Session: Partnerships Companies Will Pay For

Two of the hardest questions for us to answer in corporate fundraising are:

1. What do we offer to companies?

2. How much do we ask them for in return?

The answers to these questions have real consequences. Andy, was once in the room with a horse welfare charity when a trustee suggested that a bank “basically owe us €1,000,000” because they happened to have a horse in their logo. Andy was also the person who convinced a charity to up their ask to a partner from €5,000 to €50,000 – and not only did they do it: they got a yes. This approach became 10x more valuable simply through confidence.

As a relatively young vocation, corporate fundraising doesn’t have a huge evidence base behind it. While we can learn from business to business approaches, not everything translates. The best we can do is learn from peers and adapt to what feels right to us.

This session will run you through the most commonly adopted models charities use to answer these questions, and get you planning your own partnerships strategy - ensuring you can build partnerships companies will pay for.

Andy King

Andy King is the Director of Fireside Fundraising and an award-winning storyteller. In July 2022, Fundraising Magazine named him ‘the most influential fundraiser in the UK’. Andy’s passion is helping charities tell their most important stories to those with the power to change the ending. This has led him to kickstart corporate partnerships programmes from a standing start to a value of £450,000 per year in 18 months. He has also transformed existing approaches to go beyond ‘logo-led’ fundraising with St. John’s Ambulance and UNESCO. Having worked with charities of all shapes and sizes, he is keen to create the tools that will work for you.