Corporate partnerships: your 90-day launch plan

Ani Manavyan: Thank you, everybody, again. I really appreciate you choosing to join me for these next sixty minutes, because we’ll talk about my favorite topic: how to build corporate partnerships from the ground up.

I want to say that the timing of this webinar is absolutely purposeful, because here we are at the beginning of August, just a few weeks away from Labor Day, and usually the period between Labor Day and New Year is when companies are actually making their funding decisions for next year. So I want to give you the tools and the blueprint for how you can be successful in these ninety days, and give you the confidence that you can do it.

Ninety days later, you can be successful, and you’ll have a completely different blueprint to develop and grow your corporate partnership program even more. I know that for many of you, corporate fundraising can be a little mysterious and confusing — I don’t think we talk enough about it. Maybe you already have a few small sponsorship gifts here and there, or a few matching gifts, but you just don’t know how to systematize your approach or what to do with them.

Or maybe you’ve thought about starting but aren’t sure how to approach it. Or maybe some of you believe your mission simply isn’t well aligned with companies. I’m here to tell you that you can do it — it’s all about developing a system that works for you. For some of you, that might mean devoting two to five hours a week. For others, it might be five hours a month — that’s great too. I want to assure you that the steps I’m going to give you today will make you successful no matter how many hours you can devote to this. Just take the steps, and you will succeed, which brings me to my promise for you.

My promise is to give you clarity on how to approach different kinds of companies, how to build confidence in your outreach, and how to navigate these relationships well — especially when it comes to starting cold with cold emails. We’ll talk about how to approach prospecting, how to build your pipeline, and what criteria to use. And finally, we’ll talk about how you build that system and how you can utilize your own leadership in the process.

With all that in mind, I want to introduce myself officially and welcome you again.

I’m Ani Manavyan. As I said, I’ve been doing this for nearly fifteen years, for both small and large organizations. Right now I have the privilege of helping smaller organizations — I work with organizations that don’t have a corporate relationships manager, and I help you build, develop, and grow your corporate partnerships no matter how many hours a week you have. I wanted to share something personal about me so you can get to know me a little.

I thought, I’m excited — I could talk for hours about my orchid collection. And then I thought, well, that’s silly, that has nothing to do with corporate fundraising. But it actually does, because it’s a game of patience. It’s a very long game.

There’s something else too. I mentioned that I’m here in Southern California, in LA, where we have a very dry climate, and orchids love humidity — so I’m pretty much trying to succeed against all odds. In the beginning, it took me quite a while to research and test the best irrigation system, the best misting system, and the best growing medium for that environment. And guess what — once you invest that time in the beginning, it pays off, because now I’m in the maintenance phase. It’s the same with corporate fundraising: invest in the beginning, test, learn well, and it will pay off. I promise.

Let’s begin with a couple of fundamentals of corporate fundraising that I want you to know as you’re thinking about which companies to approach and how to think about that process. The first and most important thing is understanding how decisions actually get made inside these companies, because that will inform who you engage and how you engage them.

If you’re working with a small, local company — I mean here a company with fewer than a hundred employees — you’ll be working with the owner. That owner is the sole decision maker, and that person will approve the partnership with your organization. So your goal there is really to engage that person directly.

Once you’re working with midsized companies — say, a hundred to five or eight hundred employees — your chances of engaging the owner directly are low, because these are usually very busy people. Instead, you’ll be working with someone like a general manager, managing director, or branch manager. These are the people who either have the authority to approve a partnership themselves, especially for a small, five-figure ask, or who can directly advocate for you in front of the decision makers to get approval.

And finally, if you feel confident engaging large companies — anything above a thousand employees — you have to be ready to engage multiple relationships with multiple people. Each of these people has a very different role, different expectations, and different desired outcomes when it comes to nonprofit partnerships. So as you’re thinking about how and where to start, think about how many relationships you’re willing and able to navigate, and which company is the best target for that.

That leads me to the second important thing when it comes to corporate engagement: identifying the company isn’t enough. You should always ask, what is my entry point? Every entry point has a different agenda, different expectations, and different desired outcomes. Let’s go over that briefly.

Corporate social responsibility, ESG, and corporate philanthropy — I’ll use these interchangeably during this webinar. These are usually the people who award grants and who are accomplishing the company’s social mission, so expect the outcomes there to be closely connected to the company’s community impact.

