be a capable partner and a successful investment. Successful non-profit agencies identify the value the offer a corporation, and then enter all transactions involving the company with a professional, business-like attitude.
It's understandable that some non-profit staff members feel nervous and uncomfortable even thinking about discussing their program with a corporate foundation manager. Yet, through the use of clear and concise facts, well- planned strategies and outcomes, non-profits can demonstrate that their agency is a sound business investment.
Linda Zukowski is the author of Fistfuls of Dollars: Fact and Fantasy About Corporate Charitable Giving, from which this article was taken. The book summarizes six months of face-to-face interviews with managers from large nationwide corporations and is designed to help non-profits improve their chances of obtaining corporate funding. It primarily contains the thoughts, ideas and suggestions from the people actually involved in deciding where corporations will spend their charitable dollars. Go to Amazon.com.
Funding Links
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