Want to Partner with a Business? Lessons from the Children’s Health Fund
Takeaways
Children’s Health Fund (CHF) is dedicated to providing health care to the nation’s most vulnerable children. CHF also has a 30-year legacy of support from a diversified mix of individuals, foundations, and corporations. A unique factor contributing to the diversity of partnerships includes corporations across industries. These partnerships share a mission, commitment to innovative solutions and bringing strengths to the table. This approach is captured in its current day focus with companies like Samsung, Morgan Stanley (#MSGivesBack), H&M Foundation and Sanofi US.
“The key to our success is building relationships that leverage the strengths of all stakeholders and focus on a shared mission to expand access to quality healthcare in the underserved communities,” said Dr. Irwin Redlener, Co-Founder, Children's Health Fund.
The notion of corporate responsibility reflects a growing trend to ensure that businesses see themselves as part of the community in which they work. This is true for small local businesses and large international corporations. Non-profit organizations (NGOs) can benefit greatly from partnering with a business that identifies with their mission. Increasingly, corporations and businesses in all sectors have adopted policies that reflect a desire to “give back.”
Here are the top six lessons for building successful business and nonprofit partnerships, from Dr. Redlener.
- Have a clear and compelling mission.
- Have a rationale as to why the mission is important and should be embraced by a potential business partner.
- Find a potential partner who has a corporate responsibility mission that aligns with the nonprofit.
- Make sure the proposal is well written from every perspective.
- Invite visits from the corporate leadership and employees to see the program “in action.”
- Stay connected with updates about how the program is going throughout course of the relationship.