Did you know that there are different ‘buckets’ of money (or budgets) within some companies that you can access when you are looking to create a partnership?
Where you put your fundraising efforts will therefore depend on the outcomes you seek.
In order to build a robust and diverse funding strategy for your non-profit, it’s important to spread your fundraising efforts across several areas or platforms. The key to your sustainability is the diversity in your income streams.
You may even be able to access more than one budget within some companies, depending on what kind of support you are seeking for your organisation or event.
If you are looking for corporate sponsorship funds, then this will generally come out of a company’s marketing budget. Short and sweet. Remember, this is not philanthropy or a donation because a company thinks you are a ‘good cause’. Companies use their marketing budget to grow their brand, sell more products and services. How can sponsoring your organisation or event allow them to do that? (More on this in further articles!!)
If you can offer staff engagement and volunteering opportunities that are aimed at connecting a company and their employees to your community of followers, programs and events, then they will be delving into their HR (human resources) budget.
If it is appropriate for your organisation to approach a company for corporate social responsibility (CSR) investment (this is where a company recognises that their activities have a wider impact on the society/environment in which they operate) these funds will be siphoned from their CSR budget. This is a growing area which is great!
Philanthropy can be derived from a number of areas including the marketing budget, a dedicated trust or foundation, discretionary funds, or there can be a specific budget dedicated to donations.
Despite how you choose to diversify your income streams, the one must-do is to plan your strategy internally first, gain the vital buy-in from your Board and CEO and plan your attack strategically. Research where the low-hanging fruit lies, what your mid-term activities will involve and how your long term plans will be supported.
And always make the time to build relationships first.
Strong relationships last.
