Building a Corporate Partnerships Strategy
Decide which corporate income streams your organisation will pursue, which it will decline, and what a good partner actually looks like.
What you will learn
Eight lessons that turn a mandate into an operating model — classifying streams by exchange, sizing the opportunity honestly and deciding what to decline.
Building a Corporate Partnerships Strategy
Eight lessons that turn a mandate into an operating model — classifying streams by exchange, sizing the opportunity honestly and deciding what to decline.
1Corporate Giving Is an Exchange Business
Sets the altitude: every stream is classified by what the company receives in return, not by generosity.
2Map the Exchange-Based Streams
Sponsorship, cause partnerships and commercial arrangements, and what each demands in assets, approvals and capacity.
3Map the People and Goods Streams
Workplace giving, volunteering, in-kind and pro bono support — and why these are not the low-obligation options.
4Size the Opportunity Honestly
What a company at a given size can plausibly contribute, and what share of the income mix corporate should carry.
5Define the Target Company Profile
The sector, size, geography, workforce and values criteria, set in principle rather than against named companies.
6Audit Your Exchange Assets
Audience, brand, delivery footprint, stories, volunteering capacity and staff time, inventoried at model level.
7Make the Selection Decision
The streams to pursue, the ones to decline, decision rights over exceptions and the resourcing implications.
8Guard the Model
Protecting against the strategy that accepts everything and the one so narrow it never transacts.
A practical fit for teams choosing what their corporate function will actually do.
Build a one-page operating model: stream selection, target company profile, exchange assets and a realistic share of the income mix.
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers for fundraising leaders deciding whether this course fits their team, training needs and practical workflow.
Does this tell us which companies to approach?+
No. It sets criteria in principle. Sourcing, researching and prioritising named companies is covered in Building a Corporate Prospect Pipeline.
We already do some corporate fundraising. Is this still relevant?+
Usually yes. Most organisations have accumulated streams rather than chosen them, and much of the course is about deciding what to stop doing.
How long is the course?+
The course contains 8 lessons. Lesson reading time totals roughly 80–95 minutes, with practical application likely taking it into the 2–3 hour range.
Is the course Australian-specific?+
Yes. It uses Australian corporate giving data and the structure of the Australian business population throughout.
Does it cover the tax treatment of sponsorship?+
It classifies streams as exchange-based or gift-based. The GST costing consequence is covered in Crafting Corporate Partnership Proposals.
What should a team be able to do by the end?+
Write and defend a one or two page operating model covering streams, target profile, exchange assets, income mix and scheduled review points.
Building a Corporate Partnerships Strategy
Stop chasing whatever corporate opportunity arrives. Choose your streams, your partner profile and your offer deliberately.
Enrol now