A partnership between a corporation and a nonprofit entity, such as a college, will only provide benefit if it proves to be mutually advantageous. Both entities need to be aware of that.

During the Association of Fundraising Professionals international conference, Dale Hedding of the Arts Consulting Group and Jennifer Schwartz of the University of Maryland said that nonprofit managers must remember that corporations have changed from being donors to being investors and corporate leaders seek greater value from partnerships. Further, they seek comprehensive relationships.

With that in mind, Hedding and Schwartz said there are five essential elements to a corporate-nonprofit partnership.

• Institutional support. Maximize the flow of all corporate resources to support the organization’s mission.
• Mutual benefits. Articulate the benefits of the relationship by identifying and matching the company’s strategic needs and the organization’s strengths. Provide a consistent interface for industry. Facilitate.
• One-stop shopping. Provide a relationship nexus that is central to all points of entry, simplifies and accelerates access, bypasses silos, expands single projects, builds strategic alliances and facilitates interactions.
• Earned and contributed revenue. Integrate earned and contributed revenue development, by going beyond donor benefits to present the full breadth of assets the organization can offer to organizations.
• Organizational co-ordination. Communicate regularly. Share information. Share top prospect strategy. Share metrics. Prevent duplication of efforts.