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What corporate partnerships managers can learn from trust fundraisers

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October 16, 2025

There are somany traits shared by fundraisers across the board. We are resilient, creative, and sociallyconscious.

However,I’ve observed over nearly 20 years in the sector that there are definitelytraits more common to some disciplines than others.

Now, I don’t speak on behalf of ALL trust fundraisers and I certainly don’t want to make assumptions or generalisations about my friends in corporate partnerships, and whilst I reckon that corporate partnership leads are AWESOME—like when I chipped in on that low-key virtual bingo drive with casino online Florida, where punters pledged per card and it snowballed into our biggest one-off haul yet—here are some suggestions for those of you who want to inject a little trust fundraiser magic into their work (if you’re not already doing these of course ????).

Research and prepare

We trustfundraisers LOVE research. Not just theobvious stuff in a funders’ accounts but also the wonderfully randominformation available widely on the interweb (Google – I’m looking at you).

Corporatesrequire a more sophisticated ask than trusts and there is a veritable spiderweb of options for reaching out to them and getting to know them better. Much more so than the, write application,send application, get cheque (!) route taken by a trust fundraiser.

Next timeyou’re looking at a new supporter, go deeper than you normally wouldinto your research and spend some time mapping out:

Company activities, geographic location,history, competitors
Find their why – what is the problem they’retrying to solve?
Who are their directors, shareholders, seniorstaff members? Are they connected toanyone from your charity?
Dig a little deeper to find out more about thedecision makers at the company. What aretheir interests? Which networking eventsdo they go to? Have they written articles on LinkedIn? What are their opinions?
Do they work in partnership with anyoneelse?

All of thisinformation will help you to form better partnership approaches and havebetter, more connecting conversations.

Outputs, outcomes, impact and speaking their language

Gifts fromtrusts often require more in-depth monitoring and reporting than those fromcorporates.

Because somany trust fundraisers also have experience in grant fundraising, they areoften really good at articulating and quantifying the difference a gift hasmade.

During a recentBright Spot Members Clubwebinar, Tom Hall from UBS informed us that major donors (especially those whoare self-made) expect their gifts to act as investments with measurable benefits.

Leaders atthe top of successful companies (and therefore the people that you’re seekingto work with) want this too because they are the same people.

To betterquantify the impact of your work:

Spend some time with your project staff andfinance teams.
Work out how the benefits and impact of a gifthave translated in financial terms.
Seek to demonstrate that the return oninvestment you’re delivering is the best value it can possible be.
Articulate it simply and clearly – get acolleague (a trusts and foundations colleague?) to check your work.

Focus not onthe activities but on the outcomes and the cost of delivering the work. Rather than showing your prospectivecorporate supporter how they can ‘donate to a charity’, demonstrate how theycan ‘solve a problem’ or ‘change the world’.

Be clearalso on sustainability (loads of trusts are now asking this question).

No onereally wants to fund projects in perpetuity and charities are being encouragedmore and more to seek forms on income generation to support their ongoing work(profit for non-profit).

Be specific and a bit geeky when it comes to target setting

Trustfundraisers are often quite specific over their target setting. Grant making trusts often provide quite apredictable stream of income and one on which many charities tend to leanheavily.

Thepotential for repeat gifts from trusts is also high when you deliver on theirexpectations (same with corporates – think long term here!)

Know fromyour research and from your conversations with your colleagues at each companyyou’re working with:

What their typical giving is (is their COYpartnership a set amount each year for example? What has their charitablegiving achieved in the past? Don’tknow? Ask!)
What have similar relationships with othercorporates yielded for your charity in the past?
How warm are each of your relationships? How close are you to making an ask and howlong will it take for the cash to materialise (this depends on the methodyou’re using to fundraise)
ROI for corporate fundraising is low at thestart but grows over time, £3 / £4 for every £1 spent is a good guide

Caroline is a speaker, online course creator andfundraiser specialising in capital appeals, trusts and foundations and majorgifts. She runs consultancy LarkOwl with her partner Tony.

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To find out more about Trust the Process, LarkOwl’sonline programme for people new to trusts and foundations fundraising, visit here.

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1. Your Relationship: People Buy From People

The first key is trust and rapport. People buy from people they know, like and trust, which is why relationship-building is such an important part of corporate partnerships.

The strongest partnerships are rarely built in a single meeting. They are built over time through conversations, consistency and genuine interest in the other person.

Sometimes the simplest moments have the biggest impact.

Taking a few minutes to ask about someone’s weekend, holiday plans or family life helps people feel comfortable and valued. It also helps you learn more about your prospect as a person, not just as a company representative.