Marketing, on the other hand, sits at the opposite end of the spectrum — think visibility, eyeballs, storytelling, and exposure to new audiences; that’s your marketing sponsorship conversation. HR is a wonderful first entry point, especially if you’re starting from scratch — there, you’ll be talking about employee morale and retention, and the tools HR usually uses are matching gifts, volunteering, and paid volunteer hours.

Executive leadership, especially at smaller companies, are the people who want to leave a legacy in their community — if you’re working with an owner, chances are they genuinely want to improve the community, and that’s your appeal to them. And finally, if you’re working with a local business unit — say you’re near a manufacturing facility of a large company — keep in mind these units often have small budgets for local community partnerships. It’s usually a quick process and never a big amount, but it’s one you can tap into relatively fast.

So as you’re thinking about how to approach a company, remember: the type of company is one side of the equation, but who within the company you want to engage is the other. Keep that perspective in mind as we move into our ninety-day roadmap.

Here’s your roadmap for the next ninety days. How do we start? No, we’re not sending emails to companies yet. First, we start with our strengths — what can we offer a company? Then we think about which companies best fit those strengths and how to identify them. From there, the majority of the time is dedicated to deepening the relationship with the company. And finally, we talk about how you move toward the yes — what it takes to hear that yes, and whose approval you actually need.

So let’s start from the beginning and translate your strengths into language that companies respond to — how you can align your organization with the goals a company wants to achieve.

This is where I want to take a quick step back and talk about why companies give money in the first place. I see a lot of nonprofits go into meetings, come back, and say, “They really loved our programs, and I don’t know why they haven’t responded since.” Here’s the thing: it’s one thing for people to react positively to your programs and mission, but aligning your programs and outcomes with their business is a very different thing — and that’s what will set you apart.

So why do companies give in the first place? There are business reasons behind it. It may have to do with retaining employees and supporting employee engagement and well-being. It may connect to the core of the business — marketing and exposure to new audiences. It may have to do with community standing. But there are always specific business reasons that companies give and engage with nonprofits.

Your goal isn’t so much to talk about how strong your programs are, but to build alignment between your strengths, your program outcomes, and their business goals. I’ve put together a small cheat sheet to help you think through how to align your programs and strengths with the language and outcomes companies want to see.

Let’s go through the roles and it’ll become clear. If you’re talking with an owner or general manager, these are people who want to build strong visibility for their company in the community — so you’ll be talking about the business value and the community relationship you bring to the conversation. Owners and general managers very often want to make sure that whatever partnership you’re proposing brings visibility to their company, so tap into that and demonstrate it.

With HR or employee resource groups, it’s all about boosting community engagement and supporting employee well-being — you’ll be talking about meaningful, engaging volunteer opportunities. If you’re an environmental organization approaching HR, for example, you might propose a team-building experience, like a full day outdoors planting trees.

Marketing is pretty straightforward — it’s about engaging new audiences and getting visibility in front of the audiences they want to target, so you’ll be talking about social media campaigns and brand awareness. Especially over the last few years, marketing managers have become more sophisticated, so authentic storytelling has become really important to them. So if your organization has a small social media following, don’t be afraid to still reach out and engage companies — because you have an authentic, real relationship with the communities you serve, and marketing teams want that.

So now you know your strengths and the importance of aligning them to companies. Now let’s talk about which companies you’ll actually be engaging. I know many of you are probably using AI to identify and sift through prospects, and many of you are using grant databases — you should absolutely do that, because they give you much better results.

I want to share two scenarios for prospecting that I hope will help you. The first is for those of you in small markets or rural cities, where the pond is very small and you just don’t see many prospects. My advice in that situation is: think expansion. Expand your understanding of what counts as a corporate prospect. Drop the idea of needing big names or big logos, and instead think about the companies that run the everyday life of the people in your area: a grocery chain, a utility company, a credit union, most likely a hospital. If you’re in a farming community, your farmers are probably working with insurance companies. I know these aren’t sexy names, but many of these companies — especially utilities, hospitals, and credit unions — are federally regulated to give back to the communities they operate in. So I’d approach them and start building that relationship.

One more thing on expanded thinking: if you don’t have a big employer in your county, think about who the big employer is in the neighboring county. Why? Because maybe those employees actually live in your county. You can go to that company and say, “We’re already serving your employees and their families, and we’d like to explore building a partnership here.”

