grumpy_o_g
Well-Known Member
This is getting funnier with every post
Students, (and teacher) who did not know -according to the story - that they can sail, never mind that there are some sailing charities for disadvantaged kids,
but they DID KNOW how to ...inspire PR company. Hilarious!
BTW the total yearly budget for "charities" of a big international firm where many parents my local (rural Wales in case you have not noticed earlier) work is:
FIVE THOUSAND POUNDS.
That is it. All. For a year. For all charities. We did get...a hundred. For which we were really grateful. It helped the kids a lot.
But then, our kids spend their free time fundraising for charities, and thus do not know how to inspire PR companies.....
Pete....please....
To be blunt then (because I want you and the organisations you support to succeed) you're not as good at fund-raising. Most fund-raising decisions rest on two or three factors - will it improve the companies profile and bottom line, (i.e what's in it for them), will it backfire on them in any way (e..g it's not what it seems, the scheme is likely to fail, it's associated with something not appropriate to the sponsor such as GM foods, intensive farming, a political organisation, etc.) and lastly what is the benefit to society (i.e. is it a good cause that the decision influencers and makers can be believe in and will feel good about supporting).
Have a clear and realistic presentation that covers these factors off honestly.
Have an information pack prepared that helps the potential supporter understand the details behind it and be prepared to support their due diligence.
Do your research and find out what will get results - how much are they capable of giving, whether in cash or other help, which of the factors will carry how much weight and what aspects of their organisation makes this a good fit, who will you be meeting and/or presenting to and what will influence them most effectively etc.
You need a ROI as much as anyone else so, if a company tells you it only has £5K available for everyone, then your investment in both time and money should be appropriate to the proportion of that that you believe you can get. That is a ludicrously small budget for big international company though - most SMB's with a decent turnover have higher budgets than that.
I work for an organisation that spends a lot on philanthropy (many millions every year) and it expects returns, not in cash necessarily but in results. As an example it tends to send specific goods or resources to certain areas - victims of a severe flooding in a less stable part of the World got sent specially prepared packs containing a tent and basic items that had been lost for example, rather than giving money to a Government that would probably struggle to get it converted to aid quickly. That was mostly because it would get the aid to those that needed it quickest but also because it wouldn't look good if we were seen to throw money away unwisely. We support local schools, universities and colleges, often targeting children from under-privileged families not just by funding but also by encouraging staff to give up time (both our own and the Company's) to work with them on everything from explaining what it's like out there to who to write a CV or resume. I usually meet quite a few of my competitors doing this work as well small and medium businesses. It not only helps a part of society that really needs it, it helps us in recruiting high quality staff and gives feedback to the educators as to what we are needing versus what we are getting. I doubt any of pitches we get cost for support cost more than a £20 or £30 and they can be re-used to a large extent but they've all put the effort into preparing them. Not trying to sell my Company here (and I won't say who it is) but it hopefully gives an idea as to how the decisions are made in such large organisations and it's not dissimilar for smaller companies I believe. Most are surprisingly uncynical and genuinely philanthropic about such things in reality but, with limited resources, it would be stupid not to try and maximise the benefit. Apart from anything else if there's a return for the Company they can give more.
Many companies will not want an organisation that works quietly in the background though - I'm not suggesting that there is anything wrong with that and many Companies (my own included) will support many causes and charities that are exactly like that but, at the end of the day they are businesses and will want the best return for their investment which, often, means publicity should be included.
