Without well-aligned partnerships, it will be hard to complete your NFP mission and raise the necessary funds to make your charity a success. Here are some facts you will need to take into consideration when choosing your corporate partners.

Consider partner values

Have you stopped to consider their brand and set of values? Does it align with yours? Their ideals clearly have to match that of your charity, and you must have some commonality on which to move forward. Take the time to get to know your corporate sponsors, before you sign on the dotted line.

Research their reputation

You must do your homework and research the company. Failure to do so can have detrimental repercussions on your NFP. Check out their social media pages and Google their name to see what you can find. It also pays to ask around to see what kind of opinion others may have of them.

Aim for local partnerships

Partnering with a local business will have many great benefits. It will enable you to spread the word and strengthen your bond at local events and really propel you forward to meet bigger national partners in the future. Getting involved with the local community will be easier if you are both located close to one another, or at least in the same state.

Analyse their needs

What are they going to get out of the partnership? Remember that the relationship cannot be all one-sided. From your research, you should be able to determine what they might want from the partnership. While you may get extra marketing opportunities and an injection of funds, what can you offer your partner? Do they want to strengthen their own brand or demonstrate social and community responsibility? Or are there other motivations at play?

Demonstrate the commercial viability

Have you stopped to consider your promotional value? What commercial opportunities can you provide to a business? The organisation will be keen to boost their brand through the partnership as well. Consider whether you may need to make minor changes to your operations to ensure that the partnership will work.

Assess your processes

Are you email newsletters, social media pages and media outlets set up? Will suggestions offered by corporate sponsors be weighed up and considered as they are given? Understand a bit about what you will be required to do as part of the relationship and have those systems set up beforehand.