Planning for Sustainability: Obtaining Corporate Resources
Learn about corporate giving, all of the different ways it happens, and what motivates companies to help nonprofit organizations.
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WHAT IS CORPORATE GIVING?
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WHY DO CORPORATIONS GIVE MONEY TO NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS?
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WHEN SHOULD YOU TRY TO TAP INTO CORPORATE RESOURCES?
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WHEN SHOULDN'T YOU TRY TO TAP INTO CORPORATE RESOURCES?
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HOW DO YOU OBTAIN CORPORATE RESOURCES?
It's probably a thought that has occurred to every person who has ever run a not-for-profit organization. Maybe you have it when you drive by the new 17-story building that houses the local headquarters of an international coffee company. Or it comes to mind when you watch another high-budget soda pop commercial. Or maybe you have it every time you're passed by a car that's worth more than your organization's annual budget.
Whenever it happens and however you phrase it, the idea is basically the same: there's a lot of money in the business world. If our organization could just get our hands on a tiny fraction of it--oh, the places we'd go! The things we could do! How could we possibly get some of that cash?
The good news is, maybe it is possible to obtain some of those resources. Because--as you know--there is lot of money in the business world. And donations, or partnerships with the business world, occur every day, in many ways, in many organizations not so different from your own.
That's what this section is all about. On the next few screens, we'll look at corporate giving as a whole. We'll talk about what it is, and all of the different ways it happens. Then, we'll move on to what motivates companies to help not-for-profit organizations, and when it might (and might not!) make sense for you to try and tap into corporate resources. Finally, the meat of this section will be taken up with the nuts and bolts of how your group can get hold of corporate resources.
One note, before we begin: the focus of this section is geared towards obtaining money and other resources from large national (or international) corporations. That's not to say that you should ignore smaller, local businesses. On the contrary, that's a great place to go for help. However, it tends to be a bit easier than getting money from larger corporations. Many of the ideas in this section can be simplified or used "as is" to get local help as well. By focusing on the more difficult task--obtaining help from larger corporations--this section aims to put you in a position to obtain resources from any company, small or large.
Ready? Then let's go! The for-profit world awaits!
WHAT IS CORPORATE GIVING?
Simply put, corporate giving is any kind of support for not-for-profit organizations or causes that comes from members of the for-profit world. While most people tend to think of corporate giving as cash-money, the truth is, it can occur in a lot of different ways.
You might think of corporate giving as anything you obtain from a business person (in her professional capacity) or an organization that you would have had to pay for if they hadn't offered it.
With this in mind, expand your ideas on corporate giving to include all of the following:
- Cash--money in the bank, dead presidents, the green stuff. What people most often think of when they think of corporate help.
- Executives-on-loan--for example, a local accounting firm might offer one of its members to help your organization apply for nonprofit status--a tedious process for which most groups need outside help.
- Corporate sponsorship--this is a broader form of corporate giving, which may include a wide variety of resources. You might think of corporate sponsorship as a 'total package' taking care of all (or a great many) of the costs of a special event.
For example, a corporation might sponsor local athletes training for the Olympics, making sure they have everything they need from housing to uniforms to travel expenses. Or, take the example of a United Way golf tournament. These happen all over the country, and are usually sponsored by a local corporation or group of corporations. Companies and individuals pay to enter, and all profits go to the local United Way.
- Employee volunteerism--this form of corporate giving seems to be on the rise. This, too, can take many forms. A corporation can simply suggest to its employees that such and such organization needs assistance, or the employees might decide on their own to volunteer there. Further, the idea of "release-time" is becoming more popular, where organizations allow their employees to volunteer at a local organization in place of some of their regular work hours (for example, one afternoon a week).
- Matching programs--this is another way to get corporations to involve their employees in giving. In such a program, every dollar that employees give to the organization is matched by the corporation itself.
- In-kind contributions--this is when an organization gives you things that they sell or produce that you might need.
