By now, many of you already have the basics in place. (If you’re new here you might want to start with Starting from Scratch)

You likely have a handful of solid corporate partnerships happening and, if you have been following me for the last month or so, your prospect pipeline is rock solid (if not no worries, you can start with this LINK). You’re doing great. But the truth is, we can do better.

Now is the time to push yourself. You’re in the phase now where you want to make a bigger impact for the beneficiaries of your cause. To help you get there, I am going to provide you with some concrete steps you can take to build more revenue, create stronger partnerships, and up your corporate fundraising game.

Don’t reinvent the wheel.

Ditch the wheel and keep on moving. Why? Because you can’t continue to push the same messaging and make the same ask over and over again, expecting a different result.

To raise more money than you did before, you need to do something different. You may believe that you’ve simply been undervaluing your current partnerships (and that may be true), but at this point, that’s become irrelevant. No one is going to give you more, unless you do more, which means it’s time to start thinking further outside the fundraising box.

1. Get to Know Your Client’s Audience

One of the most effective hooks when it comes to pitching a new prospect or existing client is to show that you have meaningful insight into their audience. The ability to talk audience demographics and behaviour puts you in the company of a small group of charities, so distinguishing yourself in this way is top notch! Here’s what you do:

  • Are you speaking to donors, employees, volunteers, beneficiaries or event attendees? Think widely about who your client’s “audience” is and do your research. Be prepared to answer questions about audience make-up and behaviour.
  • Expand on this knowledge through focus groups, surveys, and supporting research.

Need help with surveys? I can do that. Need help with demographic research? Check out Environics Analytics.

2. Grow Your Marketing Channels

Building your audience and growing the number of people who engage with your message can be done many ways. For example, you could consider investing in public relations, expanding your presence across social media, or being more intentional about growing your email or direct mail database. How you grow your audience will depend entirely on budget and goals, so think it through strategically. Do not attempt to do everything at once. Be strategic and choose the ones that will provide the most bang for your buck.  

3. Develop more assets and opportunities

I’ve mentioned before that you can raise more from your current partners by offering up something new. Is there a program or event that you haven’t fully leveraged? Look at the programs or events you currently run and see if there is a new opportunity for funding that can be layered into it. Think creatively about what a company might be looking for and how your program or event can help them achieve their business goal.

There they are – audience, channels and new opportunities. Three ways you can start to level up your corporate partnerships. Remember, to ask for more, you need to do more!  

Each of these tips gets you started on the road to having different conversations with your corporate partner. And I hope it goes without saying that if you need help prioritizing which is most important, call a partner or two and ask them! There is really no better way to enhance your partnerships than by inviting them to the table and making them part of the conversation.

Need some help mapping out a particularly sticky corporate partnership growth strategy? Let me know, I’d love to help put some steps together to make it happen!

You’ve got this,