Now let’s go to the other extreme: how do you approach prospecting in a big metro area where it’s so competitive? You can probably already name ten companies that support nonprofits, and if you pull thirty names from a grant database with corporate giving programs in your area, you might not know where to start — especially if you’re a small organization unsure how to navigate the whole process. My advice here is the opposite of what I said for small cities: think hyperlocal, zoom in. Who are your vendors? Who are your suppliers? Start with them. Which companies are in your office building, or on your block, or in your zip code?

Say you run an arts festival, and once a year you have a big event downtown. Go to the companies near where you’re generating all that foot traffic and talk to them: “We’re bringing this much traffic that day — can you sponsor us? Can you help us?” If you have a Bloomerang subscription, you can track your contacts — go check them for corporate email domains, and reach out to ask, “Can you help me navigate your company and understand how we might explore a partnership?” Start thinking about what’s closest to you, both geographically and organizationally.

As you’re sifting through companies, I want to share a quick set of criteria, because I really want to save you time. I know not all of you have a lot of time to dedicate to this, and I hope this will help you understand who’s actually worth your time. We already talked about alignment — does your mission align with the company, can you offer something they care about? That part’s pretty straightforward. But we don’t talk enough about the other two criteria: access and action.

This is where LinkedIn becomes your best friend. If you can’t identify at least two people at a company that you can reach out to, drop that company — it’s not worth digging and digging until you find the right name. It’s just not a good use of your time.

And then action: can you offer this company something, or make a small ask you can act on immediately? I want to emphasize the importance of small steps, small actions. Say you’re a local library with a financial literacy program — you might reach out to a company and ask a few of their people to mentor your patrons, or deliver a financial literacy session. Small steps. Think about what small thing you can do to immediately engage a company, because your goal from the start is to build momentum.

So here we are — you have your list of companies, and now you’re ready to send those emails. Ah, the dreaded cold outreach. I love it. I know there’s a big debate out there, and a lot of people will teach you how to polish your pitch. I’ll be honest with you — in fifteen years, I’ve never pitched a company. I approach it from the perspective of wanting to ask questions, build a relationship, and really understand the company before I put anything in front of them. Frankly, having a polished pitch puts so much pressure on you, and I don’t think that’s fair. I’d rather focus on building relationship and authentic conversation.

In these first conversations, as you get to know people, they’re usually more open to answering the bigger questions — you’re not talking logistics yet, you’re not figuring out details. So ask the bigger questions and really get to know the company. I’ve given you a few sample questions you can ask early on. If you ask these, you’ll be surprised how much you’ll learn about the company, and about what that person or department is trying to accomplish.

Something else I always keep in mind: very often, we end a first meeting with, “I’ll send you a deck, let me know what you think.” Don’t do that — it’s not productive. Instead, send them something useful, something actionable. Say you’re a food bank — send them a map showing the food deserts in your community. Show them that a few volunteers could help deliver food there. Give them information that’s useful, something they can act on immediately. As I said, we want to build momentum from the very start.

During these first stages of engagement, you’ll inevitably run into some objections — that’s just real life, that’s how it works. We’ve all been there. I want to give you the confidence that you will have these situations, and a few ideas for how to shift your mindset and approach them differently. First, never take it personally. Instead, try to use it as an opportunity to ask more questions and to keep the door open.

Let’s go over the first one — my favorite: no response, when they’re just ghosting you. Usually, we’d send a follow-up email like, “Just checking in, let me know when’s a good time to meet again.” Don’t do that. Instead, send them actionable information. Invite them to an event. Share statistics that matter to them. Sometimes I’ll say something like, “I understand you’re busy — I wanted to let you know I’m meeting with someone else from your company, and I’d appreciate the chance to meet with you too, to share how that goes and get your thoughts on what else we could do.” That usually catches their attention and works.

You’ll also hear a lot of, “We need more time.” Let me tell you a story. When I started out raising money, it took me weeks and weeks to set up a meeting with a big local corporate philanthropist here in the LA area. I go into the meeting prepared, I talk, I explain, I show everything. And at the end, the woman says, “Ani, this is all great, I love it — but our next funding window opens in ten months.” I felt like I’d died. I felt terrible. I thought, what am I going to do for ten months? So I went back to my boss, explained the situation, and said, “This is failing, this isn’t good.” And guess what — he told me exactly the opposite. He said, “Ani, that means you have ten months to guarantee that ten months from today, we hear yes.” So when someone tells you they need more time, immediately start asking questions: what will it take to build the relationship in the meantime? Would it make sense to send information on our programs from time to time, or invite them to an event? Don’t drop the ball — do the opposite. Engage even more people, because they didn’t tell you no, they just told you they need more time.

