Five ways to make your charity partnership work for you
When businesses and not-for-profit organisations come together, the impact can be great. But how can you make sure that your not-for-profit partnerships work for your business and have the impact you’re looking for?
At Landcare Australia, we’ve been working in partnership with businesses for close to thirty years, and in that time we’ve learnt a few things! So here are our five key tips for making sure you get the most out of your partnership.
- Search for synergy
Although some people say that opposites attract, in this case, a partnership works best if there is true synergy between the business and not-for-profit. What kind of organisation will resonate with your stakeholders, your leadership team, and your customers? Finding a partner that’s a good fit with your brand and business gives your partnership a much better chance of success before it’s even begun.
- Be specific
What do you want to achieve through your partnership? Set some specific goals that enable you to measure success. Is it the number of employees engaged, the number of groups or schools supported, the number of trees planted, the number of new customers converted? Make sure your goals are easy to measure and resonate with your business.
- Be strategic
A partnership will only provide real benefit to your business if it links with your objectives. Perhaps it could tie in with your sustainability or CSR strategy or help you achieve a specific business goal. Look at your strategies and think about the type of partnerships that can help you achieve them.
- Work together
Once the partnership has been developed, don’t just sit back and wait for the results to roll in. Any business that dedicates resources to making a partnership work will get value from it. You may even consider allocating a leveraging budget. Catch up regularly with your partner, make sure you know what they’re doing, and ask them to help you get the most from the partnership.
- Share your story
A great partnership is worth telling people about. Work together with your charity partner to keep your employees, customers and other stakeholders up to date through a range of communications activities. Include stories and results in your annual report or sustainability report. Take opportunities to present about your partnership to your leadership team or consider organising an employee volunteering day. By making sure your team understand the value of your partnership, it can only lead to better engagement and better results.
