Charity Village® Research: Corporate Partnerships: How we need to tap into this rich resource

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Corporate Partnerships: How we need to tap into this rich resource
By Lori Gotlieb
September 14, 2009

Managing volunteer programs requires a unique set of skills to balance and organize many different groups of volunteer and their variety of motivations.
Over the years I have found a trend is emerging that I believe has a long-term effect on our volunteer programs and how we manage volunteers. This trend is called Corporate Sponsored Volunteering. The number of corporate sponsored volunteer groups is growing and is taking a large amount of time to manage and nurture. You may question whether the effort to promote a relationship is worth the amount of work that you have to put into fostering this relationship. It is my opinion that not only is this the way to go for volunteer recruitment but it is the future of corporate philanthropy. Many of our donors are asking to get involved in our volunteer programs. They want to see where their money is going and want to feel connected to the organization that they are financially supporting. This is a great way to leverage grant dollars. By directing the grant dollars and the employees time and talent to the same cause, we produce results far greater than either could do on their own. The reality is that nonprofits have limited resources and there are many benefits to partnering with corporations.
We can:

Get projects done

Increase awareness of our cause and volunteering

Access expertise

Build community relationships

Collaborate and get things done

Learn from each other

Access their communication channels

Access their employee donor programs
The number of volunteers who are employed is rising. Based on the Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (CSGVP 2007), 12.5 million volunteers provided 2.1 billion hours of volunteerism in Canada. Interestingly, a small minority of volunteers accounted for the bulk of the hours. The 12 percent of volunteers accounted for 78 percent of total hours of volunteer support. Of the 12 percent of volunteers many are doing so with the support of their employer either through structured employee volunteer programs or with the support of their employer. So what does this mean for us?
I have found that the best relationship with corporations requires understanding the motivation of the employee, the corporation and the organization that you work for. Ultimately it is the needs of your organization that need to be met.
There are four areas that need to be clearly defined to accommodate the corporate volunteer:

Administration

Recruitment

Ongoing projects

Individual volunteering

Administration
Many of us have detailed application forms that all volunteers are required to complete. This is not only time-consuming but complicated for a company to collect from their employees. It is important to look at the job that a group of employees are going to do. What is the information that you need to have for them to do this job? Do they have to fill out the standard form? One recommendation is to collect only the necessary information for risk management purposes and basic demographics. Once an employee has expressed interest to continue volunteering on an individual basis, we can have them fill out the detailed form. Many times the group brings their own team leader who knows their employees and is responsible for them.
Recruitment
Once a relationship has been established, it is important to have ongoing communication with the corporation. It is important to have a clear understanding of the perimeters of the relationship. Ask if you can use their resources for recruitment. Would they be willing to send out internal emails, include something in their newsletters, post on bulletin boards, can you do a presentation, would they be interested in promoting your needs to their friends and family? Is there a retiree program that you can contact.
We have been taught that word of mouth is the best form of recruitment and given the size of many corporations, the potential is limitless. The corporation could be a primary resource for recruiting for your upcoming events. Asking the corporation to assist in recruitment is both flattering to them as well as a great way to reinforce your relationship and keep up the two-way communication. It makes sense to recruit from those that already know who you are.
Ongoing projects
It is important to continue building on this relationship. One suggestion is to plan your annual recruitment needs in advance and send it to the corporations. Do you have activities that are regular? Are there projects that you feel can be done in larger groups versus individuals? It is important to come up with ideas for the corporations to get involved in. Develop a marketing tool (flyer, email poster) that is easily distributed electronically through the corporation. Come up with a creative way to sell your volunteer opportunities, but be clear as to what your needs are. Understand the corporation that you are working with, including their resources, numbers of employees, hours of work etc be aware of when they normally want to do their volunteer work. One issue that I had was that they only wanted to do their volunteer work during the daytime hours, so I split activities into two groups, one would be responsible for set up (corporate group) and then my ongoing volunteers would take over for the rest of the event.
I have come up with four creative opportunities for volunteer groups.
A. Internal Challenges: great for collecting donations, site beautification projects, 3rd party fundraising events
B. Education: access their skills and talents through workshops, presentations, and career building opportunities
C. Special events: holiday meal/activities, fundraising
D. Community projects: spring and fall clean ups, painting and window washing, garage sale

Individual volunteering
One natural outcome to a successful corporate volunteer program is when individual volunteers start asking about long-term opportunities that can be done. We do not want to discourage this process, so please try and create opportunities for these employees. Building relationships is what this is all about.
The benefit to the employee:

Pride and loyalty for their company

Leadership and skill development

Networking opportunities

Increased community awareness

Personal fulfillment
The benefit to the corporation:

Stronger employee commitment

Positive impact on employee morale

Increased community awareness

Reduced employee turnover

Enhanced corporate reputation
The benefit to the organization:

An increase in the number of active and skilled volunteers

Support for needy individuals and groups

Strengthening of philanthropic donations

Learning from others
Corporate volunteering can be a low-cost, low-risk high-impact way of gaining great resources and building strong relationships. Remember this is a win-win-win situation.
Lori Gotlieb is currently the Manager of Community Engagement for The Arthritis Society, Toronto Region as well as founder and president of Lori Gotlieb Consulting. She is a community and corporate resource expert in volunteerism who has worked in the field of volunteer administration for over 15 years. Lori is the past president of the Toronto Association of Volunteer Administration, an editor for the International Journal of Volunteer Management and member and Past Chair of the Advisory Committee at Humber College, Fundamentals of Volunteer Management and the Enriched courses. Lori can be reached at lori.gotlieb@rogers.com.