And finally, you’ll often hear, “We already support organizations in this area.” If you’re applying for a grant from a well-known corporate funder, you’ll hear that a lot. To me, that’s usually a sign I need to be even sharper about explaining what makes my programs distinct. Maybe I didn’t explain clearly enough that we’re unique in how we engage our constituencies — that we’re the only ones who can do X, Y, and Z, or give them exposure to our community in a unique way. So when you hear that objection, take it as an opportunity to sharpen your ask and how you’re presenting your organization.

Once you’ve taken these first steps, each conversation usually starts to take its own direction — I can’t really script you from here on. But I can give you a few tips on how to lead the conversation and where to steer it. The first thing I want to address is something unique to corporate fundraising — you don’t see this in individual giving or foundation relations — and that’s that you’ll be dealing with multiple relationships within one company.

If you’re working with a small company, dealing directly with the owner or executive leadership, that’s easy — usually just one or two people. But with a bigger company, it’s tempting to want just one lead contact, because that feels easier and more straightforward. Don’t do that — it’s a mistake. People move, people change roles, people leave. If your one contact leaves, you have to start from scratch. I strongly suggest shifting your thinking and becoming comfortable having multiple relationships within a company. As you deepen these relationships, you’ll start to see who can become your champion in front of the decision maker, who’s ready to advocate for you, who the real decision maker is, and what these people need from you to advocate confidently. This is where you become a matchmaker — between your mission and how you translate your program outcomes into what they want to see from the partnership.

I want to give you a small blueprint for how you build these relationships and where you’re leading them. We already talked about steps one and two, so let’s talk about steps three, four, and five. As you build these relationships, it’s important to think about how you build visibility — not just externally, but internally within the company too. What does it take to build trust in the relationship? How do you show up as an easy partner? How do you demonstrate that you’re reliable?

Start thinking about the first wins you can demonstrate to the company’s leadership. The most important thing to think about here is what small steps, what small wins, you can show. Why small wins? Because if your first ask is small, chances are the company will say yes. And the smaller the ask, the easier it is to fix quickly if something goes wrong. If it’s a big program or a big ask, the risk is much higher. So start small — a small sponsorship, a matching gift campaign, or pro bono support. We don’t talk enough about the importance of pro bono, especially from highly skilled employees. Maybe someone from finance can look at your books and help you figure out cash flow, or someone from an advertising company can review your marketing materials and messaging. And on top of that, the company can pay for volunteer hours — it’s a win-win for everybody.

And something very important about corporate relationships: never think of it as a one-ask relationship. Your goal is to constantly expand the conversation and introduce yourself to more people — it’s an ongoing relationship you’re always cultivating and expanding.

Now that you have this blueprint, I also want to walk you through the financial cycle of companies, so you can plan accordingly and know how to handle each time of year. As I mentioned, after Labor Day, companies typically start building their budgets, priorities, and funding allocations for next year — so the next ninety to a hundred days are really critical. Think carefully, be proactive, and I promise you’ll be successful ninety days from now.

Let me talk about that special time at the end and beginning of the calendar year. At year-end, many companies are used to year-end giving, and this is where you can build a strong relationship with HR and employee resource groups — talk with them about a matching gift campaign at year-end, which is a nice revenue source and helps build the relationship. Sometimes companies also have leftover budget they need to spend before year-end, or they lose it — so starting now positions you well for that funding.

And at the beginning of the year, companies sometimes issue RFPs. I strongly suggest you take advantage of these — but you’ll only be successful if you’ve already built the relationship with the company beforehand. Very often these grant applications will ask: do you need volunteers, do you already have contacts at the company, how many volunteers and what will they be doing? If you can answer yes and give the specific names of employees you’ve already talked to or built relationships with, I promise your application will get flagged and seriously considered for funding.

So that’s a great window to position yourself for success. Now let’s talk about spring and summer, which are usually a bit slower for engagement and funding. I actually like starting conversations at that time of year, because I don’t feel the same time pressure I do after Labor Day — I have a longer runway to build relationships and meet as many people as I can. I really appreciate that time. I know many of you are under pressure to quickly deliver something and see success — and here I’ll repeat myself: small steps, small asks, and it will all happen. Now you have this blueprint, and you also have a sense of what the funding cycle usually looks like for companies.

