Collaborations Between Nonprofits and Businesses

8 min read

March 4th, 2024

Charity partnerships — nonprofits teaming up with for-profit businesses — are a clever way for nonprofits to expand their mission impact and for businesses to improve their bottom line. 

We don’t always take notice of these advantageous partnerships. However, they are more common and more beneficial than you likely realize.

In this partnership, a company called Product Red teamed up with the Global Fund and several businesses to put distinctive, red-colored products (remember the iPods and t-shirts?) in stores. A portion of the sales from these products raised over $150 million for fighting malaria, AIDS, and tuberculosis in Africa.

Read More: The Pros and Cons of Outsourced Accounting Services for Businesses

3. UNICEF and Target

In 2015, UNICEF and Target teamed up with two goals: feeding hungry children and encouraging children to live more active lives. Target sold child-friendly fitness-tracking devices and gamified fitness goals. When children used the devices and completed activities, they won food packages for 50,000 hungry children around the world.

4. ASPCA and Subaru

Subaru knows its target market, and that target market consists mostly of pet lovers. Through a strong partnership, Subaru has donated more than $38 million to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and hosted adoption events in hundreds of dealerships to help more than 134,000 animals find forever homes.

Mutual Advantages: The Benefits of Corporate-Nonprofit Partnerships

Almost every charity partnership produces a symbiotic relationship where both parties benefit from the arrangement. In the best partnerships, missions, values, and more are aligned between the nonprofit and the for-profit business, helping to amplify brand messaging, mission education, and overall advantages.

How Nonprofits Benefit From Business Partnerships

• Increased Awareness – Partnering with a business can increase your nonprofit’s visibility without any additional marketing expense.
• Increased Engagement – Community engagement will naturally increase through a business partnership.
• Trust and Reputation – Aligning your nonprofit with a well-respected business can bolster your organization’s reputation and the public’s trust in your mission and ability to carry it out effectively.
• Volunteer Stream – Business partnerships often provide a steady stream of volunteers through the business’s employees and their families and friends.
• Reliable Funding – Certain types of charity partnerships include a commitment to providing funding to the nonprofit. For example, businesses often commit to donating a certain percentage of every sale or total revenue to a nonprofit. This means your organization will benefit from gaining a reliable revenue stream.
• In-Kind Donations – In other partnership arrangements, a business might agree to provide a certain amount of in-kind donations in the form of goods, services, and/or expertise.
• Collaboration – Working together means a wider, shared audience that will help your nonprofit spread its message and expand its mission.
• Networking and Knowledge-Sharing – A business partnership will greatly expand your nonprofit’s network and enable you to benefit from the insights and experiences of your for-profit partners.
• Board Members – Partnering with a successful business will give your nonprofit access to a wealth of highly knowledgeable, experienced, and high-value candidates for board members.

How Businesses Benefit From Nonprofit Partnerships

• Positive Publicity – Partnering with a nonprofit that has a mission aligned with your company’s values (and the values of your employees and customers) will automatically generate positive publicity for your business.
• Reputation Building – Publicly supporting a nonprofit demonstrates your business’s commitment to not only generating profits but also to making a positive difference. This will help you build a positive reputation in the public eye.
• Brand Awareness and Perception – As you build your reputation through a charity partnership, brand awareness will naturally increase as you reach the nonprofit’s audience as well as your own, and the public’s perception of your business will continue to improve.
• Community Engagement – As members of the community wish to get involved with the nonprofit to support its mission, they will also become increasingly engaged with your business. The charity partnership will provide your marketing team with plenty of opportunities for positive content creation that your followers will want to interact with, respond to, and share.
• Employee Engagement – Nonprofit partnerships are a great way to improve employee engagement, satisfaction, and happiness. Partnering with a nonprofit adds an important element to the experience of working for your business. Employees can feel good that the work they are doing is supporting a good cause while feeling like they are also fulfilling a higher purpose in their lives.
• Customer Loyalty – When customers know that choosing to do business with you also means choosing to support a good cause, they’ll want to keep coming back. Customers will feel better about giving their money to your business instead of a competitor that isn’t partnered with a good cause.
• Networking – Collaboration with a nonprofit will expand your business’s network throughout the nonprofit’s network, increasing your access to resources, expertise, and potential clients.
• Tax Deductions – Nonprofit partnerships benefit your tax-reduction strategy because the monetary donations and in-kind support that you provide to your nonprofit partner will be fully tax deductible.
• Impact to the Triple Bottom Line – Whether you focus on it or not, your business has a triple bottom line that consists of profits, people, and the planet. Teaming up with a nonprofit can help you boost all three Ps of your triple bottom line.
  

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Define Objectives

Before jumping into a partnership, both parties should define their goals, objectives, and what they want to achieve together. Charity partners should identify measurable goals so that progress can actually be tracked to determine how beneficial the partnership is to both parties.

Determine the Type of Partnership

Several different types of charity partnerships exist. You and your potential partner will need to agree on the kind of partnership you wish to form. Some examples of partnership models include:

• Sponsorships – The business provides financial support in exchange for brand exposure and positive publicity.
• Supply and Service Sharing – Nonprofits and businesses share services and supplies through their mission and/or in-kind donations to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
• Skill-Based Volunteers – The business encourages employees and/or helps to facilitate volunteer time where employees share their skills and expertise.
• Workplace Giving – Employees can donate directly through payroll deductions.
• Cause Marketing – Businesses sell a specific product, donate a portion of the proceeds, and increase awareness.
• Grant Making – Businesses offer grant programs, accept proposals, and award funds to deserving nonprofits.

Write an Agreement

Once you’ve determined your objectives and the type of partnership you wish to form, put it in writing.

Communicate

As is the case in any relationship, communication is key to a successful corporate-nonprofit partnership. Keep the lines of communication open, meet regularly, check in, share updates, and talk about your needs and expectations.

Revisit the Strategy and Make Changes

Your partnership shouldn’t be set in stone. Feel free to talk about what’s working, what isn’t, and what you would like to change going forward to continuously improve the relationship and maximize the benefits for both parties.