Find corporate partnership opportunities

The problem

You want corporate partnerships but don't know where to start. Which companies care about your cause area? Which have CSR budgets in your region? Which are already supporting similar organisations? Cold approaching random companies wastes time and gets rejections. You need to identify companies where there's actual alignment between their values and your mission.

The solution

Use AI with web search (Perplexity, Claude with search, or ChatGPT) to research corporate CSR priorities. Ask it to find: companies in your region with active CSR programmes, what causes they support, their partnership approach (grants, volunteering, cause marketing), recent CSR announcements, and which charities they already support. The AI scans company websites, CSR reports, news, and creates a shortlist of companies where your mission aligns with their stated priorities.

What you get

A prioritised list of potential corporate partners: 'Company A: Tech firm, London, £2M CSR budget, focus on digital inclusion and youth employment (matches your mission). Recent partnership: Similar charity doing digital skills. Contact: Head of Community listed on LinkedIn. Approach: They prefer multi-year partnerships with employee volunteering.' For each company you see: why they're a good fit, what they fund, how to approach them.

Before you start

• Clear description of your mission and impact
• Understanding of what you can offer corporate partners (impact, employee engagement, brand alignment)
• Your location and regions you can work in
• A Perplexity, Claude, or ChatGPT account
• Realistic expectations - AI finds leads, you still need to build relationships

When to use this

• You want corporate partnerships but don't know which companies to approach
• You're spending hours manually researching company CSR programmes
• You're cold approaching companies without knowing if they're a fit
• You want to identify companies already supporting similar organisations

When not to use this

• You already have strong corporate connections - warm introductions work better than cold research
• Your cause area is very niche and corporate CSR rarely covers it
• You're not ready to engage with corporates (no clear offer, no capacity for partnership management)
• You expect AI to write proposals or make introductions - it only does research

Steps

1. 1

   Define your partnership criteria

   What are you looking for? Companies in specific sectors (tech, finance, retail)? Geographic focus (national, London, regional)? Partnership type (grants, volunteering, pro bono, cause marketing)? Minimum CSR budget? Be specific: 'Medium-large companies in Greater Manchester with CSR focus on homelessness or housing' is searchable. 'Companies that might give us money' isn't.

2. 2

   Research CSR priorities by sector

   Ask: 'What are the common CSR focus areas for UK tech companies?' or 'Which sectors typically support mental health charities?' This helps you target sectors where your cause area naturally aligns. No point pursuing retail companies if they all focus on food poverty and you do environmental work.

3. 3

   Find companies with relevant CSR programmes

   Ask: 'Find 10-15 UK companies based in Manchester with active CSR programmes focused on youth employment and skills. Include company size, CSR budget if known, and which charities they currently support.' The AI searches company websites, CSR reports, news. You get a researched shortlist.

4. 4

   Research partnership approach for each

   For promising companies, dig deeper: 'For [Company Name], what's their approach to charity partnerships? Do they prefer grants, employee fundraising, volunteering, multi-year partnerships? What have they funded recently?' Understanding their approach means you pitch what they actually want.

5. 5

   Identify decision makers

   Ask: 'Who leads CSR/community partnerships at [Company Name]? What's their background?' Then verify on LinkedIn. AI might get names wrong but gives you starting points. You're looking for: Head of CSR, Community Manager, Sustainability Director, Foundation trustees.

6. 6

   Find connection points

   Ask: 'Does [Company Name] have offices near our service delivery area? Do they have employee volunteer programmes? Do their business goals align with our impact (e.g., digital inclusion aligning with tech company's social mission)?' Connections make partnerships work - find the angles.

7. 7

   Assess strategic fit

   For each company, evaluate: Do their stated CSR priorities genuinely match your work? Can you demonstrate impact they care about? Is their partnership approach realistic for your capacity (some want complex multi-year programmes, others just want to give grants)? Prioritise best fits.

8. 8

   Create your approach plan

   You've got researched leads. Now: draft tailored approaches explaining the fit, find warm introductions where possible (LinkedIn connections, trustees, volunteers who work there), prepare a compelling case for support. AI did the research grunt work - relationship building is still on you.

Tools

Resources

Part of this pathway