Now let’s look at something else: how you communicate all of this with your own leadership. We don’t talk enough about that, and my thoughts here go in two directions. The first is that we all want board members and executive directors who are willing to open doors, make introductions, and engage with new companies. That’s the ideal case, but in reality it’s rarely the case. So my other thought is: if you’re just starting your corporate journey, be very strategic with your leadership. Engage them when it’s appropriate, relevant, and a genuinely good use of their time.

What I usually do is, in the first thirty days, proactively inform my leadership: here’s what we’re doing, here’s what we’re learning, here’s how companies want to engage with us, here’s their funding cycle, and here’s when we can expect something to happen. As you build relationships, become more confident, and start gaining traction, that’s when you can begin warming your leadership up toward getting engaged. That’s the moment to say, “We’re gaining traction — I think we may have a role for you.” In the beginning, that role can be something small, like a board member sending a thank-you note to a VP for their year-end matching gift campaign. Or your executive director could personally thank employees who volunteered with you for a day. Small steps — but these small steps build so much confidence in your leadership, and as you prepare them for bigger asks down the road, it really pays off.

As we talk about building toward the yes, let’s look at what it actually takes to get there — the three yeses you need to hear from a company to secure funding. The first is the decision maker — especially in small companies, this is the person who says yes, which is pretty straightforward. But let’s talk more about the other two roles: the champion and the implementer.

As you begin these relationships and conversations, think about who can be your champion. Sometimes it’s obvious — usually the person most passionate about your program. Sometimes it’s whoever reports directly to the decision maker, and sometimes it’s simply whoever has a lot of influence in the company. Your job is to recognize that person and nurture the relationship with them — what information can you give them, what experiences can you offer, so they feel confident advocating for you?

Something else we don’t talk about enough is the implementer — so important, especially when engaging with HR, marketing, or employee resource groups. These are the people who become your point of contact for actually implementing the program. Very often, the champion or decision maker will consult the implementer on whether you’re a reliable partner, whether they have the bandwidth to actually implement the program, whether your logistics are figured out, and whether they can truly invest time in the relationship. So never underestimate the power of the implementer — demonstrate that you understand and value their role, and that you’re there to make things easy for them.

One more thing I want to talk about is the yes moment — the celebration. The traditional school of fundraising says to thank them, demonstrate how great you are, and go into stewardship mode. That’s all fine, and it’s all true. But here’s a tip: the moment a company says yes has a unique momentum, and I like to take advantage of it. I use that momentum to ask a few critical questions — what else can we do to make this partnership really valuable to your company? Who else in the company needs to know about this partnership, and how can we involve and inform them? How can we make you really proud of this partnership? Why ask these questions? Because in this moment, people usually share interesting, strategic insights — and I’m already planting the seed for the next level of the relationship, the next ask. I’m identifying who else I want to engage and how I can build the case for that. Remember, we talked about this a few minutes ago — it’s an ongoing relationship, and you’re constantly expanding the circle of people you work with at the company. So if your first yes came from HR, you already want to start positioning yourself for success with, say, marketing next. So keep that in mind, and next time you hear a yes, ask a few strategic questions that position you for success the next time around.

So there you go — you have the system. Now you know what can happen in these ninety days and the best ways to navigate that process. Let’s quickly recap the system, what you’re building toward. First, you know how to start making connections, what cold outreach looks like, and how to handle the objections you’ll inevitably run into early on. Then you start building relationships — and I want to emphasize there’s a difference between a connection and a relationship. A relationship is someone you’ve met twice, someone who responds to your emails. From there, it’s about nurturing and deepening that relationship and building your first step of engagement. I can’t emphasize this enough. Small steps — that’s how you’ll succeed. Volunteers, in-kind support, pro bono, small pilot projects — and you will succeed, I promise. This is a system you can repeat again and again. You can start now, right after Labor Day, or in spring — you’ll just have a little more leeway. Start any time. You can also do it one prospect at a time: maybe add a new prospect every two weeks and test the system with them. It’s ever evolving.

I hope this webinar gave you the confidence that you can start as the nonprofit no company knows yet — and I promise, ninety days later, if you follow these steps, a few companies will know your name, and you’ll be the one they’re thinking about how to engage with. I hope this also gave you the confidence to build your pipeline, navigate and deepen these relationships, and most importantly, lead these conversations.

