ESG Social Impact

Achieving the ‘S’ in ESG: Why is it important?

With growing consumer demand for ethical business practices and increasing regulatory pressures, ESG principles are not just a compliance requirement – but a strategic approach to sustainability and social impact. In this blog, we outline the importance of a robust ESG strategy and how to achieve the Social (S) component.

What is ESG?

ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance. These are called pillars in ESG frameworks and represent the 3 key areas that companies are expected to report in.

Environmental

This includes efforts to reduce carbon footprints, manage waste responsibly, and adopt renewable energy sources. Companies are assessed on their environmental sustainability practices, and those failing to meet expectations may face reputational and financial risks.

Social

This focuses on how companies manage relationships with employees, suppliers, customers, and communities. It includes labour practices, diversity and inclusion, community engagement, and broader impact on society.

Governance

This refers to the internal system of practices, controls, and procedures a company adopts to govern itself, make effective decisions, comply with legal standards, and meet the needs of external stakeholders. Good governance practices include transparent reporting, ethical leadership, and accountability.

 

The Importance of a robust ESG Strategy

Ireland has seen a significant shift in how businesses approach ESG reporting, largely influenced by European Union directives. The EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) has now been implemented in Irish law through the European Union (Corporate Sustainability Reporting) Regulations, 2024 which came into effect on 6th July.

Furthermore, Irish consumers are increasingly choosing to support organisations which align with their values. Companies that demonstrate a commitment to environmental, social and governance responsibility are more likely to attract and retain customers, particularly in a competitive market.

Additionally, investors are now factoring ESG criteria into their decision-making processes. Sustainable investing is becoming increasingly popular, and companies with strong ESG performance are more likely to secure funding. Therefore, focusing on a robust ESG Strategy is critical to the future development and overall success of your organisation.

Achieving the ‘S’ in your ESG Strategy

The Social (S) in ESG is a critical component – strong social impact can enhance reputation, attract investment, boost employee morale, and mitigate risks. Furthermore, the Social (S) element of your ESG Strategy is more likely to be effective when strategically developed. A robust Social Impact Strategy plays a critical role in supporting businesses to achieve their broader ESG objectives.

Many organisations require external support to develop the Social (S) component of their ESG Strategy. At 2into3, we partner with your organisation, working at Board and staff level – engaging employees and members of the community to ensure that your Social Impact Strategy is a living document, owned by your organisation. By the end of this process, you will have a defined Strategy that will enable your business to create meaningful change, build stronger relationships with stakeholders and contribute positively to your community.

 

Taking the first step

If you’d like to enhance the ‘S’ in your ESG Strategy, get in touch with our Director of Advisory Services, Sheena Horgan at sheena.horgan@2into3.com to explore how we can provide guidance and support. For more information on our ESG service, visit here.

 

Olympics Ireland Homecoming 2024

Ireland’s 2024 Olympics Success – Are we ready to capitalise?

Paris 2024 is being widely commended as Ireland’s most successful Olympics. By many measures: number of medals – gold in particular; number of people attending the Team Ireland GPO homecoming; television viewing metrics; this is undeniable.

So how does the Irish sports system position itself strategically to make the most of this success, and more importantly, to build on it?

 

How do you measure success?

The many medal table formats that have been flashed across news outlets globally in recent weeks illustrate the point, “it depends how you measure it”.

We’ve seen multiple versions sliced and diced in terms of number of gold medals (the official table), total number of medals, medals per capita, medals per €1m invested etc. An emerging approach is the one presented at OlympicNationalRankings.com which uses probability ranking and adjusts for population size to address some of the shortcomings of the official medal table ranking method.

Ireland fares well on most of these measures. Not surprisingly, as the Games debrief continues, different nations will undoubtedly favour different measurement methods – likely those that present them in the best light. However, medals are only the tip of the iceberg.

 

Measurement beyond medals

Governments and other funders make huge investments into competing at the Games. The general motivations for funding sport are to build a sense of national pride and position the country within upper echelons internationally, but perhaps the most often emphasised aspiration is to inspire increased participation in sport. Particularly, among the younger population.

