Social Impact for Business: Nonprofit Application

In May 2021, Next Stage will be publishing a new community study entitled The Social Good Report: Profit & Purpose highlighting findings from the firm’s recent research into how nonprofits and the private sector relate to each other.

The study will serve to kick-off a new service line called Social Impact for Business. Next Stage aims to work with private sector companies of all shapes and sizes to create social good platforms that drive bottom-line serving needs inside local companies and create resources for nonprofit organizations (e.g. financial investment, visibility, constituency-building opportunities). Through these win-win-win partnerships, Next Stage will help local companies engage with the social good sector in new and creative ways, creating positive outcomes for the broader community.

Next Stage will identify a group of 15-20 nonprofit organizations to serve as its initial partners to launch the Social Good for Business service line. These organizations will have elevated status in a portfolio of local nonprofits that are aligned with the firm’s efforts and well-positioned to fulfill new business/corporate relationships. There is no cost to participate. Instead, Next Stage is seeking creative partner organizations who commit to high-quality fulfillment and buy-in to the firm’s philosophy and outreach efforts.

Interested organizations must fill out the following application and submit by noon on Friday, March 26, 2021. Organizations must be 501c3 nonprofits in good standing with operations located in Mecklenburg County. Next Stage will notify organizations selected for the partner platform by March 12, 2021. Criteria for consideration includes mission diversity, marketing and engagement assets, creativity and will of leadership.

Social Impact for Business - Nonprofit Application

General Information

Name of Organization *

Is your organization a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a valid EIN from the IRS? *

Yes

No

Nonprofit Category (Choose the Best Fit) *

Arts, Culture and Humanities

Education

Environment & Animals

Health

Human Services

International

Public & Societal Benefit

Racial & Social Justice

Research

OtherOther

Name of Chief Administrator *

Contact Name *

Contact Job Title *

Contact Email Address *

Contact Phone Number *

State your organization's mission. *

Total Organizational Budget (Current Year): *

Staff Size *

Board Size *

Corporate Partnership Assets

What are the top three (3) ways you can add value for a business partner? *

Brand Development (Positive Public Relations, Community Engagement, Visibility)

Cause Marketing (Campaign Support, Digital Marketing, Targeted Communication)

Diversity & Inclusion (Racial & Social Justice Engagement)

Leadership Development (Board & Committee Service, Skilled Volunteerism, Professional Development)

Network Development (Relational Skill-Building, New Relationships, Boundary Spanning)

Talent Recruitment & Retention (Employee Engagement, Constituent-Building, Volunteer Opportunities)

Wellness (Physical Wellbeing, Emotional Wellbeing)

Workforce Pipeline (Teen & Youth Engagement, Apprenticeships)

Workplace Culture (On-Site Experiences, Learning Experiences)

Provide detail for the three categories chosen above. *

Followers on Facebook (or N/A) *

Followers on Instagram (or N/A) *

Followers on Twitter (or N/A) *

Annual Website Visits (or N/A) *

# of Records in E-mail Database *

If you have additional marketing assets, please describe below with metrics as possible (e.g. 25,000 visitors, 6,000 viewers). *

Check all the boxes below that describe your platform for volunteer engagement: *

We struggle to find meaningful ways to activate corporate volunteers.

Over the course of the year, our organization has intense and less intense periods of volunteer engagement opportunities.

We have a regular need for volunteers throughout most/all of the year.

Our organization requires training and/or background checks for volunteers before they can be deployed.

Most of our volunteer opportunities require little training or pre-work and folks can dive right in.

We have a variety of volunteer opportunities, from easy-to-access to more involved/engaged opportunities.

We have a need for skilled volunteers and have a platform to engage them.

We are open to creating board roles for leadership employees from our corporate/business partners.

Most of our volunteer opportunities are on-site of our campus/facility.

Most of our volunteer opportunities take place throughout the community.

Our volunteer opportunities can take place in the workplace of our volunteers.

We have a wide variety of volunteer opportunities including on-site, off-site and in the community.

If you have additional ways to engage the employees of partner companies, please describe below. *

Are you interested in strengthening your organization's corporate employee engagement platform?

Yes

No

Application Narrative

Briefly describe your approach or philosophy regarding business/corporate relations. (250 words or less) *

How does/will your organization fulfill business/corporate engagement? Who on your team is responsible for relationship management and fulfillment? (250 words or less) *

Are you open to co-creating opportunities to engage business/corporate partners? Why or why not? What concerns do you have (if any)? (250 words or less) *

How does your organization demonstrate creativty in business/corporate engagement? What are some examples of creative engagement strategies you've launched or could launch? (250 words or less) *

Social Impact for Business Participation

Describe why your organization should be selected to participate in the first cohort of Next Stage's Social Impact for Business. (100 words or less) *

Demonstration of Committment

Please check all of the following participation requirements that apply to your organization. *

We understand and align with Next Stage's vendor model approach to corporate/business engagement.

We will allocate the resources necessary to fulfill corporate/business partnershiops sourced through Next Stage with quality and integrity.

We will participate in (free) quarterly workshops offered by Next Stage to strengthen our corporate/business fulfillment efforts.

Within reason, we will avail ourselves to Next Stage's new business efforts (e.g. meetings, presentations, testimonials) to assist with building corporate/business clients.

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