Newsletter: Why Corporate Partnerships Aren’t a Rescue Plan 🛟 ; Bad Ass Coffee Honors its Roots by Helping Donkeys 🫏 ; Your Website is More Important Than Ever 🌐
I recently read an article by SaaStr founder Jason Lemkin that made something click for me. After selling more than $120 million in sponsorships, he reached a surprising conclusion: marketing doesn’t rescue struggling companies—it amplifies successful ones. As I read it, I realized the same principle applies to corporate partnerships.
Too often, nonprofits see corporate partnerships—whether sponsorships, cause marketing, or employee engagement—as the answer to their fundraising challenges.
Are donations flat? Find a sponsor. Need more visibility? Land a corporate partner. Looking for new revenue? Pitch a cause marketing campaign.
Here’s how I think about it. Corporate partnerships are like the cherry on top of a hot fudge sundae. You don’t start with the cherry. It’s the finishing touch.
The organizations that attract the best partnerships usually aren’t chasing companies because they’re struggling. They’re attracting companies because they’ve already built something worth joining. They have a strong mission, loyal supporters, compelling programs, measurable impact, and a reputation for getting things done.
👉🏻 In other words, corporate partnerships are the result of organizational strength—not the way you create it.
That’s why I often tell clients that corporate partnerships shouldn’t be the first thing they build. Start by creating remarkable programs, delivering measurable results, and telling those stories well. Earn trust with your donors. Develop proof that your work changes lives.
Then partnerships become much easier.
Companies aren’t looking for organizations they need to rescue. They’re looking for organizations that can help them succeed.
So maybe the first question isn’t, “How do we find a corporate partner?” Maybe it’s, “Are we building an organization that companies want to partner with?”
The lesson isn’t just about partnerships. It’s true for marketing, fundraising, and just about everything else. Success attracts attention. Momentum creates more momentum.
So, build the sundae first. Then add the cherry. 🍒
✍️ Partnership Notes
A partnership insight that matters.
🐴 Bad Ass Coffee is honoring its roots—and helping donkeys along the way.
Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii has launched its annual “Give a Hoof” campaign, raising money for donkey rescue organizations through a limited-edition coffee blend, customer roundups, and direct donations. The campaign isn’t random. The company takes its name from the donkeys that once carried coffee down Kona's volcanic slopes, making the cause a natural extension of its brand story rather than a bolt-on charity promotion.
Joe’s Take: The strongest cause marketing campaigns don’t ask, “What cause should we support?” They ask, “What cause already fits our story?” When a partnership reinforces your brand’s history, values, or purpose, it feels authentic, not manufactured. That’s why this campaign works. Customers aren’t just buying coffee—they’re helping preserve a piece of the brand’s heritage.
🤑 Marketing Your Cause
One move you should steal.
🌐 Your website matters more than ever.
With AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and social media driving fewer clicks, it’s tempting to think your website is becoming irrelevant. Rand Fishkin argues the opposite. Your website is still your organization’s home base—the one place you control your content, brand experience, and messaging. Just as importantly, it’s where AI tools go to learn about your organization. If your site is outdated or incomplete, AI may rely on inaccurate or stale information from elsewhere.
Joe’s Take: This especially applies to your corporate partnership efforts. A strong partnership webpage isn’t just for the occasional visitor—it’s for the AI tools, journalists, and prospective partners researching your organization. Make sure it clearly explains your partnership opportunities, showcases case studies and testimonials, highlights partner logos and impact metrics, and tells a compelling story about the value you create. In the AI era, your website isn’t just a destination—it’s the source that shapes what others say about you.
😎 Cool Jobs in Cause
Find your next adventure.
🤝 Chief Program Officer, Bonneville Environmental Foundation, Portland, Oregon
🤝 Lead Manager, Account Manager, Make-A-Wish America, Remote
🤝 Director of Corporate Partnerships, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Alexandria, VA
🧠🍌 Brain Food
One thing that is feeding my thinking.
🧠 Is fundraising facing a talent crisis?
In the Stanford Social Innovation Review, veteran fundraiser Mark Dobosz argues that the biggest threat to philanthropy isn’t declining donors—it’s the shrinking pipeline of fundraisers. With experienced professionals retiring, average tenure under 18 months, and burnout driving many from the field, he believes nonprofits need to rethink how they recruit, mentor, and support the next generation.
Joe’s Take: What resonated with me wasn’t just the staffing challenge—Dobosz argued that fundraising has become too transactional. We spend a lot of time talking about building deeper relationships with donors, but maybe we should ask whether we’re building those same kinds of relationships with our fundraising staff. If we want more transformational philanthropy, we may first need to create more transformational fundraising cultures.