Unfortunately, measuring the direct effect of the Games on sports participation rates isn’t as immediate or straightforward a task as counting the amount of bling around the necks of a nation’s athletes. Future editions of the Irish Sports Monitor may give an indication of whether an uplift in participation is achieved following the Games period. Ahead of this, it’s worth asking the question: if this is a key factor in why we invest so heavily in sport – are we ready and positioned to deliver on this aspiration?

 

Are we ready to deliver on sporting ambitions?

A current promotion that is offering U16s the opportunity to swim for free at a particular swimming complex for the month of August (fair play Swim Ireland, Dublin City Council and the North-East Inner-City Initiative) following the success of Ireland’s swimmers at Paris 2024 has me thinking. It is likely the case in many households all over Ireland there are currently young girls and boys of all ages asking their parents: “can I try the sport I just saw an Irish athlete excel in at Paris 2024?” In many cases, the answer is “no”.

 

The facility challenge

To try canoe slalom (Liam Jagou was 7th) and indoor track cycling (Lara Gillespie was 10th) currently requires a trip abroad – and beyond these unique facility examples, it is worth noting that many Irish towns and regions are outside reasonable proximity to a 50m swimming pool or running track to accommodate potential participants, let alone to provide for those with emerging talent. Factor in the tyranny of Irish weather, with an additional number of existing facilities rendered unusable for significant parts of the year . This leaves a situation where parents are forced to travel considerable distances or the children, and hence the wider sports system, miss out on the benefits.

However, it’s not just facilities. Sports programmes and activities need to be designed to context and delivered by suitably qualified personnel to ensure participants are welcome, safe and most importantly, that they enjoy themselves and a number stay involved. For many NGBs, despite delivering a lot with a little, capacity (staff and volunteers) is currently in short supply and an aspiration to develop a greater level of activity and integration between the high performance, pathways and participation functions is not matched with the human and fiscal resources to effectively bring this to fruition.

 

How do we address these shortages?

There are several position statements within the 2018-2027 National Sports Policy that speak to these challenges, and indeed recent Sports Capital Grant and Large-Scale Sporting Infrastructure Funding rounds will address these shortages to a certain extent. It is encouraging to see government acknowledge this greater need at the culmination of Paris 2024, with the promise of additional high-performance funding for the LA 2028 cycle.

However, if the strategic aspiration here goes deeper than winning medals, an accompanying increased systematic (pun intended) investment in other component parts of the sport participation landscape, be it via government and/or the private sector is also required. A published sport-by-sport stocktake of “what is” vs “what should be”, initially in terms of the two big ticket items: facilities and workforce, would be a good place to start.

 

What’s next for the Irish Sports System?

The Irish sports system’s Paris 2024 success is not unlike a bigger picture version of the breakthrough performances of swimmer Mona McSharry at the 2017 Junior World Swimming Championships. It is an absolutely fantastic result worthy of significant celebration and right now we should revel in it. More importantly though, is what it means for the future. It’s an exciting indication there is much, much more that can be achieved if we are clear on future targets and measures; we are prepared to strategically analyse our position, further grow the resources invested in sport and work hard to deploy them to maximum effect.

 

Written by Matt McKerrow, Associate Consultant, 2into3: matt.mckerrow@2into3.com. For more information on our Sports Insights, visit here.

Shannon Barrett 2into3

Welcoming Shannon Barrett as Head of Talent Management Services

We’re delighted to announce that Shannon Barrett has rejoined 2into3 as our new Head of Talent Management Services. Shannon initially joined 2into3 as an Assistant Recruiter on the For Purpose Graduate Programme in 2021, before being promoted to Recruitment Coordinator in 2022 and Recruitment Consultant in 2023. 

In her previous role as Recruitment Consultant, Shannon made significant contributions to our Talent Management team. Shannon actively supported the continuous development of our recruitment process and placed senior leaders in a variety of social impact roles, from Chief Executive Officers to Fundraising, Service Management, Housing Specific roles, IT, Finance, Advocacy and Operational professionals. 

We’re confident that Shannon’s sectoral expertise and leadership will strengthen our commitment to placing successful candidates within a range of social impact organisations.

