Top tips for sustainable strategic partnerships

In our second piece on strategic partnerships this month, fundraising experts from across Europe share their tips on how to ensure they have the best chance of success.

Commercial organisations of all shapes and sizes seek nonprofit partners, but while the offer may be compelling, there’s a job to be done to ensure that any partnership is sustainable, and holds value for both sides. Here are some tips.

Understand your nonprofit’s values & needs

Firstly, the nonprofit’s values and needs must be clear and at the forefront internally, with a strategy in place to ensure due diligence is carried out into every potential partnership to assess risk and ethical rapport, and that all activity carried out under that partnership is beneficial for the nonprofit and its work.

Giordana Giambanco, corporate engagement specialist at Oxfam Italia shares:

“At Oxfam Italia, we start by identifying companies that are integrating environmental and social impact into their core business operations, aligning closely with Oxfam Italia’s mission. These companies are not only aligned with our mission but also committed to improving their practices in ways that benefit society and the environment.

“To ensure these partnerships thrive, we begin by establishing clear and mutual goals. We send useful materials on themes identified for collaboration, laying a foundation of shared knowledge and objectives. This initial step fosters mutual understanding and sets the stage for a strong relationship.”

 

Do your research

A second key step is to do your research into any prospective partner: their mission, values, and previous projects. This will help you to better understand whether their goals and values match yours, and how you might complement each other.

Anette Koivisto, corporate partnerships specialist at Finland’s MIELI ry shares:

“Before the first meeting, I thoroughly review for example the company’s corporate responsibility and values. I consider how a partnership with MIELI ry could align with the company’s goals. Social responsibility is currently a hot topic, and alongside environmental responsibility, companies want to invest in it. I also follow news and press releases about the company and topics that company leaders talk about. Collaborations based on the company’s values, responsibility, or business goals can offer a stable foundation.”

This understanding of how your nonprofit can create value in the partnership is essential, as is having a general understanding of the corporate world and how it works.

To this, Rolf Bangsgaard, partner & adviser at Denmark’s Raform adds:

“You need someone who can talk and understand the language of corporate. That’s the biggest challenge. I would always come to a company with an idea, having done my research, understanding what might be the challenges and pain points that the company has, and how we could solve our problem or common problems together.”

Fulfil your side of the deal

Certainly, entering into a strategic partnership is not as simple as receiving a donation and then sharing what you’ve achieved with it. For success there has to be an understanding of what the nonprofit itself needs to deliver to create value for its partner – and the ability to do so.

Gunn Inger Røkke Ruud, strategic adviser corporate partnerships, Salvation Army Norway, Iceland & the Faroe Islands says:

“High level partnerships demand a high degree of involvement in your core business, and capacity and competence in areas that are strategically important for your partner – they’re not just about receiving funding and pro bono support. You need to make sure you’re on track with what you said you were going to do and deliver your side of the deal so that they find the partnership valuable as well. This also means being able to measure and report back on activity and achievements. Partnerships require work on both sides.”

Stay connected

Communication (or the lack of it) can make or break a collaboration. In fact, the most common reason partnerships fail is because the expectations haven’t been made clear, and the NGO has agreed to deliverables it’s unable to meet.

Everything from objectives, to responsibilities, and ways to measure success need to be established up front. Then, on an ongoing basis, regular dialogue and meetings, as well as the sharing of both successes and challenges are essential for building and sustaining mutual trust.

MIELI ry’s Koivisto says:

“It is important to develop the partnership over the years, and therefore, we brainstorm new ways in which we can support the company and how they can showcase this in their communications and marketing. I also try to get the entire company’s staff more strongly engaged if they aren’t already involved. I aim to interact with several decision-makers within the company, as a broader network and message reach within the company strengthens the foundation for a deep partnership.”

Sharing Fundación Gmp’s experience, director Francisco Fernández says:

“Ultimately, it’s about ‘balance’. In our collaboration with the Federation of Autism of Madrid and the AUCAVI Foundation in the Autism Commitment project, we ensured we aligned our expectations and objectives from the beginning. We have maintained constant and transparent communication, organizing monthly meetings to evaluate progress and discuss any issues. Furthermore, we value our partners’ expertise in the field of autism and respected their recommendations, which has been crucial for the project’s success. Thanks to this collaboration, we have been able to provide effective tools and strategies to the staff of various educational centres, benefiting numerous children with autism.”

Put measurement processes in place

Measurement is another key factor in any strategic partnership. But, while it’s relatively simple for a nonprofit to assess the impact of a partner’s support on its work, the value created for that partner can be harder to define.

One potential impact measure companies can use is how many people (for example) it has helped. Data can also be collected on the reach of messages about the partnership and feedback gathered from the partner’s stakeholders on how the partnership has affected their relationship with the company. Retention and recruitment is a possible KPI, as is how goodwill or positive brand impact translates into better sales, and whether the brand is living up to investor expectations.

