On the evening of May 2, more than two thousand well dressed revelers converged on the Detroit Opera House for what Mary Parkhill, director of development for the Michigan Opera Theater (MOT), calls the one night a year the iconic music hall "is turned into a nightclub." The sleek crowd had come out for the 9th Annual BravoBravo!, a see-and-be-seen fundraiser put on by the young professionals group of MOT’s Volunteer Association. The event featured a dozen bands, food and beverages from more than 40 chic establishments, and Lexus.
That’s right. Toyota’s luxury vehicle division — the event’s principle sponsor — was omnipresent. Its logo was on signs and banners throughout the venue; its name on the electronic sign traversing the building’s façade. Company reps worked the rooms from their base of VIP tables, rubbed elbows in the "Lexus Lounge," and extolled the marque’s entry-level sedan, the Lexus IS, which was there on display.
If an automobile seems anomalous in an arts venue, consider this: the BravoBravo! crowd consisted mostly of professionals between the ages of 25 and 40 who could afford to pay $65-$85 to attend the event. They are consumers who want the sophistication inherent in a luxury car but who aren’t — yet — earning enough to afford a high-end model. They are, as Barron Meade, president of Southeast Michigan-based Meade Lexus, puts it, "the IS sedan demographic." And for a few hours at the Detroit Opera House, they were a captive audience.
The fundraiser illustrates the symbiotic relationship between the corporate and nonprofit worlds that, while not new, has become less clandestine as the two camps pursue new ways to leverage each other’s resources.
While not shedding their respective mantles of "donor" and "recipient," businesses and nonprofits now speak of forging
"partnerships"in which nonprofits receive critical funding while helping businesses realize public relations gains or networking advantages from their donations. This paradigm, known as "value-added philanthropy," was evident the evening of BravoBravo!. Lexus helped the Michigan Opera Theater raise more than $200,000 for its operations, and MOT helped Lexus court a cadre of consumers who might buy an IS and be hooked on Lexus for life.
Quid pro quo
While "nonprofits" are a product of the modern-day tax code, society has for centuries believed that intellectual or altruistic enterprises should be supported by the wealthy. The practice of literary patronage, for example, goes back to, at least, the first century B.C., when Virgil and Horace, Rome’s greatest poets, were part of a literary circle supported financially by the Emperor Augustus. During the culturally fecund Renaissance, artists’ chief sponsors were merchants and bankers such as the Medicis, who were responsible for the majority of Florentine art during their reign as one of Italy’s wealthiest and most powerful families.
But as old as the practice of patronage is the tendency of protégées to give something back to their benefactors, if not out of gratitude, than from a desire to secure future contributions or commissions. In his Aeneid, Virgil lavished praise on Augustus’ nephew, while Botticelli paid tribute to members of the Medici family by including them as subjects in his paintings.
Today, such unabashed pandering is checked by an independent press, an educated and discerning public, and the oversight of advisory boards, but nonprofits are still eager to keep those who give them money happy. To that end, they’re finding ways to help the corporations that support them advance their business objectives.
"If it doesn’t work for the corporation it’s not any good, because you’re not going to have a happy donor," says MOT’s Parkhill, noting that MOT derives 25% of its operating budget from corporate sponsorship. "Corporations want to be good citizens, but they also want to get their names out there. Donating is an opportunity to market themselves. We never lose sight of that, and we make sure we give them as much recognition as possible."
Karla Hall, vice president of the DTE Energy Foundation, agrees that recognition is a chief consideration when businesses decide which worthy causes to support.
"It’s about branding and making sure our customers know we’re involved in the community and their day-to-day lives," says Hall, who is also chair of the Michigan Nonprofit Association’s board of trustees. The DTE foundation, which last year gave nearly $7.6 million to Michigan nonprofit organizations in the form of close to 400 grants, asks funding seekers to specify in their applications how they will acknowledge the foundation’s gift.
This could be as simple as an announcement on the recipient’s Web site. But it could something more inventive, says Hall, noting the time Northwestern Michigan College honored the foundation’s support of the Great Lakes Education program by having a DTE executive go out on a lake and launch a buoy. Opportunities for public and televised appearances are also a big inducement to give, Hall says, noting that DTE Energy Foundation last year was able to parlay its role in an education townhall meeting into public service announcements and spots on popular TV and radio shows in Detroit.
For you, something special...
But while marketing and promotional opportunities are critical, benefits of a more tangible nature are also a lure. MOT has put together corporate sponsorship packages that, depending on the level of support, may include free drinks, valet parking, backstage access, invitations to cast parties, and the opportunity to host events at the Detroit Opera House. While these pampering perks may not appear to have strategic value, they actually have indirect benefits for MOT, say Parkhill. That’s because donors often wine and dine guests who’ve never attended a function at the Detroit Opera House, and their experience may prompt them to become regular patrons.
The University Musical Society, a non-profit affiliated with the University of Michigan and housed on the Ann Arbor campus, has had tremendous success attracting corporate sponsorship largely, says UMS President Ken Fischer, by finding the right programmatic "fit" for a donor. When the president of a local bank met with Fischer and emphasized the bank’s longevity, its commitment to Ann Arbor, and its support of the University of Michigan and the Ann Arbor Symphony, Fischer quickly persuaded him to sponsor UMS’ performances of Handel’s Messiah. It was an obvious match, Fischer says, because the performances were the most traditional on UMS’ program, featured the Ann Arbor Symphony and University of Michigan soloists, and were consequently closely aligned with the bank’s corporate identity.
Fischer says UMS also makes sure to reward repeat donors by giving them first stab at marketing and promotional opportunities. UMS has for several years met prior to each season with representatives from Pfizer, one of its biggest donors, to help it select the shows it will sponsor. UMS' "Children of Uganda" program was an obvious pick for Pfizer in 2006, Fischer notes, because it presented an opportunity for the company to educate the public about the hospital and AIDS research programs Pfizer funds in the African nation.
Because businesses sometimes find it difficult to admit they want a return on their donations, Fischer and Parkhill say the secret to wooing corporate sponsorship is to legitimize that desire and, what’s more, help them design what shape that return will take. It also helps to let the public know just how much is riding on corporate sponsorship, they say.
"These companies, in this very difficult time, are doing their best to support organizations in their communities," Parkhill says. "I tell people, 'Pay attention to that signage.'"
Lucy Ament is a freelance writer living in Grosse Pointe. Her last article for Metromode was Nanotechnology: SE Michigan's Industrial Revolution.
Photos:Bravo Bravo! promo - courtesy
octane designMary Parkhill, director of development, Michigan Opera Theater
UMS President Ken Fischer - courtesy photo
Photographs by Marvin Shaouni
Marvin Shaouni is the managing photographer for Metromode & Model D.