See the results of our exclusive Chronicle survey, along with analysis and strategies to help charities benefit from companies that increasingly want to be seen as good citizens of their community and the world.
Nonprofits and companies have a great deal to gain by getting to know each other better.
Companies can find partners able to help them on a wide array charitable activities that align with their business strategies and help them polish their images.
Nonprofits can secure big new streams of steady revenue to expand their services.
However, getting companies and nonprofits talking the same language presents considerable challenges, especially given the deep cultural differences in how the two sectors operate.
As part of its new special report and survey on corporate giving, the Chronicle spoke with leaders from both camps who are experienced in corporate-nonprofit partnerships about how they can better relate to and help each other. Here’s what they had to say.
Nonprofit Leaders on What Corporations Can Do Better
Gerald Duhon
Executive Director
Cafe Reconcile
“One thing I would like to see corporations do is really narrow their focus, and that may sound counterintuitive. I would rather a company say, ‘I am only interested in funding environmental organizations.’ Then I can say, ‘That’s not us.’ The worst thing we can get in our job is not a no. It’s a no-answer or a stringing along. ‘Try again in six months.’ I would rather be told no on the front side.”
Gerry Howze
Executive Director
Pearls for Teen Girls
“Give multiyear funding so that we don’t have to keep going through the process every single year. Any change takes time. Multiyear funding would be phenomenal.”
Scott Beale
Chief Executive
Atlas Corps
“Come halfway with the nonprofits. Understand what they’re bringing to the table. Respect their contributions. Nonprofits really can help advance your corporate goals. Especially your corporate social goals. I would like more companies to be able to see the double value add of partnering with nonprofits to achieve common shared goals.”
Ed Lee
Chief Executive
Habitat for Humanity Greater Cincinnati
“The common problem that we all have as nonprofits is nobody wants to pay for my salary. There’s this general feeling that nonprofits shouldn’t have any overhead. We know that’s not possible. If I could work for nothing, I would.
“Unfortunately, I’m not in a financial position to do that. Nor is my staff. Yet we as an organization try to be very good stewards and control how we spend so as much as possible can go directly into programs. But there is still a portion — we’ve got to pay for the electric bill. We’ve got to put gas in our trucks. We’ve got to pay for some materials.
“That’s a difficulty — to get folks excited about just making sure lights come on every day. It is much easier to get funders excited about the next sexy project. It is very hard to get funders focused on infrastructure. And yet we can’t do the sexy project if we don’t have infrastructure.”
Keefe Harrison
Chief Executive
The Recycling Partnership
“Share their marketing teams with us. Many nonprofits have budgets and line items for doing the work but don’t always have as much money for sharing the good news. We are working hard to engage our corporate partners and having their media and marketing people to help spread the word of what we are doing because that is often outside the budget of what we have to just do the work.”
John Gomperts
Chief Executive
America’s Promise Alliance
“If it’s important for us to understand their businesses — and it is — and be respectful of their imperatives, then I think it is really important for them to try and understand our businesses and be respectful of our imperatives.
“Some of that is in the nature of the kind of support that they offer. Organizations need general operating support. Any business that ever seriously thought about that would get that in a second. But sometimes that is not exactly the case.”
Corporate Donors on What Nonprofits Can Do Better
Kim Rubey
Global Head of Social Impact and Philanthropy
Airbnb
“My first piece of advice would be to demonstrate how your work can reinforce the vision and mission of the company you want to partner with. At Airbnb, we are driven by our mission, which is to create a world where anyone can belong anywhere. Our philanthropic efforts are focused on extending that belonging to vulnerable populations, which is why we work with communities such as refugees and those displaced by disasters.
“Also, tech companies are really oriented around data-driven insights and performance metrics so it is extremely helpful when our NGO partners can clearly demonstrate their impact with quantitative and qualitative metrics.”
Timothy McClimon
President
American Express Foundation
“You’ve got to understand what the company is all about. What the business is. Where they operate. What their strategies are. And how you think you can fit into those strategies.
“The second thing I’d say is to be flexible. You’ve got a plan. You come into the company with a plan, but maybe things have changed. Maybe we’re focused on a different priority. Maybe we have a different idea. Maybe we have some individuals who could really help you, but help you in a different way.”
Janis Bowdler
President
JPMorgan Chase Foundation
“They need to understand that corporations are coming with a business mind-set, and they want to see results.
“My advice to nonprofits is to think about what are those early indicators that progress is being made. What are the near-term wins that are authentic and meaningful to the nonprofit but can help a funder know that they are moving in the right direction towards that long-term change that they are seeking. I think that’s good practice for a nonprofit anyways, but I think it will help you articulate to the funder, ‘Here is what you’re going to see this year in your grant-making term. But three years out, this is what we’re working toward.’ That kind of near-term win with long-term goals helps translate into the business culture really well.”
Kelem Butts
Director of Charitable Operations
AT&T
“There are so many nonprofits that do so much great work. That is one of the most challenging things about my job, is hearing and seeing all the great work but realizing that I have finite resources and I can’t fund everything.
“Understand the needs of the corporation you’re working with. Understand what it is that they are trying to achieve. Understand their desired engagement. We as corporate funders may have slightly different ways to get there, but if you can work with us to do that, then that is important. Frankly, some of the work that you may want to do might fall in line with what the corporation is looking to fund. Or you as a nonprofit, may need to alter that approach slightly to get funding.”
Gina Tesla
Vice President, Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability
IBM
“Be bold. Think big because with companies like IBM — we have an extraordinary amount of expertise” as an overall organization and in the form of talented, skilled employees.
“Also, think about the communications piece of any partnership. There is a lot of value that we can bring to an organization by simply showing up and doing work. We’re drawing attention to that organization. There is a tremendous amount of marketing value in that. I would also think about what is it that you can do as an organization to help bring more visibility for whatever the cause is together with IBM and make that as part of the value proposition for IBM.”
