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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