You’ve heard it before: “the quality of your life is determined by the quality of the questions you ask”.  The non-profit sector is amidst an exciting evolution (in part due to the pandemic) causing changemakers to ask questions – many of them challenging.

When we ask the right – or better – questions, we increase the chances of getting a better answer, and outcome.  The quality of questions being asked within your organisation right now, could be the difference between it thriving, or not.

What IS a good quality question you may ask!  Let’s look at a few, in relation to corporate partnerships. The simple, Who, What, Why, When, How is a good starting point.

Q “WHY do we want corporate partnerships?” 

A fundamental question that’s often missed.  My last blog dives into this, where you can also download a guided exercise & Template to help you answer this question. It’s critical that a...

There’s just three little letters that make up a big and important word: WHY.

I became intimately acquainted with the word WHY during the early 1990s.  In the midst of a messy relationship break-up, I’d sing the Annie Lennox song ‘Why’ through tears day and night. If you don’t know the song check it out, it’s a stunner.

Over a decade later, Simon Sinek released his book ‘Start with WHY’, and turned the word WHY on its head. Suddenly the word wasn’t just at the start of the question; it WAS the question. What’s your WHY? Simon’s premise is simple: there are thousands of successful companies and leaders, but only a few ever change the world, so what makes them different from the rest?  

Simon’s book stated that people don’t buy what you do, they buy WHY you do it.  In other words, an organisations’ core purpose. He asserts that those successful companies start with WHY, and then...

One of the things I’m most passionate about is helping changemakers prepare for success.  For many entrepreneurial non-profits, the idea of preparation and planning is just plain boring, they want to get out there and get results RIGHT NOW.  The reality is, it simply doesn’t happen that way.  As Steve Jobs once said, "if you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time”.

Jerry Seinfeld, American comedian, was hailed an ‘overnight sensation’. Love him or hate him, he’s one of the most successful self-made multi-millionaires of all time, with an estimated wealth of $950m[1]. 

Dig a little deeper and you’ll discover that the key to his success? Many years of incredible hard work and dedication to his craft. Jerry’s mum was of Syrian descent, his father Hungarian and he grew up in a humble Jewish household. He became involved in various school productions and tried out open mic nights around New York,...

And just like that – Autumn is upon us.  It’s my favourite season.  Harvest festivals, a crisp orange carpet on my driveway, cooler temperatures, shorter days, cosy nights in front of the fire sipping a Pinot.

As the leaves start to change colour and fall, nature is showing us the beauty of letting go, and the opportunity to embrace the new.  Letting go of old patterns that may not work for us anymore, and embrace new habits that serve our goals and purpose.

Letting go

Autumn is a brilliant time to reflect on strategies and processes that you’ve followed in the past, and assess if they’re going to work for you, moving forward.  The world is not what it was 2 years ago.  Consumers have clarity on what’s important to them.  Companies and brands have been in constant pivot mode, in order to survive and stay ahead of customer’s changing needs.  Many non-profits have taken risks that have paid off, for others...

Bully Zero is a small charity that punches way above its weight.  They educate and advocate to prevent and reduce bullying across Australia, delivering their programs to schools and workplaces across Australia.  Since it was founded in 2013 by Ali Halkic, Bully Zero has visited 1,214 schools, has run 3,642 education sessions, and educated over 403,000 young people, parents and employees on bullying prevention.

CEO Janet Grima applied for the Marlin Communications/BePartnerReady.com® scholarship in 2021 and was victorious.  Despite being a hands-on CEO, Janet dedicated a day a week to implementing the 7 steps of the program and before she had completed the program, was approached by a corporate.

Janet being Janet; took the bull by the horns and pitched and won the partner, adding to her existing partner – socially conscious clothing label Kind is Cool.  She is also negotiating with yet another partner, soon to come on board.

For Janet, doing the...

Former BePartnerReady.com® student the Heart Foundation signed up a new partnership with Coles in 2020.  Together, their goal was to support Australians’ aspirations to become healthier and more active. 

Coles launched the Coles Health Hub, a one-stop online portal offering practical information & solutions around exercise, diet & nutrition, mental health and most importantly, motivation. 

This partnership couldn’t have come at a better time, as many Australians struggled to maintain their health goals during 2020/21 with a series of very challenging lockdowns, playing havoc with people’s mental health, ability to exercise and eat well.

Coles brought on board sporting legends, including AFL star player James Podsiadly, to provide inspiring videos and motivational messaging as part of a 28-day crusade where health food products in Coles were reduced by 50%. News Corp helped to amplify the message even further by running a #RejuveNation...

Despite living in a COVID bubble for the past year, Australian consumers have come out swinging in favour of companies that support charities.

New research (launched 29 October 2021) reveals that during lockdown, Australians have become more concerned about social and environmental issues, and they’re demanding that the corporate sector step up and show leadership in solving social issues. 62% of Australians say that during COVID, they’ve re-evaluated their priorities in life, and if buying a product or service, they’d rather buy from companies doing good.

The Conscious Consumer Report 2021, reveals the Conscious Consumer movement has reached a mass market peak, with a new kind of activist consumer emerging from lockdown – the Crusading Consumer.  

The research by Di Marzio Research and BePartnerReady.com®, conducted in August 2021, reveals that just under two-thirds of Australians believe that Corporate Australia, of all the institutions, has...

When meeting a corporate for the first time, it’s a little like First Dates.  Or, for those of you that have been binge watching Bridgerton – a Debutante ball.

Aaah Bridgerton.  A period drama that’s oh so proper and oh so naughty.  With a mightily fine Duke of Hastings that’s far from stuffy.

What I love about this show – and why it makes me think of corporate partnerships – is that Daphne, the protagonist, is a modern lass who knows her worth.  She is presented (via that antiquated idea of a Debutante ball) to a whole host of seemingly appropriate suitors, and yet she holds out for her perfect match.

Too many non-profits are just not fussy enough. Often, through lack of preparedness or robust thinking, they partner with a company that doesn’t value them, creates overservicing and burnout, and are not there for the right reason.

I encounter many non-profits with very nervous Boards when it comes to corporate...

I know that Aussies & Kiwis squabble over ‘ownership’ of Crowded House, but there’s no disputing that Neil Finn is a certified rock legend.  The New Zealander is a multi-talented musician, prolific writer of timeless, memorable songs, and was awarded an OBE.

He didn’t just BECOME a rock legend.  It took years of hard work, practice and honing of his craft.  At age 12, encouraged by his piano-playing mum, he declared himself a musician. Performing at family functions, folk clubs and prisons, he performed self-penned songs. His first band, After Hours, failed. He then joined Split Enz, earning critical acclaim.  International stardom with Crowded House took another decade of relentless writing, recording and touring.

Success rarely happens in any field without hard work and preparation.  And yet, when it comes to winning corporate partnerships, I witness some non-profit boards set unrealistic targets, fail to provide training or a...

Identifying corporate prospects is a little like prospecting for alluvial gold.  You can’t just expect to walk up any old mountain river and low and behold, ‘there’s gold in them there hills!’  You need knowledge and history of the terrain, as well as the geology.  You need to have the right equipment and approach in the right season (when the water is low, and gold is easier to access). And you need three more things – preparedness to work hard, the ability to think on your feet and a dollop of good luck. 

When I first started working in corporate partnerships, in 1991 at the NSPCC in London, I was an enthusiastic but green prospector. I was fortunate to be representing a cause and charity that was well renowned and that helped, as many corporate prospects came to us. But boy did I waste time! 

When I came to Australia I truly saw the corporate sector as a mountain. One single mountain.  And realising that there were...