Page 50 - C&A's Nonprofit Board Guide

FUNDRAISING:
A DIFFERENT APPROACH

or too long,
F the nonprofit sector
has taken a “one size fits all”
approach to fundraising; with dinner When
dances and golf outings clogging the was the last
calendar and development staff making time you sat down with
phone calls looking for sponsorships your donors or business partners
at pre-established levels. Now I’m not and had a heart-to-heart with them to find
suggesting that nonprofits shouldn’t do out what they are looking for in a relationship
fundraising events. For many nonprofits, with your organization? Donors want to
these are highly successful and bring support your organization in a meaningful
in significant levels of discretionary way, but they would also love to derive some
funding for their organizations. What I competitive business edge in the process. BENEFIT TO BOOK FAIRIES:
am suggesting, however, is that nonprofit By taking time to understand their business
organizations should consider what other model, what about your organization excites Book Fairies develop a relationship with
options they have that they can offer to them, and how you can fit into their strategic a new strategic partner that hadn’t funded
their business partners to start to develop thinking, you can really create a collaborative them in the past, with C&A becoming In today’s environment,
more meaningful collaborations. arrangement that really works for everyone. one of the organization’s largest donors. where people have the access
In addition, C&A has been promoting its
to obtain information instantly, where
Businesses understand that if they are I understand that this may be a little partnership with Book Fairies, which is it’s easy to get recommendations and
going to work with the nonprofit sector they abstract, so let me throw out an example. increasing awareness of the Book Fairies ratings, and where people have a much
are going to need to support the agencies Cerini & Associates strongly believes brand. greater desire to make a difference, there
they work with. While fundraising events in education. We invest a lot of money are plenty of ways that you can offer real
provide an avenue for business owners to each year in educating both our staff and BENEFIT TO C&A: value to strategic business partners well in
support charity, there is often very little the industries we serve. We were looking C&A has been able to promote the excess of an add in a journal. Furthermore,
benefit that the business derives from these for a way to make a deeper impact than your business partners will appreciate the
sponsorships. Wouldn’t a relationship what we were already doing. Along came relationship to its clients and prospects, entrepreneurial outlook you bring to the
with your business partners, where both the Book Fairies, a nonprofit organization letting customers know that if they work table during the exploratory discussion.
sides benefit, be a better option, with the that collects gently used books and puts with the Firm, not only does the customer Finding ways to be a good partner to your
get accounting talent, they are also making
potential of driving larger resources to them in the hands of teachers, students, a difference in the lives of children by donors will go a long way in making you
your agency? and adults in an effort to reduce illiteracy the charity of choice when the time comes
and break the cycle of poverty. Real helping to facilitate the distribution of to write that check. Think about it.
impact that appealed to us. We could have books. Furthermore, Book Fairies has
supported one of their events, but instead been including C&A in much of its social
we opened a discussion about how we media and press releases, which has helped
could effectively partner to help them to improve the C&A brand. Much more
leverage their impact, while creating a impactful than a tee sponsor.
business advantage for C&A. We agreed
on a model where for every billable hour
of service C&A had, they would pay to put
a book in the hands of a child.

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