Creating bespoke Corporate Social Responsibility programs is just part of the ROI story for corporates who invest with NFPs. Many organisations are keen to be hands-on and pass on the benefits of donating time and money to their chosen NFP – and the return on investment is so much more valuable than just a positive bottom line.
Tailored to fit
RSPCA WA is not only a well-recognised and beloved brand, but a varied one, says RSPCA WA Philanthropy and Partnerships Manager, Gosia Paton.
“In addition to our most visible function of rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming animals, RSPCA WA is also a leading voice on animal welfare issues,” she says.
“We have a range of community outreach and education programs, which offer corporates the chance to observe tangible benefits for animals, as well as at-risk sectors of the community.
There’s a level of flexibility and nimbleness available to RSPCA WA’s corporate supporters, who have access to a wide variety of programs and events they can choose to directly support, allowing for bespoke alignments with their CSR priorities.
“We work closely with our sponsors to ensure partnerships help them achieve their goals–be that joint marketing initiatives, employee engagement or event activations.,” says Ms Paton.
The rise of ‘true partnerships’
In recent years, and particularly during the post-COVID era, have seen a reframing of corporate sponsorships from transactional relationships to true partnerships, where for-profit organisations see the real value in the transformational impact they are helping charities achieve through their investment.
Ms Paton believes a key reason behind RSPCA WA’s successful relationship with long-term partner Aeropets is that their team can see in real time the difference they are making for animals in need.
“Since 2016, the Aeropets team have been transporting animals rescued by RSPCA WA’s regional inspectors in Broome, Kalgoorlie, Albany and Bunbury back to Perth for vet and behaviour treatment and rehoming,” she says.
The resulting animal stories are impactful, and sharing these positively impacts the team’s culture and community. The stories also gain high exposure on social media, helping elevate Aeropets’ brand profile by association – a win-win for all parties involved.
“A single rescue story from Kalgoorlie earlier this year acknowledging the support of Aeropets in transporting pups Mini and Bear to Perth free of charge, resulted in traditional media coverage worth nearly $7,000 in advertising value equivalent - far above the value of the flight provided,” says Ms Paton.
An organic post on RSPCA WA’s social media about Mini and Bear’s rescue reached over 20,000 people.
Aeropets’ support was also a key factor in the establishment of RSPCA WA’s first inspector in Broome this year.
“Knowing that many of the animals rescued in this remote part of WA will be able to travel to our care centre in Perth at no cost to RSPCA WA removed a substantial barrier for us, while for Aeropets, it’s a real boost knowing they were instrumental in the milestone appointment, and the difference it will make for local animals and owners.”
RSPCA WA works with its partners to provide clear and transparent reporting on key deliverables.
“When sponsors support a particular campaign, they can see first-hand the difference they are making to animals and the community. Meanwhile transparent financial and marketing reporting clearly demonstrates the brand exposure benefits of each initiative.”
For Michael Piu, CEO of St Patrick's Community Support Centre, the desire to build long-term, authentic connections with corporate organisations is just as strong – with a focus on delivering real, measurable results.
“One of our key strategies to demonstrate the impact of St Pat’s programs is to provide for independent robust measurement and evaluation through institutions including The University of Western Australia and the University of Notre Dame Australia,” he says.
“St Pat’s has a robust governance and policy framework and a focused strategic direction which helps assure our partners that the programs and services we provide work towards our mission to end chronic homelessness in our community.
“We’ve recently completed work on a new outcomes measurement framework. This will allow us to clearly articulate the outcomes we want to achieve, measure the performance and success of our programs and services, support us to try test and learn to ensure we are doing what works, and better-provide our partners with timely and relevant data on the real-world impact of their investment.”
For Foodbank WA, revealing the results of a corporate’s support is akin to telling a story of how their dollars feed real, hungry people in the community.
“Foodbank WA provide broad impact overview to all partners so they can share the impact of their support with their staff and networks,” says CEO Kate O’Hara.
“These overviews include the story of their impact of their donation (food or funds) and we often share a testimonial of a beneficiary, a local area Food Stress Index map and detail of schools supported by Foodbank WA. More recently, Foodbank WA has had a Social Impact Assessment completed by SVA which will allow us to more comprehensively detail the value of a partner’s impact.
“We have also introduced a new operational management system (PoS) that better tracks food supply and distribution to allow us to provide even better accountability and reporting of ROI.”
