For-profit companies, particularly large corporations, often sponsor
specific programs or events at mission-based / caused-based
organizations (non-profit organizations, non-governmental
organizations/NGOs, civil society, schools, government initiaitives,
etc.), providing funding, donated staff time and in-kind equipment and
services to help launch and maintain a project, program or event.
In most ways, this is a blessing for these mission-based /
caused-based initiatives, because they not only get much-needed
resources they need, they also get to build a relationship with other
organizations which can lead to more awareness among others about what
the nonprofit, NGO, school, initiative, etc. does.
But there are often many hidden costs for the mission-based /
caused-based initiative, as well as a fear by those initiatives of
program interference by the for-profit company. What the for-profit
company wants out of the program or event may not be what the
mission-based organization feels is appropriate, or may conflict with
what the mission-based organization feels is best for those it serves.
Some of the ways that for-profit, corporate culture by sponsors can
interfere with a mission-based program or event:
- Limiting participation of volunteers in the program to only
employees of the sponsoring company.
Some mission-based organizations have no problem with this limitation,
and may even find the limitation to its advantage, for instance, if
the corporation takes care of criminal background checks or management
of its employees who will volunteer and assume all liability for what
volunteers might do during service. But others can find it too
restraining, limiting those who experience the organization and
programs as a volunteer to only one select group of people, to the
exclusion of others.
- Not including the mission-based staff in all aspects of program
design, development and management
Companies often believe that, if they are holding the purse strings,
they should have absolute control of a program at a not-for-profit
initiative. But just as a company would never allow their stock
holders to design the products they will sell, companies should
respect the expertise and autonomy of the staff at a mission-based
organization.
- Limiting evaluation and progress reports to internal use only
In the late 1990s, I attempted to study every
online mentoring program in existence, as part of my work at the
Virtual Volunteering Project. My guess is that,
as of May 2005, at least a quarter of these online mentoring programs
had, at some point, done research on their own individual programs
regarding their effectiveness. Unfortunately, I found a great
reluctance on the part of these programs to share their results. Many
of these mentoring programs are sponsored by a corporation, and, per
the for-profit culture, each corporation sees its online mentoring
program as proprietary, and does not want to share its "trade
secrets", in addition to not wanting any weaknesses in its programs to
become public. It's a shame, because a viewing of all these internal
evaluations on individual programs would probably lead to wonderful
insights on best practices in online mentoring, and improve EVERYONE'S
programs.
- The "We're The Best and Only One!" Mentality
I'll again use my attempt to study every
online mentoring program in existence, as part of my work at the
Virtual Volunteering Project, as an example.
Another big frustration was that each program sponsor, with few
exceptions, believed that its online mentoring program was THE model.
The idea that there might be a variety of different approaches, with a
variety of strengths and weaknesses, was just not something many
program sponsors would consider. They were always surprised when I
started talking about other programs -- they truly thought that their
program was the first and only one. This limited way of thinking takes
away one of the mission-based world's greatest strengths -- its
tendency to network and share, to always be on the lookout at what
others are doing and ways to learn from such.
How to avoid these pitfalls? There are a number of ways:
For Corporations / Those That Want To Sponsor
- The mission-based sector is NOT the same as the for-profit sector.
Please stop trying to make it such. Just because something works in
the business world does not mean it will work -- or is even
appropriate -- for the mission-based sector. The nonprofit sector
encompasses important, unique expertise and resources. Your
sponsorship is your opportunity to learn about the vital work that
mission-based organizations undertake, and learn about approaches that
might work back in the for-profit world.
- Make a commitment to sharing the results of the program you sponsor
externally. This can be done through sharing evaluation results with
graduate students or university faculty producing academic papers, or
sharing such with other mission-based organizations, often through
conference presentations. Even better: you could be truly proactive
and allow the mission-based organization to post the results on its
web site. Transparency is one of the most valued qualities in the
mission-based world. Being upfront about what works and what doesn't
adds greatly to the credibility of a mission-based organization, which
leads to greater and sustained support for the organization.
- Involve mission-based organizations in all decision-making, and
NEVER overrule their decisions about the program you are sponsoring;
all decision-making must be ultimately in the hands of the people
running the program - and that's NOT you. Your consultations should
absolutely be valued, you should be listened to, but you should
respect the expertise of the staff at the not-for-profit you are
working with if they say something you want to do would drain too many
resources or result in mission-drift.
- Listen, listen, listen to the mission-based organization. Its
priorities are its mission and those it serves. Period. If you are
going to sponsor a program at a mission-based organization, those
priorities should be fully respected and supported. In addition, the
staff at the mission-based have expertise and experience your staff
does not; just as you would never dream of allowing their staff to
take over your product development and sales, don't try to take over
theirs. You are an investor and a contributor to THEIR project.
- Many mission-based organizations become frustrated with companies
or consultants providing donated services because the for-profit side
feels that the organization should be satisfied with whatever service
is provided, whenever it is provided. "After all, it's FREE." This is
an unhealthy and potentially disastrous attitude. Treat the
organization you are assisting as a customer, just like your paying
customers. Their deadlines and expectations are just as real as your
paying customers, and are often even more important; to not fulfill
your obligations could mean the mission-based organization cannot
serve some or all of its constituency.
- How will you measure success regarding your donated services? What
will be the process be for the organization you assist to evaluate your
work with them and to communicate to you their evaluation? Include
this in the contract with the organization. Hearing an evaluation of
your donated service is part of a quality volunteering experience.
For Mission-Based Organizations
- Never lose sight of your mission in anything you do. That includes
working with donors. That can mean sometimes saying "no" to offers of
volunteers and donations. Being focused on your mission will lead to
more support, not less, and greater credibility and respect for your
organization. It will also make decision-making much easier.
- Before any agreement is made, insist that a company who wants to
sponsor a program at your organization go through an orientation
process, where their staff learns about your organization, its
mission, its culture, whom it serves, how it measures success, etc. If
the agreement is finalized, insist that all company staff who will
participate in the program go through the same orientation. Don't
assume that asking company staff to read a brochure or your web site
will get the job done! You probably already require potential
volunteers to go through such an orientation -- why not these
corporate volunteers?
- Work with the company to create a flow chart to show how decisions
will be made, at all levels, and how actions will be taken. "Who does
what", at every step in the development and management of the program,
should be answered before action is taken, and this chart
should be regularly revisited. Getting these processes clear up front
will prevent many, many problems later.
- Define the goal of the program, and how success will be measured.
Make sure there is complete agreement in this regard. This will put
everyone's expectations on the table, and show discrepancies long
before the program is launched.
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