 

Get in Touch

Our Talent Management team works with organisations to ensure that our carefully selected candidates succeed within their new roles. We believe that when a candidate is successful in their role, it allows the organisation to succeed in its mission.

In the last 12 months, 2into3 successfully filled 31 roles for a range of social impact organisations. For examples of our work, visit here.

If you have any queries, or would like to have a chat with Shannon directly, please contact her at shannon.barrett@2into3.com.

For more information on our Talent Management Services, visit our webpage. 

2into3 nonprofit Talent recruitment trend

Q2 2024 Nonprofit Talent Trends 

The latest snapshot of senior recruitment activity in the Irish nonprofit sector shows a notable increase in the number of senior management opportunities being advertised. There was a total of 284 senior level roles identified by 2into3’s analysis of the market in Q2 2024, which is an increase of approximately 30% from 219 roles in Q2 2023. This shows a return to the scale of roles identified in prior years such as the 270 roles identified in Q2 of 2022.  

 The number of organisations actively recruiting this quarter rose by 17% compared to the previous year, rising from 168 to 197. 

Q2 2024 Nonprofit Talent Trends 2into3

 

 

Activity by Subsector

As 19 of the 197 organisations who advertised were anonymous, the below breakdown of roles by subsector is based on 178 organisations.  

Alike Q2 2023, Social Services organisations represented the largest subsector in terms of activity, however the number of roles has increased, constituting 36% of the breakdown compared to a previous 30%. With the increase in activity of Social Services organisations, we can see a small decline in the following biggest subsectors; Health (15%) and Local Development & Housing (12%).  

 

 

Q2 2024 Nonprofit Talent Trends 2into3

Activity by Role Type

Service Delivery & Operational Management roles were by far the most advertised in Q2 2024, with 142 of the roles, significantly ahead of the second most popular, Finance (49) and Fundraising & Business Development (27). It is interesting to note the jump in finance roles this quarter compared to Q2 2023. This could indicate more organisations making a shift toward in-house financial management, rather than outsourcing. 

Q2 2024 Nonprofit Talent Trends 2into3

 

 

The above graph outlines growth in the areas of Service Delivery & Operational Management, Communications, HR and Finance this quarter compared to Q2 2023. However, it also indicates decline compared to last year’s findings in the areas of Fundraising & Business Development, CEO/ Executive Director roles and Administration, Strategy & Governance. 

 

Activity by Income Type

Where such information was available, either because the role was posted anonymously or the organisation does not disclose their income, noteworthy findings were made regarding the income of 166 named organisations. 47 (28%) organisations have less than €1 million in annual income, 74 (45%) have an annual income of between €1 million to €10 million and 45 (27%) have an annual income of over €10 million.  

 

Role Functions

When looking at the types of roles being advertised, there was a certain level of consistency with Q2 2023 in percentage terms, with a few exceptions. 

 

Observations

The sector remains active and there continues to be an increasing demand for talent. Through our analysis, we can an see a growing number of recruitment services being used in the nonprofit sector and we can also see a drop in CEO roles compared to previous findings. As role demands to fluctuate and the level of anonymous roles continue to play a significant part of the data we capture, the non-profit sector remains an interesting study filled with curious developments. 

 

Get in touch

Our Talent Management Team records senior role activity in the nonprofit sector, producing quarterly findings. For more information on our Nonprofit Talent Trends, visit here , or contact Dennis O’Connor at dennis@2into3.com. 

Data fundraising decision making

How To Maximise Your Impact With Data-Driven Fundraising

Resources are often stretched within fundraising teams and the idea of investing in data analysis may not be at the top of your priority list.

However, according to the National Philanthropy Policy 2024-2028 Section 3.2. Objective 2, nonprofits should aim, “to activate strategies for the creation, collection and utilisation of data and research to inform and guide decision-making in philanthropy, contributing to building an evidence base of needs.”

Contributing to data collection is not only useful for the future of the sector, it is also extremely useful for unlocking more strategic, impactful, and ultimately, more successful fundraising approaches within your organisation.

