3 Ingredients for Strong Social Impact Partnerships
By Charisse Browner
Brixio, a fast-moving startup focused on disrupting the commercial real estate world, recently approached America’s Charities’ team about starting a social responsibility initiative to support our nonprofit member, the LIVESTRONG Foundation.
After discussing their vision and needs, our team quickly got the ball rolling. Brixio needed our help with two things:
- Connecting with the team at LIVESTRONG, and
- A reliable, efficient way to process and distribute their donations.
In just one month’s time since Brixio first reached out to us, we are proud to share they have launched their partnership with LIVESTRONG.
For the Brixio team, supporting LIVESTRONG in the fight against cancer was a personal and collective desire, which you can read about in their press release. For our team, Brixio’s partnership with LIVESTRONG is a prime example of the simplicity and power behind business-nonprofit collaboration.
Business-Nonprofit Partnerships Don’t Have to be Complicated
We’ve seen all kinds of partnerships transpire between our nonprofit members and businesses, such as the partnership between Dress for Success, Talbots and O, The Oprah Magazine, which we wrote about earlier this year. Some take months to get up and running due to complexity of the project, while others – like Brixio’s – can evolve in just a matter of weeks. Here’s what made Brixio’s partnership with LIVESTRONG move forward so quickly:
(1) Clear Vision and Goals
Brixio’s goal was simple: to improve the lives of people affected by cancer by donating 1% of their company’s real estate revenue and encouraging others to join their effort.
(2) Commitment
In a conversation we had with Brixio’s co-founder, Nate Bray, about why social responsibility and his personal involvement through the workplace is so important, he summed it up perfectly:
“The way I see it. We only have one spin around this world, so we might as well make sure when it’s done, we did something meaningful. Average life span is 76 for a man in the US. When I turned 40, I realized I only have 13,140 days left to do cool stuff. I want to do my part, and luckily we have a cool company that agrees. So, here we are,” Nate stated.
It’s that kind of mindset that leads to successful partnerships and impact, and it was evident from our conversations that Nate’s team shared his passion.
(3) Expertise
Brixio had a clear vision of what they wanted to do, but they needed outside support in order to make it happen. Having the opportunity to listen to Brixio’s interests and helping them create an initiative that will help hundreds of thousands of people through the work of LIVESTRONG is one of the reasons why I love my job (as noted in one of my LinkedIn blog posts).
America’s Charities already had the platform and processes in place to address Brixio’s donation processing and funds management needs. So after working with our member LIVESTRONG to ensure Brixio had all the necessary brand and message elements to promote the partnership, Brixio’s team did the rest by creating a landing page on their website (easily accessible from their homepage) to inform the public about their partnership and make it easy for the public to join the effort.
Leading the fight against cancer is important to the team at Brixio, and America’s Charities has enjoyed our role in bringing their vision to life. But there are so many more causes that need support – important causes that America’s Charities members are working hard to address. And with more ways than ever for businesses to make an impact and engage their employees and other stakeholders in the process, what’s to stop your company from rallying behind a cause like Brixio did? What causes matter to your company and employees? Give America’s Charities a call at 800-458-9505 or contact us online to start the conversation on how your company can make an impact.