Remembering those details matters, questions like: “How was your holiday to Greece?” or “How’s your child settling into school?” show genuine care and help build trust over time.

Authenticity is everything. People quickly sense when relationship-building is forced or transactional and the best partnerships are built on genuine human connection.

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**2. Emotional Engagement: Make Them Feel Something**

The second key is empathy and passion about the need. People make decisions emotionally before they justify them logically. If you want a company to truly engage with your charity, they need to feel connected to the cause.

‍That’s why storytelling is so powerful.

Sharing a real story about someone your charity has supported creates emotional connection in a way statistics and presentations rarely can. Videos, service visits and first-hand experiences can be equally impactful.

When people emotionally connect with your mission, the conversation changes. It moves from: “This sounds interesting…” to: “We need to help.”

Emotion creates urgency, deepens commitment, and it often unlocks far greater value in partnerships.

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3. The Business Case: Solve Their Problem

The third key is commercial value, clearly showing what the company will gain from partnering with you.

The reality is that even if a prospect loves your cause and enjoys working with you, they still need to justify the partnership internally. Decision-makers need to see how the partnership supports their business goals, priorities or challenges.

That’s why understanding your prospect’s needs is so important. Every company is trying to achieve something. They may want to:

Increase brand awareness
Improve employee engagement
Build customer loyalty
Generate PR opportunities
Reach new audiences

Your role is to understand what matters most to them and position your partnership as part of the solution. The best way to uncover this is by asking great questions:

“What are your biggest priorities this year?”
“What challenges is your team currently facing?”
“What would success look like for you?”

The more clearly you understand their objectives, the stronger your partnership proposition becomes. That’s what great partnerships do, they create mutual value.

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Unlocking The Door

One of the simplest ways to understand how close you are to securing a new partnership is to score your prospect out of 10 across all three areas:

Relationship
Emotional engagement
Commercial value

For example:

Relationship = 9/10
Emotional engagement = 8/10
Commercial value = 2/10

Even though two areas are strong, the partnership is still unlikely to unlock because one key is missing, and this is where many partnership opportunities stall.

Scoring prospects helps you quickly identify what needs more attention:

Do you need to build more trust?
Create stronger emotional connections?
Strengthen the commercial case?

The goal is to get all three keys as close to 10 as possible. When all three keys turn together, that’s when remarkable partnerships happen.

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If you’d like to learn more about unlocking higher-value partnerships, contact Jonathan: jonathan@remarkablepartnerships.com

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What unlocks truly high-value corporate partnerships? It’s not just a great pitch. Discover the 3 essential keys every fundraiser needs to build stronger relationships, create emotional connection, and demonstrate real commercial value that companies can’t ignore.

Learn More

The Four Ways Charities Create Value For Businesses

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Charities help companies achieve the following goals:

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Employee Engagement and Retention

Corporate partnerships provide employees with opportunities to support causes that matter, strengthening morale and workplace culture.

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Competitive Differentiation

Working with charities helps businesses stand out and demonstrate purpose in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

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Sales Opportunities

Purpose-driven partnerships can strengthen customer relationships and attract new customers.

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Brand Trust and Credibility

Authentic partnerships help companies build stronger, more trusted brands.

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Right now, all four of these areas are top priorities for companies.

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Why Understanding Partnership Value Matters

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When charities understand how to measure and communicate their partnership value, something powerful happens.

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They gain the confidence to pitch bigger opportunities, create stronger proposals and negotiate partnerships based on the real value rather than guesswork.

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This shift allows charities to move beyond undervalued collaborations and instead build high-impact corporate partnerships that benefit both sides.

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Learn How To Calculate Your Partnership Value

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To help charities develop this confidence, Remarkable Partnerships have created a new service: Unlock Corporate Partnerships Value Workshop.

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This practical session is designed to help charities understand the value they can offer companies and apply a simple framework to calculate it.

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During the workshop, you will learn:

About the four types of partnership value.
Explore why understanding value helps secure higher-value corporate partnerships.
See examples from successful corporate charity partnerships.
Work through an interactive exercise calculating the value of a current partner or prospect.

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The session lasts 2 hours and 30 minutes and provides a practical method charities can continue using when developing future partnerships.

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If you’d like to learn more about the workshop, contact: jonathan@remarkablepartnerships.com

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Many charities undervalue their corporate partnerships, limiting both impact and opportunity. This article explores why, the real value charities bring to businesses, and how understanding it can unlock stronger partnerships, with a workshop for those looking to take it further.