Here’s how you can use data to support and empower your fundraising decision making:

 

Understanding Your Donors

Data analysis provides invaluable insights into your donor base. You can identify trends in giving behaviour, segment donors based on demographics and interests, and personalise outreach efforts.

Fundraising teams can tailor their message to resonate with a specific donor segment known to support environmental causes, or to identify lapsed donors who might be re-engaged with the right approach.

Optimising Campaign Performance

Data allows you to track the effectiveness of your fundraising campaigns in real-time. You can see which channels (email, social media, direct mail) generate the most donations, what messaging resonates best, and where to allocate resources for maximum impact. Your campaign performance can highlight where you need to focus your efforts – is it within the channels you currently use, or do you need to explore new options?

Making Informed Predictions

Furthermore, data can be used to predict future giving trends. By analysing past donation patterns, you can identify potential high-value donors, forecast fundraising goals more accurately, and make strategic decisions about resource allocation.

Measuring Impact and Securing Funding

Data storytelling is a powerful tool for demonstrating the impact of your organisation’s work. By translating your achievements into quantifiable metrics such as a Social Impact Report, you can create compelling reports for donors and grant makers, increasing your chances of securing funding, such as developing a corporate partnership.

 

How can we improve our data collation?

You don’t need a large budget to improve how you’re tracking and using your data. Here are some cost-effective steps your fundraising team can take:

  1. Identify data sources: Start with the information you already have – collate donor records, peer analysis, website analytics, and social media engagement metrics using Excel, or other data analytics platforms such as Tableau. Organise your data into a digestible format which can be easily used for future analysis and decision making on a quarterly, bi-annually or annual basis.
  2. Subscribe to the Irish Giving Index: if you would like to gain valuable insights into your inbox, consider subscribing to the Irish Giving Index – the only nonprofit sector tool which enables you to benchmark your fundraising performance against your relevant subsector and organisations of the same fundraised income. Through sharing your data with our experienced team, we do the analysis for you, leaving your team to focus on your own projects. Furthermore, you’re also actively contributing to improved data collaboration within the sector and fulfilling Section 3.2. Objective 2 of the National Philanthropy Policy 2024-2028. Find out more about the Irish Giving Index here.

 

Data in the Sector: Concluding Thoughts

As stated in the National Philanthropy Policy 2024-2028, “Ireland currently lacks a centre of excellence for the creation of philanthropic knowledge… Robust knowledge and effective measurement are central components to drive change. To advance and grow philanthropy, we need to build baseline information to understand what is needed, what change could look like and to effectively measure what is being achieved over time. Lack of robust independent trend data is a missed opportunity for informed and compelling policy decisions.”

Furthermore, data is a powerful tool that can empower nonprofit organisations to make smarter fundraising decisions. By leveraging data, you can optimise your approach, improve efficiency, and ultimately, raise more funds to further your mission.

Interested in finding out more, or subscribing to the Irish Giving Index? Visit our website or contact our Head of Fundraising Advisory Practice, Rob Foley at rob.foley@2into3.com.

2into3 Advisory Services

5 Reasons to Conduct a Board Effectiveness Review

What comes to mind when you hear the word “review”? If you think of criticism, judgement, or inspection, you might be approaching it the wrong way. A well-conducted Board effectiveness review provides numerous benefits for both your Board and your organisation, and should be seen as a constructive process instead of a fault-finding one.

Let’s look at five reasons your Board should consider conducting a Board effectiveness review.

1. Leveraging the strengths on your Board

Boards are composed of experts in their respective fields. However, in some cases, the skillsets and experience of individual Board members may not be fully recognised and utilised. A strengths-based Board effectiveness review allows you to map the skills and expertise on your Board and ensure they’re being maximised. When Board members engage in tasks that match their experience, it adds to the Board’s overall effectiveness and contributes to broader organisational success.

 

2. Aspiring towards best practice in governance

Regular Board reviews are a core requirement in the Charity Governance Code, and as a Board effectiveness review is an indication to your stakeholders – including funders, staff, volunteers and beneficiaries, as well as the public – that your Board is dedicated to best practice, transparency and accountability.

