As a business owner looking to grow their social impact, one of the many pleasures you get to enjoy is the freedom to choose who you work with. In my journey, I’ve found that corporate partnerships are a powerful (and rewarding!) vehicle to combine funding, talents, and resources and extend our social reach.
While most know that corporate partnerships are crucial to the survival and growth of their non-profit organization, they may not know where to start.
As a social entrepreneur and business owner over the last 24 years, I’ve found these 3 tips to be very reliable when building a strong corporate partnership:
1. Approach to take with a Prospective Corporation
I encourage you to brainstorm a list of possible partners with a few prerequisites in mind. It’s very important to seek out opportunities with like-minded corporations that share the same vision and values.
Remember, a potential partnership could spring from an old business connection or an online conference, so be open to all avenues of opportunity. Once you have your list of possible partners, it’s time to build a structured plan to approach each one.
2. Do Your Research
Before you approach a potential corporate partner do your research. You need to discover if the mission of your organization resonates with their corporate responsibility statement. Check out their website to see what type of organizations they have partnered with, what types of volunteer projects have they done in the community, what organizations have they awarded grants to in the past, you can learn a lot by going to their website. It is key for you to do your research BEFORE approaching a potential corporate partner!
3. Develop/Outline an Agreement Between
Once you and your potential partner have agreed to team up, it’s time to have a conversation and create an agreement between their corporation and your organization, making sure that your partnership is mutually aligned.
While I encourage you to be open to compromise, don’t feel pressured to relinquish the decisions, goals, and processes that are truly important to you.
Blessings to you on your journey! Start with these 3 simple steps and you are on your way to forming an impactful corporate partnership.