Bangsgaard adds:

“Impact measurement is the most difficult part of partnership, but something else a nonprofit can measure is how it creates value by giving the company authentic content for their ESG reporting. Companies need to work out how to meet ESG standards, and how to get a B Corp certification. So that really is a value creator, because how would you otherwise figure out how to really make a difference on your ESG if not with the help of people understanding projects from the NGO side of the business?”

Learn from others

Learning by example of course also has enormous value. Below, the Salvation Army Norway, Iceland & The Faroes and Oxfam Italia share examples of corporate partnerships that have been successful for them.

 

 

 

 

– Case studies –

Salvation Army Norway, Iceland & The Faroes: transforming a longstanding partnership to provide more

value to both sides

Salvation Army Norway, Iceland & The Faroes’s partnership with flower shop chain MesterGrønn started over 25 years ago when Norway introduced a charge for plastic bags and the brand chose to donate the one krone/ 1 NOK charge per bag to the nonprofit. Over the years, this has provided a substantial sum of money: every year MesterGrønn donates around one million NOK from the sale of the Salvation Army’s rose bouquet and a contribution from the bag sale to the Salvation Army’s humanitarian work. Both parties were content with the status quo.

However, in more recent years, seeing how the brand has developed its corporate support offering in partnerships with other nonprofits, Gunn Inger and her team started looking at how they could develop their partnership to make it more fulfilling for the brand, and to provide greater value for both sides.

The Salvation Army’s addiction care is recognized for its expertise and help for people with drug problems, many with bad life experiences and long-term drug use. To make it a more strategic partnership, the nonprofit decided to earmark MesterGrønn’s donation to support this work. This has made it easier to show them exactly how it is being used, and to measure and report back on what their support has achieved.

Gunn Inger says:

“It also makes it easier for them to get more involved, to understand the work that they’re supporting and to talk about the partnership. For example, if they want to pay us a visit, we know where to take them and who they should talk to. They’re also very interested in getting people out of addiction and helping them find a job.  We’re now in the process of combining our efforts into a strategic project that is based on our shared value. This has brought our work closer to home for them and made the partnership feel more relevant and important. We’re also now planning with them throughout the year so they know what’s coming up, enabling them to start budgeting for this partnership alongside their others.

“It’s about having that business mindset and understanding where the value of this partnership is for them. It started like a lot of older partnerships with them making donations, but now we’re trying to be more relevant, to show them our competencies and expertise, and that we understand the business side of the partnership, and asking them to make more of an impact.”

 

 

Oxfam Italia: achieving social awareness & commercial success through partnership

A great partnership for Oxfam Italia is with Narratè, a “beverage design” company from Italy. Narratè has created a product that combines a brief story with a tea or herbal infusion, designed to be read in the exact time it takes to brew the tea – five minutes.

The product is fully customizable in terms of graphics, text, and blend, allowing any content to be used to convey a message, whether for sales, institutional, or entertainment purposes.

In November 2022, Oxfam Italia became a retailer of Narratè products in its online shop, and by Christmas, these products were the bestsellers of the year. The success of this collaboration led to the creation of a dedicated editorial series called “Human Rights Makers” in March.

This series focuses on peace and human rights, featuring stories about significant figures such as Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Maria Montessori, Les Madres de Plaza de Mayo, and Malala Yousafzai.

The concept of this editorial line is to “Have a tea with…” where readers imagine sitting down with a great personality and listening to what they might share during the five minutes it takes to brew their tea. Written in the first person, each story is crafted to be empathetic and straightforward, allowing readers to feel as if they are receiving personal insights directly from these historical figures.

This partnership has achieved several significant milestones:

Increased Engagement: Narratè’s format, particularly with the “Human Rights Makers” series, has effectively captured readers’ attention, providing a unique and enjoyable way to engage with important social and cultural themes while introducing Oxfam’s mission to a new audience.

Sales Success: Narratè products have been well-received, becoming the top-selling items during the holiday season.

Cultural Impact: By involving talented writers capable of capturing the essence of important characters and themes, the partnership has produced content that is meaningful and accessible to a wide audience.

Employee Engagement: The partnership has also become an employee engagement initiative focused on human rights. This is important because involving employees in meaningful activities not only increases awareness and knowledge of important social issues but also demonstrates the company’s commitment. Engaged employees are more motivated and likely to support the values and mission of the organization that the company has chosen to support.

Giordana says:

“This partnership exemplifies how a creative and well-aligned collaboration can not only promote social awareness but also achieve commercial success, providing a sustainable model for future initiatives. By incorporating employee engagement, the partnership strengthens internal culture and reinforces the commitment to human rights, benefiting both the company and its employees.”