 

3. Adapting to a period of change

Nonprofits are operating in an evolving political and social landscape. This context demands Boards to be proactive and adaptable; capable of addressing challenges as they arise and identifying potential opportunities.

A Board effectiveness review helps to strengthen Board engagement and collaboration, to ensure that its committees have the appropriate composition and established duties, and that processes and structures are consolidated. This facilitates effective decision-making, leadership, and communication when faced with change.

 

4. Identifying and addressing gaps

So maybe it isn’t all good, and we’d be lying if we said a Board effectiveness review doesn’t consider areas for improvement. By taking stock of your Board’s its structure, dynamics, processes, people, and performance, you have an opportunity to reflect on what perhaps may not be working as well as it could.

What is important here is to focus on what happens next. After hearing constructive feedback from all your Board members, you can create an actionable roadmap to address any gaps and overcome challenges.

 

5. Returning to your purpose

Let’s return to the core purpose of serving on a Board and take a moment to reflect on the reasons and motivation behind this commitment. We are reminded of the passion, interest, skills, and desire to give back. A Board effectiveness review serves to remind all Board members of these fundamentals, generating a renewed sense of purpose, clarity, and confidence moving into the future.

 

Interested in learning more?

Engaging an independent and external third-party perspective in a Board review can offer a valuable objective insight, removing any bias and allowing Board members to be honest and transparent with their feedback. We can work with you to tailor a Board evaluation that reflects the nuances and complexities of your organisation, out of which will emerge constructive recommendations that resonate with your Board members’ experiences.

If you are interested in learning more about what a Board review would look like for your Board, please contact our Director of Advisory Services, Sheena Horgan at sheena.horgan@2into3.com.

Strategic Plan for your sports organisation

4 Ways Your Sports Organisation Could Benefit from a Strategic Plan

The foundation of success for any sports team lies in having a clear game plan. This plan leverages the strengths of players and provides a direction for the team’s efforts on the field. Just as a game plan is an important step in guiding a team towards victory, developing a Strategic Plan helps sports organisations to achieve their goals.

Whether you are volunteer-led local club, a Local Sports Partnership, a National Governing Body, let’s look at 4 ways your organisation could benefit from a Strategic Plan.

 

1. Prioritisation of resources

Ever find yourself wishing there were more hours in the day, volunteers by the pitch, or funds in the coffers? It is essential that the energy of your staff and volunteers, as well as your finite resources, are directed in the best way. Identifying your top priorities in your Strategic Plan means that all efforts can be orientated in the right direction.

 

2. Unify your organisation

Developing and implementing a Strategic Plan is a collective endeavour, and an opportunity to bring together everyone in your organisation, to work on your organisation.

By consulting your players, members, volunteers and staff in the strategic planning process – asking them for their feedback, suggestions and inputs – will not only make sure that your Strategic Plan is relevant but will also help to build common ownership when it comes to delivery. And when everyone understands your organisation’s direction and their particular role in contributing towards that, it fosters collaboration and motivation.

 

3. Being grant-ready

A Strategic Plan ensures you have all your ducks in a row so that when a grant becomes available, you aren’t scrambling to react. It clearly outlines your organisation’s mission, goals, and the specific steps you’ll take to achieve them –  which is exactly what grant committees are looking for. Being proactive and prepared makes it easier to stand out in an increasingly competitive world of grants.

It also prevents against your organisation being distracted by or wasting time and effort applying for grants that don’t meet your strategic aims or resource requirements.

 

4. You never know who’s watching

By laying out the vision and ambitions in your Strategic Plan to all your stakeholders and to external audiences via your website, you open up the opportunity for potential collaborators and funders to recognise potential areas of synergy, innovation and partnership – and to maybe even approach you with an offer that you could never had dreamed of.

From our experience, some of the most exciting collaborations have come from the least likely of places – but they all started with a bolt of inspiration and your Strategic Plan could provide just that.

 

Find out more

2into3 has deep experience in developing Strategic Plans with sports organisations across Ireland. If you’re interested in learning more about how a Strategic Plan could benefit your sports organisation, please reach out to our Director of Advisory Services, Sheena Horgan at sheena.horgan@2into3.com.

