Charities: are we sometimes asking businesses for too little?
Funding matters enormously.
But a company might be able to offer much more than a cheque.
It may have:
• specialist marketing, HR, legal or financial expertise
• buildings and meeting spaces
• relationships with thousands of customers
• employment and training opportunities
• technology, equipment or transport
• purchasing power
• influential people and networks
• employees looking for a meaningful way to contribute
A stronger corporate conversation might not begin with:
“Will you sponsor us?”
It might begin with:
“Here is the change our community needs. What could our organisations contribute together?”
That opens the door to a much more strategic relationship.
One in which the charity brings its expertise, lived experience and understanding of need—and the business contributes the assets, skills and influence it already possesses.
The result could be more valuable than a one-off donation and more meaningful than having a logo placed on an event banner.
Social Intent works between the charity and commercial worlds, helping both sides understand what an effective partnership could achieve.
