For-profits, not-for-profit relationships develop in many ways

At a time when the budgets of many Corridor not-for-profit organizations are stretched to the max, developing partnerships with businesses is a necessity that yields financing and volunteers.

Some not-for-profits such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cedar Rapids & East Central Iowa have development directors who call on for-profit companies and their employees looking for financial assistance and volunteers.

"We start with a vision meeting where we go out to a company and provide a broad overview of our programs, what the need is in the community, how we are meeting that need, and what the impact is on the community," said Kathy Beardsworth, fund development and marketing director for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cedar Rapids & East Central Iowa.

"We engage companies through a recruitment event where we talk with employees about the opportunity to be a mentor as a Big Brother or Big Sister. We also ask for donations, either through companies participating in events like our Bowl for Kids Sake or event sponsorships, corporate and local grants, matching gifts and individual giving."

Many not-for-profit organizations do not have the resources to devote to developing relationships with the for-profit community. They often look to members of their boards of directors and trustees to leverage financial and volunteer support.

"Rue Patel, who is the plant manager at General Mills in Cedar Rapids, is one of our trustees," said Ainsley Hogan, director of annual giving for Boys & Girls Clubs of Cedar Rapids. "We have developed a relationship with General Mills and its employees through our relationship with him.

"We have a couple of events that we do with employees of Rockwell Collins who are volunteers and the company has granted us money every year."

Sometimes the relationship between a company and a not-for-profit agency initially develops at the national level.

"We had a national initiative with Toyota Financial Services, which has a location in northeast Cedar Rapids," Hogan said. "We have cultivated that to become more than just a national partnership."

Sometimes a business sees a specific need that it wants to meet in the community with the help of a not-for-profit partner. Mary Lou Erlacher, director of the Workplace Learning Connection at Kirkwood Community College, said the University of Iowa Community Credit Union wanted to see a financial literacy program offered at the middle school level.

"The credit union saw that some of their customers were really not good managers of money," Erlacher said. "We looked at a number of programs online and came up with a curriculum provided by America's Credit Union Museum in New Hampshire. It combines career exploration with financial literacy.

"The capstone event is a Financial Literacy Fair where the kids work up a budget and meet one-on-one with a financial counselor who helps them figure out if they did a good job on their budget."

Erlacher said Transamerica (formerly AEGON) representatives visited the Financial Literacy Fair in 2010 and wanted the Workplace Learning Connection to look for financial literacy curriculum that would complement what is used at the high school level.

"We knew that financial literacy is a component of the Iowa Core Curriculum for 21st Century Skills," she said. "The Cedar Rapids Community School District is starting a pilot program this year for 11th graders. We've been able to match Transamerica and the Cedar Rapids schools for conversation to see if there's something they can do together, either with volunteers or funding."

Sometimes companies have employees who want to give back to the community and need a third party "matchmaker" to help them initiate a relationship. That's where the Corridor United Way volunteer programs can provide valuable assistance.

"On Aug. 26, we connected 140 employees of Procter & Gamble in Iowa City with volunteer opportunities at 15 non-profit agencies in Johnson County to do three or four hours of work on company time," said Jill Schnoebelen, volunteer center and community impact coordinator at United Way of Johnson County. "We often act as a laision and encourage companies to engage their employees in volunteerism.

"We're also in the process of developing a workplace volunteer council, which would be a professional development resource for companies."

Sue Driscoll, manager of the volunteer program at the United Way of East Central Iowa in Cedar Rapids, said some corporate and not-for-profit agency relationships start with the organization's annual "Day of Caring."

"We have more than 50 companies and 1,200 volunteers that we match up with projects for a one-day opportunity," Driscoll said. "We also work with some of those same employers to engage them in year-round opportunities.

"We also partner with companies if they are focused on specific areas like education, income or health. We can link them directly with ongoing volunteer opportunities that allow their employees to give back to the community."

A national survey released in June by Deloitte LLP found that  millennials -- defined as those 21 through 35 years of age -- who frequently participate in workplace volunteer activities are far more likely to be proud, loyal and satisfied employees compared to those who rarely or never volunteer. Further, more than one-third (37 percent) of those who frequently volunteer are more likely to be very satisfied with the progression of their career.

Cindy Dietz, director of public relations and employee communications at Rockwell Collins, said the Cedar Rapids avionics and communications supplier identifies its priorities and looks for not-for-profit organizations that are a "good match."

"Our focus has been on education and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) in particular," Dietz said. "In 2006, we literally went out and looked at a number of national programs to find a partner that fit what we wanted to do with hands-on engineering programs. That's when we started talking with the LEGO League at a corporate level and determined the kinds of things that fit with them.

"We are fortunate that we have the dedicated recources that are part of our culture to seek out those relationships."