500th client 2into3 listowel family resource centre frc

Celebrating our 500th Client with Listowel FRC

Today, 2into3 celebrates a significant milestone – welcoming our 500th client! This achievement marks an important landmark and we couldn’t have reached it without the support of our fantastic clients.

“We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of our 500 clients,” Dennis O’Connor, CEO, 2into3. “Over the last 18 years, we’ve had the pleasure of working with a range of social impact organisations, building their capacity to have a transformative social impact. We look forward to collaborating with you all in future.”

 

 

 

About Listowel FRC

Listowel FRC

Listowel Family Resource Centre (FRC) is a community-based nonprofit that delivers inclusive and empowering supports to individuals, families, migrants and the wider community in North Kerry.

Listowel FRC is one of 121 FRCs nationwide under the FRC National Programme – Ireland’s largest family support programme – core funded by TUSLA.

Listowel FRC works across the life course to deliver a wide range of universal and targeted services. Their services include family supports to parents and children, childcare, social prescribing services, counselling and wellbeing services – including general counselling, gambling supports and play therapy – and support spaces for issue-specific groups.

Listowel FRC is managed by a voluntary Board of Trustees, providing expertise to help Listowel FRC achieve their mission.

 

Developing an Ambitious Strategic Plan for Listowel FRC

Listowel FRC

We’re thrilled to be working with Listowel Family Resource Centre as our 500th client to develop their first Strategic Plan. We look forward to engaging and consulting with the Board of Trustees, staff team, volunteers and service users to develop an ambitious yet achievable Strategic Plan that helps the organisation consolidate its successes to date and grow sustainably in the future.

“We are delighted to be developing our next 5 year strategic plan with the support and leadership of 2into3.” says Jackie Landers, CEO of Listowel FRC.

Our consultants will bring in their experience of developing Strategic Plans with dozens of charities, nonprofits and social enterprises – including Newbridge FRC, Sacred Heart FRC, as well as the national umbrella body of FRCs the National Forum.

See examples of our process and completed Strategic Plans here.

 

Looking Ahead: A Future Focused on Growth

Listowel FRC

Since 2006, 2into3 has been committed to providing transformative social impact. With insight, commitment, collaboration, and ambition at our core, we strive to provide quality for each client. We look forward to continue providing our range of Advisory, Funding and Talent Management services to our clients.

 

Get in Touch

If you’re also currently considering developing a new Strategic Plan, contact our Director of Advisory Services, Sheena Horgan at sheena.horgan@2into3.com. For more information on our broader range of services, visit our webpage here.

Organisational Review 2into3

4 Signs It’s Time For an Organisational Review

An organisational review enables you to be intentional and deliberate in how you set up your staff and organisation for success. However, making the decision to pursue a review and the changes it might entail can be a daunting proposition, especially when you are already under pressure.

If any of the 4 signs below sound familiar, it may be time for you to undertake an organisational review.

 

1. Your team is much bigger than it used to be

While efforts and energy are often focused on the day-today, significant growth or change within an organisation can often unfold organically over the space of a few months or years. It can also happen very suddenly in reaction to a new opportunity. Negative side effects can include lack of clarity around roles and responsibilities, unclear reporting lines, or too many direct reports to your CEO, or managers.

An organisational review allows you to reflect on this growth, identify challenges and bottlenecks, and take the necessary steps to move towards a stronger structure that is sustainable and scalable for future growth.

 

2. Things don’t work as smoothly as they used to

Another side effect of growth and change is that the way you use to collaborate and communicate with your colleagues, or manage your team, is no longer fit for purpose.

Organisational design is about more than just structure; it’s also about workflows and relationships. If the way you used to operate is no longer leading to the same results – or if it feels slower and more painful to do your work – it might be time to take a step back and consider if your structure and working relationships are aligned with your organisation’s strategy today.

 

3. Your team’s work is constantly behind schedule

Another way in which an organisational review can support you is by identifying where you are missing capacity and capability in the team. If your workloads have grown at a faster pace than your staff team, its only natural to then experience delays, frustration and stress.

Assuming that you have correctly identified your priorities in a strategic plan, an organisational review is the ideal opportunity to think about how you are going to deliver your work:

What capacity do you need in what areas?