I have two resources for you before I wrap up. The first is my newsletter — every other Tuesday, I send out scripts and practical tips for handling sticky situations: what to say, when to say it, and how to navigate them. And because many of you may be just starting out and still unsure, I’ve also put together a free guide that addresses the preconceived notions we all have about this process — things like, “We’re too small,” or “Companies don’t want to talk to us,” or “We don’t even have social media, what would we offer a company?” I hope this free resource helps shift your mindset and shows you that you can do it — and I promise you, you’ll be successful. Thank you so much for your time. Marissa, I see you’re back, and we have twelve minutes for some questions.

Marissa Johnson: Perfect, we’ve got some great questions. Before we get into those, I’m going to launch the poll — if you’re interested in connecting with Ani or scheduling a demo with us, go ahead and answer it, and I’ll leave it open for the rest of our time.

Let’s jump into the Q&A. One question we got quite a few times: how would you use your model with a faith-based institution, or supporting a ministry? What’s the entry point there?

Ani Manavyan: Yes — I think volunteering opportunities are really important there, because in my experience, faith-based organizations are true pillars of their communities. They do so much for economic development, financial literacy education, and meeting community needs. So I’d avoid marketing — that can get tricky. Start with volunteers, and engage whoever leads employee resource groups, because they can become your champions and help promote you internally. Go to HR — that’s your best entry point if you’re a faith-based organization.

Marissa Johnson: That makes so much sense, thank you. You talked a bit about being in a small community — one struggle I think people are having is that businesses in small communities are constantly asked for support, but surrounding counties only seem to serve organizations in their own county. So what’s the balance there?

Ani Manavyan: I’ll go back to what I said — say your county really doesn’t have many prospects, I understand that, but the neighboring county has employers you’d love to work with. If you can identify employees who live in your county but work for an employer in the neighboring county, that’s where I’d start — show that employer that you’re serving their employees and their families. Especially in a small rural area, these employers really care about employee retention, so demonstrate that you’re supporting the people who work for them. That’s how I’d approach it.

Marissa Johnson: I love that. On prospecting — for a national nonprofit with chapters across the US, if they’re looking for national partnerships, should they look more toward national companies instead of local ones, or is it still valuable to look for prospects in a specific community even if the partnership is really national?

Ani Manavyan: I hate to say it, but both. First, I’d start with wherever your headquarters are — start with companies in the immediate vicinity of your headquarters. If you’re a national organization, I’d definitely also look for national funders. And then I’d look at areas where you have a concentration of the constituencies you’re serving. If you’re a national organization, chances are you have good data on where your constituencies are — so wherever you see a concentration, that becomes your tier-three set of companies.

Marissa Johnson: And would you use a similar approach for international partnerships — looking at specific countries or areas?

Ani Manavyan: Yes — international is interesting, but that’s how I’d approach it too. I’d still look for the very big companies; a lot of Fortune 500 companies are excited to show global impact and a global footprint. This is one of the rare cases where I’d say look for the big companies — the ones with a presence in the countries you’re serving, the big names you’re probably already familiar with.

Marissa Johnson: One person asked: “I prefer my initial outreach to be via email — it gives the recipient time to think and not feel immediate pressure to respond.” Do you have thoughts on that? Do you feel strongly about phone versus email to start?

Ani Manavyan: Yeah, that’s how I always do it. A lot of people ask me, “Can I just send a direct message on LinkedIn?” Sure, you can — but I still feel email is more effective. Marketing people tend to be very comfortable with social media outreach, but for someone in a more executive role, or in HR, they usually respond much better to email than to a LinkedIn message. So yes, I’m a huge fan of cold outreach by email.

Marissa Johnson: Perfect. So this is an interesting one. If we receive a donation from an employee who works for a company we want to reach, is it appropriate to ask them for a contact in the company?

Ani Manavyan: Oh, please, immediately — absolutely. That’s actually your ideal-case scenario. Reach out to that person, thank them for everything they’re doing, and ask, “Would you be willing to take a twenty-minute call with us to explore whether your company might want to explore a partnership with us?” Keep it exploratory and low-key — ask them questions, you’re not asking for anything else. Ask how to navigate the company, who the decision makers are, whether they already have nonprofit partnerships. You’ll learn a lot. That’s definitely your best-case scenario, so go do it.

