Securing Corporate Gifts: Build a Great Proposal in 4 Steps

by Chris Hammond, CEO, CGC

In the new year, many organizations are revisiting—and revamping—their fundraising strategies to secure better results in the future. If your nonprofit’s team hasn’t already considered sourcing corporate gifts or wants to improve your approach, now is the time to get started. In this guide, we’ll review how to craft a strategic proposal that helps you source, steward, and secure corporate gifts.

Why this is important: When done correctly, corporate giving partnerships can cause a ripple effect of benefits for your nonprofit. These initiatives not only provide an important revenue stream for your organization but also allow you to spread awareness of your brand and start additional collaborations throughout your community. One strong partnership might be all you need to transform your fundraising initiatives forever!

1. Research Potential Corporate Partners

Just as you do with individual prospective donors, your team will need to research and identify specific corporations to focus your outreach efforts on.

Quality outweighs quantity during prospect outreach (especially when sourcing large contributions), so honing in on the most qualified prospects makes your process more efficient. Here are some tips for researching potential corporate giving collaborators:

Use a corporate giving database. If a corporation has already supported other causes in the past (even through general programs like matching gifts), they already understand the importance of corporate giving and might make for an easier prospect. Use a corporate giving database to find as much information as possible to inform your proposal.
Analyze other nonprofits’ partnerships. Research other nonprofits in your field of influence and take a hint from their corporate partnerships. For instance, if you see a similar nonprofit collaborating with a certain business, you might approach one of its competitors and use that information to make your pitch more appealing.
Use networking to fill in the gaps. Pinpointing the business you want to approach is only the first step—you also need information about specific stakeholders within the organization. Use LinkedIn and other networking resources to learn more about key decision-makers and make the first touchpoint.
Collect and save insights in a CRM. Gaining as much information as possible during the research process helps you source prospects and provides information for your eventual proposal. The more personal your proposal is, the more likely your case for support will resonate with prospects and secure their buy-in. Save any relevant information in a database—you’ll fill in the gaps when you get to know prospects personally.

2. Suggest Convenient Corporate Giving Opportunities

Recommending easy corporate giving wins adds an extra layer of personalization and creativity to your proposal and helps you stand out from the crowd. The best suggestions complement corporations’ existing initiatives and offerings, as they’re easier to implement and are more likely to resonate with your potential partner.

First, you’ll need to connect with the prospect—likely with a corporate giving coordinator or another fiscal decision-maker. External research can provide lots of information, but it’s best to have an internal source for fresh and relevant recommendations. During initial touchpoints, gather information about their current corporate giving programs and their vision for the future.

Once you have this data, you can suggest giving strategies that align with your mutual goals. For instance, let’s say your prospect has a corporate gifting program in which employees can choose a gift valued at $100 around the holidays. Unwrapit recommends adding a $100 donation to your nonprofit as a corporate gift option. This way, employees can easily support your nonprofit’s cause and feel appreciated by their employer with little extra work on the employer’s side—it’s a win-win-win scenario.

Remember to pitch some opportunities that don’t require financial investment from the prospect. Some impactful programs, for example, are volunteer-oriented, such as a group volunteering outing.

3. Highlight Unique Benefits

Since the best corporate partnerships are mutually beneficial, your appeal should emphasize what the corporation can get out of supporting your nonprofit. Use these statistics from Double the Donation’s guide to corporate social responsibility to demonstrate the benefits of corporate giving:

77% of consumers want to purchase from companies with CSR programs.
- Takeaway: Investing in charitable causes can give corporations an edge over competitors and win new customers.
94% of major US corporations plan to increase their giving in the coming years.
- Takeaway: This overwhelming increase in investment indicates its value to corporations and the nonprofits they support.
93% of employees think companies should lead with a purpose.
- Takeaway: The vast majority of employees are more likely to stay engaged and loyal to corporations that give back to their communities, which can bolster satisfaction, productivity, and retention.
73% of investors prefer to invest in companies that improve society.
- Takeaway: Companies can stand out in the investment world and open new opportunities by supporting nonprofits.

Also, remember to highlight the benefits of working with your organization in particular. Illustrate your mission-related successes and share testimonials that demonstrate your great reputation. More comprehensive partnerships often feature a cause marketing campaign, which publicizes your engagement and its impact. But even in short-term collaborations, corporations want to collaborate with respected organizations so their own reputation remains solid.

4. Specifically Communicate Your Needs

Effective corporate giving proposals directly present your appeals and detail what the partnership will entail. A straightforward proposal clears up any confusion, streamlining negotiations so you can get any necessary resources sooner. Follow these tips to state your needs and vision for the collaboration directly:

Provide plans for the partnership. Although you may not have everything figured out right away, you should still provide insight into how you envision the engagement unfolding. For instance, you might outline ideas for how the corporation supports you or assign hypothetical roles and responsibilities. Include both a high-level overview and a more detailed description for clarity.
Delineate key performance indicators (KPIs). These metrics directly correlate with your goals and help you measure your initiatives’ success. For instance, if your overarching goal is to increase volunteering, you’ll measure the number of volunteers, whereas a collaboration focused on financial support will measure dollars raised.
Include a sample budget. This is the most efficient way to break down foreseen expenses so that neither you nor your prospective partner are caught by surprise when launching your initiatives. Outline expenses for everyday program maintenance, marketing, supplies, value of gifts, and impact reporting, as well as how you plan to cover these costs.

Like with donor relationships, corporate partnerships require consistent maintenance to remain strong. Communicate the ripple effects of your collaboration, both on your community and on their customer base, and use these insights to improve your program going forward.