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Growing Corporate

Philanthropy

Corporate Gift

Cover Letter

Bearing Fruit

Example

Developing a

Case Statement

  • In 2007 I began working to articulate the case for support for the Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC) at UNC Charlotte.
  • In 2008 I began assembling a board of corporate volunteers to help articulate the need for the center and the value it would provide to their business and the community.
  • In 2009 seven organizations provided a combined gift of $80,000 in seed funding for the center.
  • In 2010 two companies pledged a combined gift of $8,800,000 in support of the center.
  • Today, EPIC has secured over $17,000,000 in gifts and pledges from companies and their related foundations.

Inside Look at Successful Proposal

Benjamin Mohler, CFRE, ACFRE

Building Relationships

Corporate Foundation Side

Corporate Side

  • Understand that in most cases, companies and their related corporate foundation have separate governance structures.
  • Corporate foundations typically fund on a annual cycle with a process for application, awarding, progress reports, and invitations for renewal funding.
  • Not all corporate foundations accept unsolicited grant proposals.
  • Engaging corporate leadership on the business side sometimes helps prompt or accelerate invitations to submit a grant proposal.
  • Corporate foundation grants tend to follow an ethical or stakeholder model.
  • Engage corporate employees as volunteers and build them as leaders within your governance structure.
  • Don't underestimate the power of matching gifts.
  • Some companies make "sweat equity grants" to organizations where their employees volunteer.
  • When a gift is not viable, consider marketing, sponsorship, or partnership support.
  • Long-term volunteer engagement can lead to an invitation to submit a proposal to the corporate foundation RFP process.
  • Corporate gifts tend to follow a political or productivity model.

Misconception

Tips From the Front Lines

Before You Begin

  • Companies and corporate foundations support nonprofit organizations with missions that align with their own organizational mission.
  • Find out what information companies need to approve a gift and who has influence to make these decisions.
  • "Go-away money" may be helpful in short term, but is not sustainable in the long term and is an easy way to ruin chances for future and more meaningful gifts.
  • Don't forget LAI!
  • Remember that companies and corporate foundations are comprised of many individuals. Don't treat them like a faceless pocketbook.
  • Like individual major gifts, it is important to build relationships (this takes time).
  • Build relationships with several individuals at once (don't rely on just one contact).

Models of Corporate Giving

  • Corporate productivity - increases profits or improves ROI for business interests
  • Ethical or altruistic - addresses need in community or where company does business
  • Political - protects power and builds influence
  • Stakeholder - improves corporate identity for constituents, employees, community

Source: Tempel, E. R., Seiler, T. L., & Aldrich, E. E., eds. Achieving Excellence in Fundraising (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2011), 138-161.

Establishing the Foundation

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