Newsletter: Ditch Predictions—Leverage Trends for Better Partnerships 📊 ; 7 Sponsorship Mistakes Charities Should Avoid​ 🚫 ; My Best Friend is a Year Old 🐶

January is the month for predictions.

Everyone’s got one: “X will revolutionize Y,” or “Z is the next big thing.” But here’s the deal—predictions are a gamble. They’re flashy, speculative, and often flat-out wrong.

I know this for sure because I've made lots of awful predictions.

👉🏻👉🏻 I've learned there's something better: Trends.

Trends aren’t wild guesses about the future. Trends ground themselves in current events, providing your partnership team with a clear vision of where win-win partnerships are heading. Trends are your practical guide to what’s working (and what’s not) in social impact and corporate partnerships. Instead of betting on a crystal ball, you make decisions based on momentum, data, and real-world behavior.

For corporate partnership teams, staying on top of trends is like being a great dance partner. If you move in step with your corporate collaborators—whether they’re focusing on DEI, ESG, or hyperlocal community investments—you’ll keep them engaged longer.

And in this economy, you don’t just need more partners. You need better ones.

That’s why Accelerist's Brittany Hill and I are hosting a webinar on ​Thursday, January 30, at 2 p.m. EST​ on social impact and partnership trends. Together, we’ll explore the real drivers shaping partnerships in 2025—actionable insights, not pie-in-the-sky predictions.

Here’s what you’ll get:

• The top trends reshaping corporate partnerships and why they matter.

• Practical steps for applying these trends to your strategy.

• Examples of partnership teams nailing these trends right now.

Don’t let January’s prediction hype distract you. Trends are what will set your partnership program apart in 2025!

Join Brittany Hill and me to learn how to use trends to your advantage!

✍️ Partnership Notes

1. Cut and paste this prompt into your favorite AI platform. This can be as simple as typing "Google Gemini" into Google Search and pasting it there. But I got the best response when I pasted it into my paid version of ChatGPT.

Conduct a detailed analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of our top three corporate partnership competitors: [Insert three competitors here].

Based on your analysis, suggest strategic responses that our partnership team can implement to compete effectively in the corporate partnership space.

Be sure to include insights into their partnership program, marketing, strategies, offerings, benefits, and any innovative practices they are known for in the partnership world.

2. Partnership teams frequently ask about the ​ideal balance between nurturing existing partners and pursuing new business​ opportunities. The answer may be a 3:1 ratio.

"Seventy-three percent (73%) of B2B revenues comes from existing customers in the form of renewals, cross-sell, and upsell, and the remaining 27% comes from new business. While growth from net-new customers isn’t insignificant, the bulk of B2B revenues come from an existing customer base."

3. ​Seven sponsorship mistakes charities should avoid​. #5: Presenting broad audience data. The riches are in the niches.

🤑 Marketing Your Cause

1. Tiktok was banned - and then unbanned. Will it be banned again? You know what will never get banned: Email. That's why you must know ​how to capture and keep inbox attention​.

2. This survey asked nearly 2,000 CMOs across 13 markets, "What do you expect to be the ​primary role of the marketing function​ over the next 12 months?"

Hint: The top answer is why you ​should register for this!​

😎 Cool Jobs in Cause

1. National Manager, Corporate Development Content, ​Breakthrough T1D​, Remote ($63k - $78k)

2. Director of Corporate Partnerships, ​Smile Train​, NYC ($100k - $120k)

3. Development Manager, Corporate Engagement, ​One Warm Coat,​ Remote ($70k - $75k)

4. Senior Director of Corporate and Institutional Giving, ​Lupus Research Alliance​, Remote ($150k - $165k)

5. Manager of Individual and Corporate Giving, ​Three Birds Alliance​, Aurora, CO ($64k - $82k)

🧠🍌 Brain Food

1. Great advice: ​Don't get furious. Get curious.​

"Instead, I now try curiosity. Why does she believe what she believes? Why do I believe what I believe? What types of evidence would it take to change either of our minds? And if we continue to believe different things, where can we go from there? Is there any action that we can both agree would be productive?"

2. ​Can you read cursive?​ The National Archives needs you. And if anyone ever needs cursive read aloud over a rotary phone while I drive a stick shift, I’m your guy!

3. My dog, Buddy the Havanese, will be a year old next month!

It's a happy time - especially as he ages out of puppyhood, which has benefits but is not always fun!

That said, I can't believe it's been a year since ​Charlie the Yorkie passed away​.

Having Buddy has definitely helped, but there's still that hole, right? That lump in your throat when you think too long about it. The pain of recalling those last minutes with him.💔💔

The vet neutered Buddy last week.✂️🍒 Thankfully, he's healing quickly.

Get well, and happy birthday, Buddy. I ❤️ you. You and Charlie are my best proof that dogs are, without a doubt, the very best people!