We’ve all heard this countless times: “It’s not what you know but who you know.” And we also know that in many facets of our lives, the statements rings as true as the changing seasons. A child is selected for a high-level sports team because his parent is a friend of the coach. A person is promoted because of a cozy relationship with a senior executive. Or a firm is awarded a contract because the firm’s owner is a buddy of the owner of the company awarding the contract.
Sound familiar? If it doesn’t, you haven’t been living in civil society for that last millennium. Cronyism is likely as old as humanity itself and any history scholar familiar with words like “patronage” will tell you that who you know (or perhaps who you are) has always dictated your lot in life. Whether your like it or not, you’re more likely to make headway with someone you know. Who you know isn’t everything of course, but sometimes it feels pretty darn close.
So should your organization leverage relationships in order to acquire corporate gifts? Absolutely. Having said that, it is also true these corporate relationships are far more sustainable when the corporation’s articulated community investment goals align with your organization’s mission (assuming they have well-articulated goals which is often not the case. Note: Saying “we want to improve communities where Canadians live, work and play” does not constitute well-articulated goals.).
How do you get started? Start with your Board of Directors and senior volunteers. Let them know the organizations you are currently targeting. Ask them to arrange meetings with their connections at those organizations. Ask them to facilitate meetings at their own organizations. Ask them to identify corporations that are not on your prospecting list but where they might have a strong personal connection (remembering, that these relationships tend to be the most tenuous in the long run).
Don’t overcomplicate things. By creating a systematic process that identifies and leverages existing relations, you can both engage your Board members in the fund development process and begin cultivating and soliciting some exciting new prospective supporters.
Brad Offman is Founder and Principal of Spire Philanthropy, a management consultancy specializing in corporate-charitable partnerships. He is the former Senior Vice President, Strategic Philanthropy at Mackenzie Investments. Brad is also former President of the Mackenzie Investments Charitable Foundation and Managing Director of the Mackenzie Charitable Giving Fund. Prior to joining Mackenzie, Brad served as Vice President, Development at the Toronto Community Foundation.
Brad is currently on the Board of the V-42 Foundation, the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Toronto and Benefaction Foundation. He is a member of the National Advisory Council for Imagine Canada.
