Corporate Fundraising

Companies vary greatly in their requirements from charities. Sometimes they demand publicity; sometimes they shy away from it. Sometimes they have committees who are very organised, sometimes they want charities to organise the event for them. It is impossible to know what is required from a company without having a meeting and talking to those involved. As a professional fundraiser, you need to approach corporates as the expert fundraiser. This means recognising fundraising abilities in your corporate counterparts and also showing them that as this is your line of business you are an added value member of their committee/decision making process. The more you are trusted as the expert, as the motivator, the more you will be asked to join in and it is more likely that you will be able to extend the relationship.

With corporates you must appear as a consultant in any sector - you must make your corporate counterparts look good and stand back as they take the credit and you take the funds. Your aim must be to get the best from the company. In ideal terms this must be to create long lasting flexible relationships. Sometimes this won't be possible and certainly this is not something you should express at any preliminary meeting (this is just your own hidden agenda to seek other possible opportunities for your charity).

Remember you need to show your own abilities to add to their fundraising ideas and that the money they raise is spent wisely and appropriate acknowledgement shown before you move further down the relationship building ideas.

Therefore when meeting with a company for the first time, it is important to:

• Listen carefully to what their own expectations are and what type of fundraising they are looking at doing.
• Know who is sitting at the meeting. This will give you an idea at what level you are dealing with.
• Perhaps bring a simple portfolio of what you have done with companies before, but only use that if it is relevant to the conversation.
• Add your own expertise and make sure that their own expectations on what they will raise are real. Nobody needs to have a failure on his or her hands.
• If you have time (and let's face it, most of us do not), try and find out something about the company (what it does, what past fundraising it has done etc).
• Don't forget each person involved in company is also potentially an individual donor. They are also likely to leave that company at some point and may take your charity with them.

Other fact sheets in Corporate
Fact sheet index

Email a question

Copyright of Alba Fundraising Ltd or the individuals or companies who contribute to this website. This material may be copied and distributed freely on the understanding that no profit is made from doing so.

Disclaimer: No payment is received from suppliers, companies or individuals for publishing their details on this website. The information is offered by those in the fundraising arena and whilst we try to make every effort to ensure the integrity of this information, Alba Fundraising Ltd cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies, or any loss or inconvenience that may be caused by using this site.

home | resources | fact sheets | services
site map | download the site
Alba Fundraising Ltd.
Tel: 44 (0) 7775868768, Email: alba@alba-lewis.demon.co.uk
Web: www.professionalfundraiser.org.uk

Web site design by Vivid Interactive.