How corporations can scale nonprofit partnerships

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has come a long way over the past decade — from being a “nice to have” to becoming a powerful driver of revenue, retention, and brand loyalty. But to tap into these benefits, you have to shape your programs around the needs of your company, employees, and nonprofit partners. 

Each group brings unique priorities: your company has specific funding criteria; employees want to support causes they’re passionate about; and nonprofits have core focus areas.  

That’s why we developed a concept we call “value matching”— the process of finding, vetting, and connecting with nonprofits that align with both corporate priorities and employee interests. Value matching helps build CSR programs that are most impactful for everyone involved. 

In this blog, we unpack how to value match, why it matters, and how it can fuel stronger, scalable corporate-nonprofit relationships. Plus, we break down how CSR software can take out the guesswork involved in finding potential partners.   

Value match like a pro: how to get started 

Understand your company’s needs 

Before you start searching for the right nonprofit partners, it's essential to understand the needs of both your business and its employees. We recommend considering:  

• Corporate priorities: Your company likely has specific funding goals, objectives, and eligibility criteria. Know these requirements inside and out — along with any restrictions that may limit certain partnerships. 
• Employee interests: Thirty percent of employees skip CSR programs because their preferred causes aren’t represented, while 36% say they’d participate if those causes were included. Take the time to understand what drives your employees, so you can create partnerships and programs that truly resonate. 

With this information in hand, you can filter out certain nonprofits based on factors like focus area, 501(c)(3) status, funding needs, and more. By narrowing down your pool of potential partners, you’ll make it easier to find the best fit.  

Understand your nonprofit partners’ needs 

Once you’ve landed on the right partner, it’s all about laying the groundwork for a strong, lasting partnership. Here’s how to get started: 

• Build programs that fit: Start by understanding your nonprofit partners’ biggest challenges and the kind of support they need most. Sometimes, capacity-building, professional development, or even financial and legal expertise can make a bigger impact than traditional funding. 
• Align on goals: Share your strategy, goals, and reporting needs from the start, so nonprofits can build impact reports in real-time, not retroactively. This saves your nonprofit partners time and helps them avoid headaches.  
• Keep communication open: Foster open communication where nonprofits feel comfortable sharing feedback on your relationship and programs. Use this input to fine-tune and strengthen your efforts going forward. 

When you understand your nonprofit partners' needs, build tailored programs, and nurture these relationships, your impact can truly take off. 

Breaking down barriers: challenges in value matching 

While the benefits of value matching are clear, finding the right partner can be challenging for corporations, employees, and nonprofits. Here’s why:  

• Corporate funders face a flood of grant applications, making it time-consuming to manually review, vet, and approve or deny each one. 
• Employees need a quick, easy way to see which nonprofits are included in their company’s giving and volunteering programs. Often, this info is scattered across systems, creating extra steps that discourage participation. 
• Nonprofits frequently fill out multiple grant applications that ask for similar details, adding extra work. And without upfront eligibility information, they may spend time applying for funding they don’t qualify for. 

Streamlining these processes can create smoother connections and ultimately lead to more successful partnerships — that’s where corporate giving software comes in.  

How CSR software can transform your approach  

When you partner with Bonterra for grantmaking, employee engagement, or both, you’ll gain access to FrontDoor Marketplace — the relational foundation of our platform. We connect CSR teams and employees directly with aligned nonprofits while reducing manual work for everyone involved.  

Here’s how it works:  

• Gain access to Bonterra’s network of 160,000 rigorously pre-vetted nonprofits and benefit from our rapidly expanding set of direct relationships.  
• Search and discover nonprofits based on standardized characteristics like causes supported, leadership demographics, and impact score, so you can easily find the right partner.  
• Receive AI-based recommendations for nonprofits to connect with based on your company’s goals, focus areas, and eligibility criteria.  
• Remove admin work for both funders and nonprofits through a single portal that reflects information like banking details, cause overview, 501(c)(3) status, and more.  

It’s time to tap into the power of value matching. Learn more about our software and how it can help you build long-lasting, durable charitable partnerships. For a live demo, book a call with one of our experts.