Have you ever wondered how a leading New Zealand business develops a strategy to support community organisations?

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Have you ever wondered how a leading New Zealand business develops a strategy to support community organisations?

BACS Talking Pod sign

And would they be willing to tell you, not just the good parts but  include the bumps and challenges along the way?

Paul Walsh, Executive General Manager for The Warehouse Group Community and Environment kindly (and bravely) agreed to host a BACS Talking Pod for a group of NZ businesses.

Here are the shared notes of The Warehouse’s community partnership journey.

 

Why are we considering supporting community organisations?

▪       Part of our DNA, culture etc  OR

▪       Because it will make us look good in the eyes of the public?

What type of support will this be?

▪       Transactional

▪       Year round true partnership

Will this be an outward or inward focused partnership (or both)?

▪       What will be the role of our team in this partnership?

▪       How will we communicate this partnership to our team?

▪       How will we engage our team with this partnership?

What type of community organisation do we want to partner with?

▪       National, regional, local

▪       Area of focus/fit with business

How will we contribute to our community partner?

▪       Financial, time, product, publicity etc.

What will our fundraising/volunteering etc. model be? 

How are we going to select our community partners?

▪       What will be the life of the partnership?

▪       How could a partnership be terminated?

 What will our goals be in this relationship?

▪       Cultural

▪       Engagement

▪       Financial

▪       Other “hard” targets

▪       External recognition etc. 

How will we know we have achieved our goals?

▪       How will we communicate the partnership and what it’s achieved with the external world?

▪       How do we provide clarity on what we expect from our community partners?

▪       How do we provide clarity on what our community partners can expect from us?

▪       How much involvement do we want with the implementation of the community programme?

How are we going to mutually review the success of our relationship?

▪       How frequently will we undertake reviews?

Do we have senior leadership support for this strategy?

▪       How do we expect our senior leaders to show their support?

Website:www.thewarehouse.co.nz