For example, the Apple Corporation has a long history of giving computers to schools. On a smaller, more local level, the local office supply company might be willing to give you the paper to print your newsletter (and a local print shop might take on the job for free, or for a discounted rate!)
- Cause-related marketing--this is another form of giving where the corporation agrees to give a certain amount of the profit from each product sold to a specific charity, such as your organization. This can be a good marketing technique for the company. If you were faced with two similar products at similar prices, but knew that the purchase of one would mean a few cents went to a cause you believe in, there probably wouldn't be much of a question as to which one you bought. An added bonus is the marketing it does for your organization. It's yet another way to make sure that your organization's name is out and being talked about in the community.
A similar tactic is to get a group of similar businesses to donate a percentage of profits to a relevant organization or group of organizations. For several years, several booksellers in the Northeast participated in "Buy a Book for Literacy," donating 10% of their profits on a given day (usually the Saturday after Thanksgiving) to three literacy programs. In the same area, "A Piece of the Pie" was a whole week in which many area restaurants and food stores donated a share of their profits to the local food bank. This is a way to get a fair amount of money without having to deal with a major corporation or hit any individual business for a bundle. Some of the bookstores? donations, for instance, were as little as $10 or $20.
So, although we tend to think of corporate giving with dollar signs in our eyes, try putting images of new copiers there instead. Some estimates say that approximately one-third of all corporate giving occurs in forms other than money. The bottom line: If you want to go for the corporate dollar, think about how you are most likely to get it--and how you could use what you might get.
Also, remember that corporate giving, broadly defined, can vary greatly depending on the size of the company offering the donations. That is, it can be the corner bakery donating muffins for your fund-raising bake sale, a new office complex donated by a locally-based multinational corporation, and almost anything in between.
When it does occur on a large-scale, formal level--such as from a multinational corporation--it often occurs in one of two ways: through company-sponsored foundations or corporate giving programs.
Company-sponsored foundations are legally separate from the for-profit company that starts them, but they maintain close ties with the parent company, and their giving usually reflects company interests. Generally, they maintain small endowments and rely on regular contributions from the parent company and/or subsidiaries to support their giving programs. Since they are private foundations, they have to follow appropriate regulations that apply to all private foundations, including filing a yearly Form 990-PF with the IRS.
What's a Form 990-PF?
It's simply the tax return that private foundations are required to file with the IRS. For grant seekers, this form is where you will often turn when researching a foundation. It is especially useful when you are researching a foundation that doesn't issue an annual report or have a website. By going over a corporation's 990-PF, you can learn:
- Basic financial data about the corporation
- A complete list of grants the corporation has made
- Names of the foundation's trustees and officers
- Other foundation information
Grantseekers can obtain these forms in several places:
- Order them from the IRS: write to the Ogden Service Center, PO Box 9941, Mail Stop 6734, Ogden, Utah, 88409. Include the foundation's full name and the city and state in which it is located. (You will be billed for the cost of the copies.)
- State attorney generals may have them for corporations in their states
- Through The Foundation Center -- you can examine the forms for free, at the Center-run libraries, or request copies.
Corporate direct giving programs have much less stringent requirements than company -sponsored foundations.
For example, they are not regulated and required to file with the IRS. Many times, they are used as a supplement by the company to support programs that do not fall under the guidelines of the foundation. These programs frequently include employee matching gifts and in-kind gifts as part of their grantmaking activities.
However, for all of the advantages there are for not-for-profit organizations to try to obtain corporate resources, there is one very important caveat. Unfortunately, corporate giving is not as common as you might think (or as corporations would like you to think!).
The simple fact is, most money, for most not-for-profit organizations, comes from other sources.
Primarily, these include public or private grants and individual contributions.
What does this mean for you as a not-for-profit organization? It may mean that corporate giving will rank lower on your priority list compared to other forms of asking for money, including grants and individual contributions. Your specific answer will depend in large measure upon the specific corporations and corporate giving policies where you live.
WHY DO CORPORATIONS GIVE MONEY TO NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS?
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