Corporate social responsibility is really an expectation for organisations these days - it’s a wonderful way to give something back to the community in a way that aligns with your business.

Fun fact? Supporting a charity has been shown to boost staff morale and employee engagement.

Apart from the wonderful feeling you get from being charitable, I think one of the most positive things for brands is that, if you do support a charity, it opens you up to an entirely new audience. You will build stronger relationships with your existing customers and also gain new ones.

So, how do you start the relationship with a charity partner?

Firstly, it really depends on what works for your business and your chosen charity. It’s best to stick to a cause that’s close to your heart, or close to someone within your business. From the charity’s perspective, the business’ values really do need to align because both parties deserve to get the best out of the partnership.

For long-term support, there are varying levels of charity partnership - for example, you could make a significant donation to the charity each year, or you could become a partner for an annual event they may have. Some ideas outside the box could be supporting all printing costs or to sponsor a staff member for extra training in an area like graphic design, or fundraising! Supporting administration costs such as this can be a great way to make the charity more efficient in what they do.

Small Business Making a Big Difference

There are many options of sponsorship for small and large businesses. It the long-term, it’s about the relationship you have with the brand. I personally think it’s better to build a real relationship over time, instead of simply donating one large lump sum and never working with them again – the relationship is key! If your business is in goods and services, you could donate vouchers or gift cards for use at events, or specifically for the charity I work with – Pancare, in support of raised awareness, research and fundraising to help people with Pancreatic Cancer - we have a Community Care Program, where patients who require assistance for travel or accommodation, are allocated $500 a year. This could be something a small business could support – and know you are having a genuine impact on someone’s life.

Business + Charity = Feel-Good Success

It’s a great thing to promote your charitable activity to your clients. Depending on the charity and the level of involvement, there will be different levels of recognition and acknowledgement.

Many charities align themselves with businesses that have similar brand values, but there can be a really strong partnership when the company has a personal connection to a cause. Many of our supporters that we work with have had a friend, co-worker or family member pass away from one of our cancers, this can make a donation a lot more meaningful.

For a good relationship, charities definitely give prospective sponsors a background check - just so we know what they’re about. But both parties should really do this. I think it’s best that you know you are a good fit for each other - you don’t want to support a charity, just for the sake of supporting a charity. 

For Pancare specifically, many corporate donors of ours have been directly affected by one of the Upper Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. The pool of people affected by these cancers is a lot smaller than say, breast or prostate cancer so if you are affected or know someone close to you affected by one of these cancers, then choosing a more specific charity is a way to know that your donation is going directly into what you care about most.

Every Bit Helps

If you’re a small business owner, no donation is too big or too small! There are massive benefits for both parties to have charitable partnership. To let your clients, know who you are supporting, there can be agreements made between parties on how the contribution is shown. Postings on social media channels, newsletter promotion, website promotion, even having a collection box or sign in your store can be great ways to get the word out to your clients.

With charities, any publicity needs to be confirmed between both parties, so just make sure that you’ve agreed with your charity of choice how they want their brand promoted.

There are so many ways for a small business owner to support a charity. From giving a portion of proceeds from the sale of an item to holding a golf day, morning tea or luncheon/dinner benefit. We’re working with a jeweller who is making an awareness bracelet for Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month in November, who is giving $20 of the sale of each bracelet to Pancare. Competitions are also a great way for charities to collaborate with businesses, if your customers donate to Pancare for a period of time, they will go into the draw to win a gift voucher/service from your business. Good for social media engagement and great for the charity of your choice too.

Corporate Sponsorship Counts

Do you run your own charity?

You’ll know that corporate support is incredibly important for charities of all sizes. Corporate support is a great way for any charity brand to increase awareness and gain new donors. The processes around working with large businesses is very different to a small business, so getting your foot in the door with a large corporate can be a very difficult and slow process, whereas with a smaller business, the process may be easier, and the partnership can be created a lot quicker.

And for the business owners doing the important supporting?

I believe that whatever your charity of choice, make sure that you have a meaningful, personal reason for that choice. It’s about being authentic and interested. (And it just makes the process of giving a lot more enjoyable when you truly care about how your donations are supporting the cause.)

Jennifer Leishman is the Marketing Program Specialist, Pancare Foundation. You can connect with her on LinkedIn or via the Pancare Foundation.