Cause marketing can be the first step in forming vital relationships with local businesses and corporations. A cause marketing partnership can immediately benefit for-profit and nonprofit organizations and lead to long-term donor relationships and sponsorships. This article shares why and how nonprofits can prepare for these business relationships. What is cause marketing? How does cause-related…
Cause marketing can be the first step in forming vital relationships with local businesses and corporations. A cause marketing partnership can immediately benefit for-profit and nonprofit organizations and lead to long-term donor relationships and sponsorships.
This article shares why and how nonprofits can prepare for these business relationships.
Cause marketing is a partnership between nonprofits and businesses where businesses promote their product or service and direct a percentage or all of the income to a nonprofit.
Cause marketing offers businesses a chance to share how socially responsible they are with their customers, but they aren’t the only ones that benefit from this partnership.
There are 2 primary ways nonprofits can benefit from cause marketing. Nonprofits generally receive a percentage of the business’s sales, but that’s not the only source of funding organizations may see.
Cause marketing gives nonprofits access to diversified revenue sources. When a nonprofit partners with a corporation, they also receive free advertising and have access to a new audience of business staff and customers.
New donors that find the nonprofit because of these partnerships may become long-term and recurring donors, or even members.
Cause marketing can also be an excellent starting point for building community partnerships with a for-profit company. In the long run, this partnership can become future sponsorship opportunities, access to more volunteers, and major donors.
If your nonprofit wants to break into cause marketing, there are a few strategies you should take.
Like with many things, before starting cause marketing, you must set a few goals.
You may begin with revenue goals and a target dollar amount. But you’ll also want to include other goals like the number of new donors and more social media responses.
At the start, you’ll have to do quite a bit of outreach to other companies. You’ll want to research companies with similar missions and see if you have any personal connections. You’ll have a much better chance of forming a partnership if you already have an in.
Before getting started, you must also know what you’re stepping into. Cause marketing may open you up to bad public relations. When you partner with a company, their reputation and business dealings that have nothing to do with you may still affect how donors see you.
When researching a company, it’s crucial to learn if it is reputable and if any issues with its business could adversely affect your nonprofit.
You’ll also want to make it easy for companies to find you when you start. Cause marketing takes a lot of outreach, but sometimes you get lucky, and a company will find you.
That can only happen if your website promotes you in a way that companies find approachable and worth the trouble.
Ensure your website shares your mission and how your programs help achieve this mission. Make sure visitors see a clear vision and strategic plan and get excited about your organization’s future.
Finally, you need to create a webpage highlighting what businesses get in exchange for their support and provide a way for companies to personally reach out to you.
You must look at cause marketing as an investment. For that, start with creating a budget to cover potential marketing, advertising, and campaign supplies.
Although it’s the business that is doing the promotions, you’d want to spread the word at your end. There is the potential that these costs may end up being more than you get in return. Hence, doing market research and understanding the budget requirements in advance is important.
You only have one chance to make a first impression, so you must be prepared when you reach out to companies. There are a few questions you must be ready to answer:
You must also create a sales funnel to make the outreach process easier. If you have a list of business prospects, a cold call script, and a partnership proposal template prepared beforehand, you can involve several team members in your outreach efforts.
Cause marketing is the first step to building a relationship with a company. You’ll want to think long-term and start coming up with ideas to help both sides.
A cause marketing partnership is a legal agreement between both organizations. It’s in your best interest to get the deal in writing and get a lawyer to review the contract before you sign on the dotted line.
You’ll also want to get a return from the company before paying for any marketing to ensure you don’t lose money on the deal.
Don’t feel uncomfortable with this move. The company has done the same on its end.
The most significant benefit of cause marketing for both sides is the advertisement that comes from these partnerships. The nonprofit and the company can use the following ways to promote the partnership to the public:
Your nonprofit should promote the partnership in as many ways as you can. Create an online campaign to announce your affiliation and share posts on social media and via email.
At the same time, remember that businesses have extra money, staff, and tools they’ve already developed to promote their products. As a nonprofit, you must ensure that you have a say in how the corporation shares information about your partnership.
There are a few details you’ll want to make sure the advertisement includes:
Numbers and facts are very important to for-profit companies. The same should be true for your nonprofit. In the beginning, middle, and after your partnership ends, ask yourself the following questions:
Throughout the campaign, you should look for ways the partnership works and where it can be improved for both sides.
Be sure to reach out to the company at regular intervals to understand how the campaign is doing at their end. Even better if you include these details in your legal agreement in advance.
As you measure the partnership’s successes, you should also share these successes with the public. As you raise more funds, add social media posts with these details.
It’s also ok to share the challenges you face. Transparency during your cause marketing campaign will help build trust with current and new donors and help address any issues that may come up.
Finding corporate partners to collaborate with, approaching them the right way, and getting ‘yes’ as an answer could be a little challenging. But this webinar featuring industry experts would give you insights into the 3 steps of devising the right strategy. Give this a watch for your cause marketing success –
Several companies and nonprofits have seen great success with cause marketing campaigns. The following 3 examples stand out because of the funds they’ve raised and the changes they’ve made in the world.
American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s partnership has raised over $25 million to help protect historical places in the US.
This partnership has engaged more than one million people and increased the awareness of historic preservation needs in cities and historical places.
Since their collaboration, other companies have joined with the National Trust to ensure more preservation programs.
RED is a 501c3 and a division of the ONE Campaign. They started the Global Fund in 2006 and started partnerships with several experts in 100 countries to fight AIDS.
RED has partnered with several iconic brands like Amazon, Apple, and Bank of America to develop branded products, experiences, and services that trigger contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria in sub-Saharan Africa.
Warby Parker has become synonymous with affordable eyeglasses. Through their ‘Buy a Pair, Give a Pair’, they’ve partnered with the nonprofit VisionSpring to provide over ten million pairs of glasses to those who can’t afford them.
The mission of VisionSpring is to give access to affordable eyewear to people living on less than $4 a day, so the partnership between the two organizations makes sense. Thanks to this partnership, over 50% of Vision Spring’s customers are getting glasses for the first time. More money has also come into the organization to cover vocational training costs.
Now that you’re excited about what these partnerships can do for your nonprofit, you’re ready to start. We hope this article helps you research companies, update your website, and reach out to businesses that fit your mission.
Companies worldwide focus on corporate responsibility and are more open to these partnerships than ever before. If you’re interested in learning more about corporate partnerships, fundraising, and other important topics, visit our Nonprofit Blog. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to receive a curated list of Donorbox resources in your inbox.
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Kristine Ensor is a freelance writer with over a decade of experience working with local and international nonprofits. As a nonprofit professional she has specialized in fundraising, marketing, event planning, volunteer management, and board development.
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Kristine Ensor