Summary
In 2008 Smile Foundation entered into a longlasting partnership with a renowned Indian cosmetic brand, Lotus Herbals. The company promised to contribute part of the proceeds from the sales of its Herbal Lip Therapy to a specific Smile programme.
Smile kept the donor informed through personal contacts and written information and offered employees of Lotus Herbals an opportunity to go and see for themselves how ´their´ money was being spent. On several occasions there were visits to project sites. Lotus Herbals stayed connected to the programme for at least five years.
Tips and lessons learned
1. Nurturing an existing donor should be done in a strategic manner, which is planned in advance. The intention is for the corporate to feel informed, cared and nurtured for continued support of the donor towards the cause.
2. Be prepared to spend time on a rigourous and continued follow up in order to receive the monetary contribution; a lot of time this is necessary.
3. Cause Related Marketing is not limited to the bigger NGO´s. Small organisations can also raise funds this way, but of course the reach and the manpower to implement a CSR trajectory has to be there.
Review by Wilde Ganzen Foundation
This is an excellent example of Cause Related Marketing. Change the Game Academy's Indian partner Smile Foundation has been raising corporate funds for years and is sharing its experience in a series of inspiring cases. This particular one demonstrates that the partnership with a corporate can last a long time, provided you manage to keep the donor happy. Smile is doing this by regular contacts, sharing information and offering the possibility to staff of the corporate to visit the project sites and participate in events or as a volunteer.
Details
Objectives
Direct funds towards the cause.
To spread awareness about the organisation.
Nurturing the donor on a continuous basis.
Targeted donors
A company willing to contribute to one of Smile´s programmes
Results
| Cost/benefit |
National currency (INR |
Euro |
| Total amount raised |
20,000 |
304 |
| (-) Total amount invested |
0 |
0 |
| Net amount raised |
20,000 |
304 |
Description of preparatory work
Proposal and MoU making (Memorandum of Understanding).
Coordination with the corporate for approval of the proposal.
Working on the deliverables from Smile´s end to the corporate for partnering with Smile.
Maintaining good relations with the corporate by meeting them occasionally, sending regular updates to them.
Follow up for funds on a regular day to day basis.
Deliverables in terms of providing certain output to the donor organisation for rendering their support to Smile´s programme. The deliverables include reporting, branding on the website and other social media, and tax exemption.
Description of implementation
Understanding the need of the corporate and accordingly make the action plan of handing the corporate strategically to make the corporate a satisfied donor.
Negotiations on the sales proceeds as a minimum commitment.
With regular follow up for funds, Smile got a good level of monetary contribution.