What skillsets do you need?

How should each team be structured?

How will they work together and with others?

 

4. You are overspending on agency staff or consultants

Agency staff and consultants are a sticking plaster to the issues identified above. If you have more work than the people to deliver it – and don’t have the time to take a minute, assess and plan for the long-term – these expensive short-term solutions can feel like your best option. However, it’s not sustainable in the long-term.

An organisational review can be an investment that pays dividends in the medium and long-term both financially and for your team’s wellbeing and happiness at work.

 

External consultants can be valuable in an organisational review process by creating an objective and confidential environment in which everyone in your organisation feels comfortable to share their honest feedback about what is and isn’t working.

This will ensure that the final recommendations reflect the concerns and expectations of staff, and build buy-in for implementation of your new structure. We can also bring in our experience and learnings from comparable organisations.

 

Interested in finding out more?

Our team at 2into3 our experience in delivering effective organisational reviews that transform organisations for the better.

If you would like to find out more about our approach, visit our webpage here, or contact our Director of Advisory Services, Sheena Horgan at sheena.horgan@2into3.com.

 

 

Corporate Fundraisers Forum

Takeaways from our Corporate Fundraisers Forum

We were delighted to host our sixth and final Corporate Fundraisers Forum on Wednesday 12th June at LinkedIn Ireland. Our Head of Partnerships Advisory Practice, Denise Cranston, commenced the Corporate Fundraisers Forum  with The Wheel in February, which consisted of a monthly corporate partnership learning session. This forum connected 17 fundraisers from different nonprofits to discuss and develop their corporate partnerships action plan.

 

Opening address from Katrina Enros, Social Impact Manager at LinkedIn Ireland 

Katrina joined us to share the different ways LinkedIn supports nonprofit organisations. LinkedIn for Nonprofits provides free resources and discounted products to help nonprofits hire and develop talent, connect with potential donors, build professional networks, and spread the word about your mission to attract new supporters. See which resources may be useful for your nonprofit here: https://nonprofit.linkedin.com/.

 

Corporate Fundraisers Forum Breakout Groups 

Denise then welcomed all 17 attendees to their final session split them into groups of four to discuss their corporate fundraising action plans, their overarching goals and a number of specific objectives to achieve those goals. One person from each group then shared their learnings.

Group Feedback: Plans and Learnings

  • “As a small organisation with limited resources, it’s important to work smarter, not harder when it comes to developing new partnerships.”
  • “We are now looking at how we can amplify what we’re currently doing. Another key factor is to highlight where the corporate investment is going, providing an emotional connection to their investment.”
  • “People give to people – potential partners want to hear personable stories from the people they’re impacting directly.”
  • “It’s important to ensure we have a solid plan in place for where we can build new relationships – networking, local volunteer groups, or word-of-mouth.”
  • “We’re starting off by developing a specific top prospect list and prioritising those contacts first.”
  • “Secure sponsorships – either become a chosen charity partner or to partner on specific programmes.”

 

The breakout groups generated many ideas around how to start initial relationships with potential corporate partners, applying Denise’s tips from previous Corporate Fundraiser Forums to their action plan.

The attendees then took a short break so they could discuss their findings further, before heading into the final session.

 

Sinead Vaughan, Training Manager, The Wheel

Sinead joined the session to provide information on further training courses with The Wheel. The Wheel is Ireland’s national association of charities, community groups and social enterprises.

As a representative voice, they provide leadership to the charity and community sector and advocate on behalf of their growing community of members. As a supportive resource, they offer advice, training and other opportunities to people working or volunteering in the charity and community sector.

 

Concluding the Corporate Fundraisers Forum

Denise extended her thanks to the attendees and invited them to lunch, provided by LinkedIn Ireland. This in-person session was a fantastic way for the Corporate Fundraiser Forum participants to network in-person, share ideas and collaborate.

Are you interested in attending a Corporate Fundraisers Forum in future, or would like more information on developing a corporate partnership? Contact our Head of Partnerships Advisory Practice, Denise Cranston, at denise.cranston@2into3.com or on 086 085 5836.

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