High Impact Corporate Philanthropy
In 2018 our firm started to spend more time with for-profit businesses -- something that served as a change of scenery for us from our traditional non-profit niche. We've always thought and talked about the way that philanthropy is (and should) change at businesses and corporations: to be focused and impactful.
What does that mean for business owners? And what does that mean for non-profits? If you're close to us, you know how we feel about non-profits focusing on deep relationships and major gifts; it's the approach one must take to use your time the most efficiently, and most importantly, to be sustainable. As a for-profit business, we believe your approach should be the same. Align your resources with the organizations whose missions are well in line with your own, and make investments that you know can be extremely impactful. We use this word "investment" often in place of donation because it is a better representation of the way meaningful support is given, which is with expected outcomes and opportunity for more.
These philanthropic investments can have the greatest return when they are focused, and by this we really mean: choose fewer places and give greater gifts. If you pool your resources together and align them with organizations and initiatives that can inspire more philanthropy, fuel growth, and aid in longterm sustainability, all while making you feel really great about the initiatives that you're impacting, your business has created a story that long outlives the "return" you may have gotten from numerous smaller donations to a lot of different organizations.
As for non-profits, the way that giving is changing can be hard -- it forces an evolution in how we prioritize and where we spend our time. Don't let this overwhelm you. Focus on spending your time in-person with those who care about your organization; have conversations with existing donors and prospective donors about support that is meaningful to both parties, that stretches over a longer period of time, and that assures longterm sustainability. We'll write again soon on the things that sophisticated philanthropists care the most about. In the meantime, go out and start having conversations with people who may not even be thinking about this way of giving!
