“Philanthropy is becoming increasingly unviable,” says Hailey Cavill, Managing Director of Cavill + Co, who has been aiding the formation of partnerships between business and not-for-profits (NFPs) for over 13 years.

“Many not-for-profits go to corporates and see them as a cash cow, you know, ‘let’s go and get some money out of them.’ So I encourage the not-for-profits to think about their vision and mission and then get very clear about the types of companies that they could align with and help them achieve their mission, rather than just give them money. Companies are used to working towards the achievement of goals, not just giving money away.”

Why companies get involved There are a range of reasons companies seek partnerships with NFPs and no two companies are the same.

“For some it’s about building trust in their brand, for others it’s about needing to position themselves as a good corporate citizen. For some it’s about reaching a new target market or emotionally connecting with their current target market,” explains Cavill.

“As soon as you put a breast cancer pink ribbon on your product, you’re immediately talking to your female consumers on a different level,” she says. “Your product speaks to them at an emotional level rather than just a rational ‘buy me’ level.”

Often companies are motivated by the desire to differentiate themselves in the marketplace says Cavill, but every company’s objective is different. Businesses often approach her and say they want to get involved but don’t know how to find the right cause for them. To find the right cause they embark on what she calls her ‘HeartSmart® Process’ in which she helps them to define a cause that is relevant to their business and would appeal to their target audience whether that be customers, clients, community or staff.

“This process helps them to find a cause that is a really good fit with their organisation’s values and their brand, rather than an individual’s opinion, because consumers are far more sceptical these days of companies and brands supporting a charity. Indeed we have research to prove that if there is not a natural fit between the company and the cause it’s supporting, over a third of consumers are suspicious of the company’s intentions.” 1

Why NFPs get involved NFPs can gain a lot from a partnership with a company or brand , especially if the partnership involves a cause related marketing campaign undertaken by the company or brand.

Aside from a financial transaction, Cavill says that often NFPs receive other benefits such as donated products, specialist expertise and marketing assistance as well as extensive mass marketing from the companies.

She recommends NFPs looking to enter a partnership with a company first look at their own mission and vision and how a company can help them achieve those objectives. When Cavill helped to facilitate the partnership between job website SEEK and Volunteering Australia, Volunteering Australia already knew that to increase volunteers they needed to engage Generation-Y online. So when SEEK approached them, they could partner to fulfil a big vision rather than just exchange cash. Before SEEK Volunteer was established, would-be volunteers had to go into an office and fill out a form. The partnership with SEEK online helped Volunteering Australia achieve its objectives of engaging a wider range of potential volunteers.

For many NFPs, partnerships with business are about maximising their exposure to the public. The National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) has a number of partnerships with companies.

Characterised by its pink packaging, the NBCF has one of the best known cause related marketing campaigns featuring numerous companies and brands. Speaking to Third Sector before moving on from her position as Head of Marketing and Corporate Partnerships at the NBCF, Leonie Walton said cause related partnerships, incorporating cause related marketing, is a very progressive way for businesses to work with charitable organisations. In the NBCF’s case, she said their partners produce and sell the product while offering the NBCF mass exposure that she says they could never achieve alone.

“Obviously, surrounding all of our fundraising activities is a public relations and marketing campaign, designed to raise awareness of how and why community members should take part in fundraising. By leveraging media contacts and partnerships effectively, we ensure that our fundraising activities are top of mind in the general public.

“Given the fact that Australians go to the shops every single day, they purchase products every single day, it’s a great opportunity for them to be able to, just in their daily purchasing, still contribute to society. With petrol prices going up, with the cost of life being so high, Australians will purchase a cause related product over a product that is of equal value,” said Walton.

The high profile partnership between Guide Dogs Australia and Kleenex, Cavill says, has led to Guide Dogs Australia being named the third most trusted charity in Australia. She says the partnerships she orchestrated between these organisations really helped place Guide Dogs Australia at the forefront of consumer’s minds, which ultimately will help when consumers come to make decisions about donating or writing a charity into their will.