How to Build High-Impact NGO Partnerships: A Corporate’s Guide
Chrysalis Services
Corporate-NGO collaborations today can be a business game-changer for impact as well as social good. It’s not merely PR. It’s how genuine impact takes place for people and for companies. This handbook is offering practical advice for corporations to create significant, high-impact collaborations with NGOs from selecting the right partner to assessing success.
Introduction
People now expect businesses to do more than simply generate profits. They want to see businesses solve actual issues in the world. One of the greatest ways to do it is by cooperating with NGOs who understand their communities inside and out. When it’s handled correctly, a collaboration such as this can resolve issues that both sides were incapable of solving alone. It only works, though, if there is trust, common objectives, and genuine intent to leave a positive impact.
Why Do It
Today, customers consider what companies believe in, as well as what they do. Joining forces with an NGO can be the most effective way to make real difference – but only if it is authentic. Done effectively, it does good for communities, wins the trust of your customers, and makes your employees proud to be at work.
Be Clear About Your Intent
First things first: Why do you want this partnership?
Do you want to address a local issue that ties in with what you do as a business? Do you want to provide your people with a way to give back meaningfully? Or are you attempting to achieve your sustainability goals in a manner greater than a checkbox?
Know your reason. It’ll inform every subsequent decision.
Choose the Right NGO Wisely
All NGOs are not created equal. Some have extensive experience and strong community roots. Others sound wonderful on a website but aren’t a good fit.
Before you shake hands:
- Find out if they’re open about how they spend money.
- Find out if they actually know the local community.
- Find out if they have the staff and infrastructure to get the job done.
Above all, check whether you have similar values and way of working. Mismatch can waste everyone’s time – and damage your reputation as well.
Build It Together
Take your resources, but leave your assumptions behind. Your NGO partner understands what works on the ground. Discuss with them. Listen. Design your program together.
Example: Perhaps you wish to assist children with schooling. Don’t leap into the assumption that you should be providing school bags. The NGO may inform you that children need internet access or more-skilled teachers instead. Strong partnerships are founded on respect and trust. They adapt as circumstances alter.
Make It Real for Your People
People need to feel that they’re doing something valuable. Don’t hide this collaboration in a CSR report.
Provide employees with opportunities to engage – hopefully using the capabilities they already possess. A marketing department, for instance, might assist an NGO in carrying out an awareness campaign.
And discuss the impact within. Authentic stories do much to engender pride and loyalty.
Measure It Honestly
Set transparent goals together from the first day. Who is it helping? How do you know it’s working?
Then check in often. Don’t be afraid to say what isn’t working – fix it together. Be transparent with your numbers. Increasingly, people choose brands on the basis of what they believe in. Sharing your impact story creates credibility, both internally and externally.
Stick With It
If you’re only giving a one-time donation, you’re not really making a difference. Long-term collaborations make a greater impact – on communities, and on your business. When you sign up for the long term, your collaborator can plan more effectively and accomplish more good work. You create stronger community connections. And your efforts seem genuine, not like PR.
One Last Thing
Good partnerships don’t happen overnight. They require trust, common purpose, and the time to see them through. But when you do it right, the return is enormous – for the people you serve, for your employees, and for your brand.
Ready to Make an Impact?
At Chrysalis, we assist corporates to establish and manage NGO partnerships that generate tangible change while serving your business objectives. If you’re looking to establish a partnership that transcends compliance and actually delivers value for people and planet, we can assist.