Marissa Johnson: That’s a great way in. Another question: any suggestions for building relationships as a fully remote nonprofit? We work in targeted states, but many don’t have staff on the ground yet.

Ani Manavyan: That’s totally fine — I’ve gotten that question too. It may look like a disadvantage, but it’s not, because a lot of employees at big companies are remote too, or hybrid, going into an office maybe once or twice a week. Don’t think you’re at a disadvantage. You’re not. What I’d do is start thinking about how to engage them online. If you’re a community health organization, for example, you could host a forty-five-minute webinar on health in your community and invite one or two employees to speak — something like that. Don’t think of yourself as disadvantaged — just start thinking about what online engagement opportunities you can offer. You’re totally fine.

Marissa Johnson: How would you navigate an upcoming rebrand that isn’t public yet, in the year before reaching out to new corporate partnerships?

Ani Manavyan: So if I understand the context correctly, you’re in a nonprofit, and you know that a year from today, your nonprofit will be completely rebranded. Is that what you’re saying?

Marissa Johnson: It looks like it. Yeah.

Ani Manavyan: That’s totally fine — I’ve been in a similar situation. As long as your core mission stays the same, and you’re open with people that you’re evolving and growing, and that the rebrand reflects growth and expansion of your mission and how you serve your constituencies, I don’t see anything wrong with moving forward. The best time to start any corporate conversation is now. It’ll never be perfect — you’ll never have the perfect branding, the perfect deck, or the perfect pitch. That’s just not how it works. Be open with people, start the conversation now, and when you feel confident, explain why the rebrand is happening and how it positions this relationship for something even bigger and better. You’ll be totally fine.

Marissa Johnson: Love that. I have another question. Do you think it’s worth putting together an elevator pitch for a partnership? We’re often meeting people out in public.

Ani Manavyan: I mentioned how I feel about pitching — if you’re bold enough to do it, I congratulate you. Some people are just very comfortable with it, and I’m a big proponent of communicating in whatever way makes you feel confident and comfortable. So if you’re comfortable pitching and having that perfect elevator pitch, I’m all for it. But here’s my advice: do it, it’s very brave and I admire that. Just make sure that however you do it, you leave space and time to ask questions, connect with the company, and really understand their priorities.

Marissa Johnson: So, a conversation — exactly.

Ani Manavyan: Because pitching on its own almost builds a one-way communication, a one-way relationship. You want to get to know them, understand exactly what they value. So pitch, but leave room for the questions and the relationship-building part.

Marissa Johnson: I love that the person who asked that question said it’s much harder to say no to my face.

Ani Manavyan: I agree — totally. But make it a conversation. Two-way.

Marissa Johnson: Yeah, absolutely. We’ve got another question, and then I think we’re going to close this up. How long should I wait after receiving an initial donation from a large corporation before reaching out about additional support? How can I cultivate that relationship, which, again, is what you’re speaking to?

Ani Manavyan: Remember what I said — the moment they say yes, you already start asking what would make this even more successful, even more visible within the company, and who else you can engage. So what I do is, once you have that initial gift or matching gift or whatever it is, I’m already thinking: what are the additional steps or program components I can add that will position me for success on the next ask? Don’t think in terms of a fixed ninety days, six months, or nine months — it happens organically. That said, I’d generally leave it around ninety to a hundred and twenty days, because you need time to demonstrate outcomes and show real success. If it’s something small — say, three volunteer days — you can expand the conversation after those three volunteer days. So really, once you feel you have real impact and good data showing you’re a reliable partner, go for it.

Marissa Johnson: That’s great. I do have one more question. Another faith-based ministry — should churches be approached like a corporation?

Ani Manavyan: The church approached like a corporation, or the church approaching a corporation?

Marissa Johnson: I think, should churches be approached like a corporation, or a ministry?

Ani Manavyan: Very different. It’s a very different context. I wouldn’t.

Marissa Johnson: Awesome — I think we’ve addressed all the Q&A questions. I really appreciate your time today, Ani. As a reminder, we’ll send out the recording and slides, along with a follow-up email. If you’d like to answer the poll, it’s still up until I close it out — you can connect with Ani, or connect with Bloomerang for a tour or demo. Thanks so much again for joining us, we really appreciate your time today.

Ani Manavyan: Thank you, thank you everybody. Bye, and much success to you — you can do it.

Marissa Johnson: Yes, perfect. Thanks, everyone. Bye.