Today, I had the pleasure of attending a breakfast, hosted by Cenovus, to launch their new Community Investment strategy. Cenovus is an oil company, headquartered here in Calgary, that came in to existence almost 14 months ago as a result of Encana splitting their oil and gas divisions in to 2 different companies. Today, Cenovus has about 3,000 employees.
At this event, Cenovus announced that the first year of their employee thanks & giving campaign raised $1.7 million, including the matching gifts from the company - a huge contribution that all employees should be proud of! Cenovus also outlined their new community investment policy, which will focus on learning, safety & well-being and sustainable communities.
Following this presentation from Cenovus, there were 2 speakers, both of whom have conducted extensive research around charitable giving and nonprofits.
The first, Jocelyn Daw, is all about non-profit branding and shared the message from her new book Breakthrough Nonprofit Branding. Jocelyn encourages organizations to build brands that go beyond logos and colours, and get to a focus on trust, commitment and value. Instead of focusing on ones own organization, focus on the brand and the promise - whether that's feeding the hungry, saving animals or curing disease. Put that promise at the centre of conversations and decisions, and the message becomes much more powerful and effective. Further, Jocelyn encourages organizations to look at partnerships (with corporations, foundations, etc.) as opportunities to meet the needs of both parties. There were some great ideas from Jocelyn, and luckily, Cenovus provided a copy of her new book to each organization there, so I look forward to reading and learning more!
Secondly, Jason Saul presented on ideas from his book (due out in March) - The End of Fundraising. Of course, from the title, you can likely tell that Jason's ideas are controversial for many organizations, but one that struck me as being quite innovative. He suggests that organizations determine who they are creating value for, and which of those groups has the ability to pay for that value. If implemented properly, this strategy shouldn't abandon or negate traditional donors - those who's primary goal is to make the world better or to create a "good feeling". It does encourage organizations to look at the potential natural partners (Jason calls them impact buyers), and to put data and information before those partners that will prove the value for both parties.
Jason finished with a seven point summary, one of which was to focus on building partnerships based on their value, not the cost. Focus on what it's worth, both monetarily and otherwise, to both sides - not just on the cost of the program. The business language throughout Jason's presentation might be tough for some organizations, but the message - focusing on outcomes and building effective partnerships - couldn't be more important. I look forward to digging more into Jason's book when it's released.
So often, non-profits get lost in themselves, spending so much time focused inward & on their own programs that they forget what that means and why it's important to potential partners. How much stronger we could be, and could build our communities and do our work, if we looked for ways to make it relevant and understandable for potential partners!
Who is your non-profit talking to?
Huge thanks to Cenovus for hosting this event, and for all that you are doing to contribute to the strength and health of our community!
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