𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱 𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞.

Looking at corporate fundraising with an equity lens is a complex area to sort out when you are committed to equity and believe in the potential of corporate-charity partnerships. After seeking out a variety of educational opportunities and reading I reached out to a colleague and friend, Rickesh Lakhani to talk some of it through.

During our live conversation we discussed how you can assess your corporate partnerships from an equity point of view and provided some concrete examples of how you might shift the power dynamics.

We shared our learning on raising money from corporations with an equity lens. Rickesh Lakhani, Founder of Radiance Advisory joined me.

In our discussion, we shared how nonprofits can:

– Assess corporate partnerships and giving through an equity lens.

– How can we ensure our values are aligned to create mutually beneficial partnerships

– Acknowledge where problem areas or opportunities exist with corporate and nonprofit partnerships and what are some approaches to addressing them

– Provide ideas and suggestions on providing feedback to companies and having challenge conversations with corporate partnerships.

– We will include practical examples where we see this show up and how these conversation might look different.

We acknowledge that we are starting a conversation and look forward to expanding our learning.

Resources to Help

Power Dynamics in corporate fundraising is a complex topic, but if we don’t tackle these hard topics then we can’t expect change.

We also can’t expect the power dynamics in corporate partnerships to change.

Through a series of meetings, some research, and lived experience,  Rickesh and I have produced a resource to share with nonprofits who want practical thought starters and conversation prompts to support better corporate partnerships.

If you want to move away from feeling like your corporate partners are setting the terms, and you don’t know what they are, this resource is for you.

You can access it here: https://www.bridgeraise.com/powerdynamics/

About Rickesh Lakhani:

Rickesh Lakhani believes that we are all responsible for each other’s success. He is the Founder of Radiance Advisory, supporting social impact organizations and leaders to align their actions with their values and build stronger cultures based on truth and trust. He has over 15 years of experience in the social impact sector, including serving as the Executive Director at Future Possibilities for Kids, a community-based organization serving children, and as the Director, Campaign at United Way York Region, leading an $8M annual fundraising campaign. Rickesh is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE), sits on the Global Council for the Community-Centric Fundraising movement, and has volunteered with numerous causes and boards.

If you need help, reach out to me at [email protected].

You’ve got this!

 

Heather's Signature

Looking for a little extra help in this area? Make sure to sign up to receive my weekly emails to be the first to hear of new resources, templates, and swipe files. And as a bonus, get discounts for being the first to hear. Click here to sign up!

If you have any questions or need a little extra help reach out to me at [email protected].

Subscribe to our channel and get notified when new videos are posted!