Companies do good because they want to do good: Survey

Samhita fundraising survey analyzes the engagement of the corporate sector with social causes and social organizations. This report highlights some interesting findings from the survey conducted across NGOs from all over India.

The objective of this section of the survey was to understand the popular methods of corporate fundraising used by NGOs. We started by asking about the kind of support companies provide and 82.4 percent of the respondents said the companies which fund their projects support them directly.

A small percentage of 5.9 said the companies engage their employees for donations while 17.6 percent said the companies engage their employees for volunteering.

Feedback

About 27.8 percent said the companies take regular feedback through phone calls and email while 11.1 percent said the companies meet personally for the same.

Half of those surveyed said the companies ask for detailed reports while 11.1% said they provide feedback through other means.

Outreach

The most popular way of approaching companies for funding is through personal contacts, the survey revealed.

Of the respondents, 83.3 percent said they got in touch with the donor companies using personal contacts while 44.4 percent reached them through partners and support agencies.

About 16.7 percent said they resorted to cold calling (i.e. via telephone).

Objective of support

Asked why the NGOs think the companies support them, 31.3 percent said the reasons are goodwill, marketing and publicity of the company.

However, 75 percent of the respondents said the companies support them because of their interest in social work.

Duration of support

The duration of the companies’ partnership with the NGOs vary with many extending the ties when they are satisfied with the work.

Around 35.3 percent of the respondents said the association ends once the project or campaign is completed while 23.5 percent said most alliances last for a year.

However, a sizeable 41.2 percent said partnerships are extended indefinitely when they are satisfied with their work.

Watch out for our next reports on Government funding and individual fundraising. Read previous reports ‘Trusts and foundations say yes to organizational support’ ‘Individual donor base most critical’