Corporate philanthropy for nonprofits can be an excellent kind of helping hand to take advantage of when working toward ambitious goals. Where there is a great cause, there is often also a great cost to achieve that mission. Corporate philanthropy can be a great help to many nonprofit organizations, but first, you must determine the best way for your nonprofit to get in the game, so to speak, and use this assistance.
The concept of corporate philanthropy is defined as “the act of a corporation or business promoting the welfare of others, generally through charitable donations of funds or time.” When it comes to nonprofits, being a recipient of the benefits of corporate philanthropy can bring about substantial and necessary change.
But before we get into how nonprofits can best use corporate philanthropy to further their causes, let’s outline some of the reasons why corporations decide to contribute to nonprofits in the first place.
The Benefits of Corporate Philanthropy for Corporations
Companies that take part in corporate philanthropy for nonprofits are not solely doing it for the benefit of the organization or cause that they are supporting. While it’s true that many corporations genuinely want to give back to the community, they also stand to gain from helping others – in a few key ways.
It would certainly be a nice thought to think that corporations donate their time and money to nonprofits out of the goodness of their hearts alone. However, we all know the key word in the phrase that ends with: “— makes the world go ‘round…” and it isn’t “selflessness.”
Still, though this truth might be uncomfortable, that doesn’t mean that nonprofits shouldn’t harness the power of corporate philanthropy. More often than not, corporate philanthropy results in meaningful professional relationships being formed between corporations and nonprofits – along with a slew of other benefits.
The Benefits of Corporate Philanthropy for Nonprofits
The more obvious party that benefits from corporate philanthropy for nonprofits is… the nonprofit in question. When corporations help nonprofits achieve their goals through corporate philanthropy, the ways in which the nonprofits benefit are more straightforward.
A common roadblock that nonprofits run into is a logical, yet never-fun reality: running low on funds to continue operating. Pushing for the help of corporate philanthropy is one way that nonprofits can potentially combat this problem, or even avoid it altogether.
So now that we know how corporations and nonprofits can both benefit from corporate philanthropy, let’s discuss what this might look like in practice.
In today’s installment of this topic, we will go over two of the most common applications of corporate philanthropy for nonprofits. (Stay tuned for the next blog installment in a couple of weeks for Part Two of this essential topic!)
Common Examples of Corporate Philanthropy for Nonprofits
Matching Gifts
Matching gifts are when a company promises to match the donation amount that their employees have contributed to a specific cause. This type of contribution is one of the most used fundraising tactics among corporations.
In fact, according to a Forbes survey of 250 multi-billion-dollar companies, around 92% of the surveyed group offer at least one kind of gift-matching program to their employees. Further, around 66% of companies nationwide have an ‘open’ matching gift program, meaning employees can donate to most nonprofits and the company will match the contribution, according to America’s Charities Corporate Benchmarking Analysis.
With between 4 to 7 billion dollars in matching gift opportunities going unclaimed each year, it is worth the time and effort for nonprofits to help inform and educate their community on this potential opportunity that they may not know exists – or how to utilize it.
Matching gifts can be categorized into multiple different types, such as:
- Corporate employee matching gifts
- Fundraising event matching gifts
- Board member matching gifts
Utilizing matching gift initiatives, just like corporate philanthropy in general, offers significant benefits to corporations and nonprofits alike.
The benefits for corporations participating in matching gift programs include:
- Helps them take part in corporate philanthropy with relative ease
- Encourages employees to get engaged with their own personal philanthropy goals
- Strengthens community relationships
- And of course, boosts the corporation’s reputation
The benefits of using this type of corporate philanthropy for nonprofits include:
- Boosts fundraising revenue for the nonprofit
- Strengthens relationships with participants in the matching gift program, and donors in general
- Provides an incentive to donate, or to increase their donation amount
- Builds new relationships with corporations that can support their cause
To take it a step further, taking part in a matching gift initiative also benefits the individual donors who participate since it increases the impact of their donations and helps them to feel even more connected to the cause they’ve chosen to support.
Volunteer Grants
Volunteer grants are another way that corporations can effectively engage with nonprofits in their communities or areas of interest to further their corporate philanthropy efforts. Volunteer grants involve company employees donating their time to nonprofits – enough time that they become eligible for a grant from that company.
Some volunteer grants “pay” by the hour, while others require volunteers to reach a certain number of hours to be eligible for grant money. Regardless of the specifics for each grant, this corporate philanthropy tactic is a very popular (and fruitful) philanthropy option.
The steps for applying for a volunteer grant program are as follows:
- Gather data on the corporate volunteers your nonprofit may already have
- Do research on volunteer grants that you may be eligible for
- Educate yourself on grant requirements and specifics, as well as your role in the process
- Create an open line of communication with the affiliated corporation
Final Thoughts
There are so many options out there to effectively utilize corporate philanthropy for nonprofits. Matching gifts and volunteer grants are just two of the many tactics your nonprofit can use for this.
This week’s blog went over the basics of corporate philanthropy for nonprofits and the benefits it can bring to all parties – but stay tuned for more specifics on what else you can do to bring in as many corporate contributions as possible to support your nonprofit’s cause.
You will truly never know what benefits you can potentially reap from this lucrative strategy until you try it yourself! Want some help? Reach out today for a free 30-minute consultation.
