One of the most common challenges nearly every donor relations shop faces is what to do with corporate and foundation donors?!
While they typically represent a small percentage of an organization’s donor base, their outsized impact on the fundraising bottom line justifies giving them more of our attention. But how?! We can’t just throw them into our general stewardship efforts and call it good.
You’re right. But not all hope is lost—with the right approach, even the leanest donor relations team can effectively engage these organizations in the impact of their generosity.
The first step in crafting a robust Corporation and Foundation Donor Relations program might differ from what you expect. It's crucial to understand that corporations and foundations are not homogenous entities. Each one is unique. And despite how often our org charts lump them together, categorically corporations and foundations often have less in common than we might think.
Let’s start by delving into the broad characteristics of corporations and foundations. Then, we’ll discuss how to develop impactful communications and plans, decipher distinct motivations, and strategize to stay ahead while nurturing a strong Corporate and Foundation Donor Relations plan.
Corporations are valuable partners in fundraising for your organization. They provide financial and in-kind resources that will further your mission. However, it is essential to note that there are likely two types of corporate donors. Corporations may give out of a sense of social responsibility, or their motivations for giving may be more aligned with furthering their own objectives. Whether recruiting college graduates majoring in a field that interests the corporation, or conducting research and development around a specific idea, corporations often have a vested interest in the area they are supporting.
Profile of Corporations
Developing a solid profile of each corporate donor you work with will help you establish a strong donor relations plan that isn’t one size fits all. Below is a sample chart that can be useful when developing a strategy for corporate donors.
Questions to Ask | Corporation Profile |
Who is your contact person? How often does this relationship change? | Board of Directors, CEO, Giving Department, Owner of Company |
What is the objective of the corporation by supporting your organization? | Advertising, R+ D, Student Recruitment, Social Responsibility |
History of Support | How has this corporation supported in the past, and what have been their expectations? Has your organization met these expectations? |
What type of communications and impact pieces would be meaningful for this corporation? | Impact Reports, Campus visits, Video Reports, Meetings with researchers |
Profile of Foundations
Foundations are one of the more complex entities to navigate in donor relations. They encompass Family Foundations, Corporate Foundations, Community Foundations, and Donor Advised Funds.
Family foundations are typically set up by a family using their assets to fund their philanthropy, which can also participate in charitable grantmaking. The foundations are governed and funded by a family whose members serve on their board and support a mission and focus guided by their interests–sometimes shared, yet possibly diverse in nature.
Donor Relations Tip: When communicating the impact of family foundation gifts, include the key decision-makers within the foundation. Often, the foundation's founder or leading family member may make the ultimate decision, but your communications may include other family members, especially those most connected to a particular gift.
Corporate foundations are not-for-profit organizations established by corporations for charitable purposes and operated separately from the company. Many corporations have foundations that offer corporate giving directly from their companies. These are different in that many companies give from both their company and their company’s foundation.
Donor Relations Tip: Corporate foundations often use a grantmaking strategy for providing donations. Ensure your organization follows up with data points and deliverables meaningfully to show how funds were used from corporate foundations. Often, corporate foundations are most interested in the numbers for how the impact is measured as well as the direct difference their funds made in your organization.
Community foundations support local nonprofits in a specific geographic area by pooling combined funds to support local organizations.
Donor Relations Tip: Donors who support a community foundation should be informed about how their contributions make a difference. Community foundation donors often feel disconnected from the grantmaking process and overall decision-making. It's essential to ask for support from donors who want to be involved with the foundation and ensure they receive communications and impact updates on how their support is making a difference. Since the identity of these donors is often unknown to your organization, it is important to establish strong partnerships with community foundation leaders in order to gain their buy-in for communicating impact through the channels they’ve created with donors.
Donor-advised funds are not necessarily foundations but provide a tool for donors to give directly to their donor-advised fund, and use the funds they have set aside to support your organization. A major drawback of donor-advised funds is that donors do not have a time limit as to when they must distribute funds, so it is more important than ever to make sure you are communicating your immediate need and the impact the donor is making by giving through their donor-advised fund.
Below is a useful chart for developing strategy with foundation donors.
Questions to Ask | Foundation Profile |
Who is your contact person? How often does this relationship change? | Family Member, Corporate Representative |
What is the objective this foundation hopes to achieve by giving to your organization? | Family Focus, Social Responsibility, Social Change |
History of Support | How has this foundation supported your organization over time? What is the structure of their board and who is the decision maker? |
What type of communications and impact pieces would be meaningful for this foundation? | Impact Reports, Campus visits, Video reports, Email communications |
The overlay between Corporation and Foundation Donor Relations comes when a family owns, and leads, a large corporation with corporate giving departments, and has a family foundation, where the same people make decisions. In these instances, when creating impact reports and communicating the status of gifts, it is vital to include giving from BOTH the corporation and the foundation to show an overall picture of the difference the donor is making at your organization.
So how do we create a customized plan for corporations and foundations? Here are some DRG strategies and tips:
Develop an engagement plan specific to each corporation and foundation, including an overall strategy for their stewardship based on the answers from the charts above.
Impact Reports, both video and print, are a great way to show corporations and foundations how their support makes a difference.
If the corporation or foundation wants to promote its name, include naming opportunities, press releases, and other ways to encourage their support.
Provide opportunities for corporations to participate in student recruitment events on your campus.
Personalization is critical for Corporate and Foundation Donor Relations. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, and the more you know and understand the organization's goals, the better equipped you will be at communicating their impact. Does your organization have some great strategies for corporate and foundation donor relations? Share with us in the comments!
