A Corporate Fundraising Convo with Heather Nelson, Ep #68

Episode 68

With Benjamin Johnson and Heather Nelson

Just because corporate fundraising feels complicated does not mean it is. It’s also not a money buffet that charities can just show up to for funding. It requires strategy, skill, and a little bit of patience. On this episode, Ben sits down with Heather Nelson of BridgeRaise to discuss the ins and outs of corporate fundraising, why charities seek corporate partnerships, the shadow side of corporate funding, and how to take your first steps as a charity into the space.

You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...

  • Getting to know Heather Nelson [0:57]

  • Defining corporate fundraising [6:18]

  • Should charities seek corporate funds? [13:19]

  • Understanding the shadow side of corporate giving [27:34]

  • Taking the first steps toward corporate fundraising [37:35]

  • Free resources and final questions [45:41]

Bringing clarity to corporate fundraising

The term corporate fundraising means a lot of things to a lot of people. That’s part of the problem! To those in the corporate world, corporate fundraising could be nonprofits raising money from the employees of a company. Within charities, corporate fundraising is used as a catch-all for everything from raising money from corporate foundations, to corporate sponsorships, to raising funds from small businesses in the local community. The complexity of corporate fundraising programs happens because charities think about all of these things as the same thing, at the same time. However, if you separate them out, you can create a cohesive strategy for each. Or just pick one of them and do it well. The more you define what you want to do and why, the more effective your organization will be at corporate fundraising.

The importance of value alignment

One of the main reasons charities seek corporate fundraising is because they’ve done it before, but Heather warns the validity of that reasoning has expired. In the early days of corporate fundraising, companies actually gave to charities with little to no strings attached. But over the last decade, the business case for corporate fundraising on the company side has increased exponentially. Corporations are now extremely aware of the marketing and employee engagement benefits this kind of fundraising provides. Just because they have the money does not mean they are aligned with the mission and values of the charity. Worst case scenario, the partnership actually harms the charity in some way. But it could also end up being a huge waste of time and resources. It's worth taking a little bit of time on the front end to figure out guidelines and the alignment you're looking for before you dive in head first.

Creating a mutually beneficial relationship

Another aspect of successful corporate fundraising is maintaining a mutually beneficial relationship for both the company and the charity. Some companies expect benefits from nonprofits that place a huge burden on their resources and go against their ultimate mission. One of the most prevalent examples is employee volunteerism. Every corporate HR Director wants their employees to be able to volunteer at your charity. The numbers on employee engagement alone are off the charts. The problem is that many charities don’t have an easy way to make this happen. Hosting corporate volunteers is more work than any other form of volunteerism. The questions have to be asked: How much effort should you put into building an employee engagement volunteer program, and how much money should the corporation pay for that? The reality is the value the charity is bringing to the company far exceeds the volunteer hours they are providing. Listen to this episode for more insight on corporate fundraising!

Resources & People Mentioned

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