The challenges of corporate fundraising for charities

The 2024 Corporate Giving Report, while mostly focusing on giving by FTSE 100 Companies, offers some useful insights into corporate giving trends in the UK.

The report finds that corporate giving is falling, and falling fast. Giving by the FTSE 100 fell 8.3% in real terms last year and has fallen 34% in real terms in the last decade. Outside the healthcare sector, the figures are even worse and beyond the FTSE 100, 75% of UK business did not support any charities in 2023.

This is despite growing profits and increasing requirements for reporting on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR); if all companies gave 1% of pre-tax profits there would be an extra £5bn of income for charities each year.

What is going on here?

Are UK businesses just mean spirited?

Are they building up reserves following the impacts of pandemic and to ensure they survive future global crises?

Or are charities failing in their approach to corporate fundraising?

As ever it’s probably a bit of all these and other factors.

There’s not a great deal most charities can do about business culture and global trends but many could up their game as far as working with corporates is concerned. For example, the 15th C&E Corporate-Non-profit Partnerships Barometer (2024) highlights some important mis-matches between charities and corporates, particularly when it comes to unrestricted funding (e.g. only 20% of companies think unrestricted giving would be likely, compared to 56% of charities).

Corporate fundraising also appears to be increasingly linked to sales and/or popular causes: 73% of business said they would fundraising through sales and 86% would consider using awareness days/weeks/months. Business are also much more interested in supporting causes that align with their business values and products (perhaps this explains the higher rates of corporate giving in the healthcare sector).

It seems to us, therefore, that charities need to shift their thinking on corporate fundraising and embrace a much broader approach than simply asking for money. Charity-business partnerships can and should be about much more. Charities and businesses can and should work together for mutual long-term benefit

For charities the benefits can include increased funding, reduced costs, improved skills and greater profile/reach amongst beneficiaries and supporters.

For businesses, the benefits can include enhanced brand image, increased staff morale and loyalty and greater reach into existing or new customer bases. In the end, most businesses get involved with charities because it is good for their business, rather than out of pure philanthropic motivations.

Therefore, finding shared interests and objectives is always the most important factor in whether charity-business partnerships succeed and persist. Taking time to identify and explore common ground, build trust and understand each others’ motivations and objectives is critical. Of course, there are risks and ethical considerations; charities in particular need to take care to do their due diligence and review the relevant Charity Commission guidance carefully, before committing to partnerships with businesses.

Through this process of establishing common ground and trust both the charity and the business can explore a range of options for partnership working that are appropriate to the size and type of both the charity and the businesses.

If you would like to find out more about corporate fundraising or our fundraising services more generally, please contact us at julian@almondtreeconsulting.co.uk to arrange free initial telephone discussion