I am running an NGO, but I am still confused about how I make the first contact with the corporate donors?

I understand, making your first contact with corporate donors can be challenging and intimidating. But it does not mean you can never do that. In fact, by following some steps, you can achieve your goal easily.

You might know that the corporate culture differs a lot from the nonprofit world. Many a time, nonprofits need to make a lot of efforts to reach out to a corporate, make them listen to what they have to ask for and tell them why they stand out by the excellent work they do.

Being able to schedule a meeting with them is a good indication for the potential collaborations or seeking corporate funding or sponsorship for your organization.

So here are a few tips to help you prepare for the face-to-face meeting.

Appointments

Your first meeting with a corporate can make you nervous. Don’t worry and make sure you go step-by-step. Whether it is a pre-ask meeting or one that is regarding corporate volunteers, it is surely an opportunity for your non-profit to get various resources like funds, volunteers, partnerships, etc.

First things first. Make sure you have an appointment with the person you want to meet. Also, try to phone in before going. This small step will help you and the other person also by saving time, preparing the discussion points, and thus will result in fruitful discussion. You may also need to send an email defining the objectives of meeting and the expectations from it.

Preparation for the meeting

Be ready with your homework before the meeting. You would want to make sure you make the most of it. So, make sure you have done your homework before this one.

Be ready with all the things you would like to carry with you, like a PowerPoint presentation about your organization, your work, your cause and what support you are seeking.

Do your research

You may want to go for the meeting with high possibility of getting a donation or corporate gift, or other resources. For making sure you achieve this, you would need to understand the company in question.

As a part of your preparation for the meeting, and for developing good strategic relations with the company, you must put in adequate efforts to understand the company, its strategic plans, values and work, their work in the area of corporate social responsibility (CSR), where does CSR stand in its overall strategies.

A little bit of research about the company, previous and current social projects it has implemented, if any, can tell you a lot about the corporate. All this will help you in understanding the company and thus will enable you to make your proposition into a business case for them. This can be a win-win situation for both sides.

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