When Sasha Kamenetski applied for a charity of the year partnership with a leading UK law firm, the odds were extraordinary. More than 600 charities applied. Only ten would be shortlisted. It’s fair to say that her charity was one of the underdogs.
And yet — Sasha and her team won. Decisively.
The numbers that tell the story
Let’s sit with that first number for a moment. Over 600 charities applied. Only ten were shortlisted. Getting into that final ten was itself a remarkable achievement — and then the ten went to a public vote.
More than 9,000 votes were cast in total. Sasha’s charity, Royal Osteoporosis Society won an astonishing 40% of them — over 3,000 votes. The next closest received around 1,000.
It’s a five-figure partnership and as far as Sasha is aware, it’s the biggest charity of the year partnership the organisation has ever won through a competitive process. How did she do it?
Technique 1: Conversations make all the difference
Sasha was midway through Corporate Partnerships Mastery when she began this process. One principle she’d been practicing during the training was this: Wherever possible, seek out actual conversations with people.
So while most applicants submitted their forms and waited, Sasha picked up the phone and spoke with someone at the company. She wanted to find out as much as she could. One of the questions she asked them was: what would make an application stand out?
The answer: “Having a conversation like this.”
She used what she learned to strengthen the application. And she sent her application knowing she’d done everything she could to get to the next stage.
Technique 2: Go all in
Once shortlisted, Sasha applied another powerful principle we teach at Bright Spot: Commit! There is a big difference between believing you can win and therefore doing everything in your power…and ‘doing your best’ but knowing you don’t stand much chance.
The whole organisation mobilised. Emails, newsletters, social media, WhatsApp chains. The CEO and senior leadership team fully behind it. Two weeks of concentrated effort.
While they waited for the result, Sasha looked at the competition and felt the weight of it. Some of the other charities in the vote were bigger and better known — and some were causes that many people respond to instinctively.
Osteoporosis is a serious condition: osteoporosis fractures are the fourth leading cause of death and disability in the UK, after cancer, dementia, and heart disease. These fractures can be life-changing. But at first glance, it may not seem as likely to pull on the heartstrings as some other causes — until you sit down and explain it.
“If we don’t win,” Sasha thought, “I have no regrets. I know we’ve done everything we can.”
And then they won — with three times the votes of the nearest runner-up.
What made the difference
Sasha said she had wanted to join Corporate Partnerships Mastery for three years before the timing finally worked. Doing the full programme — with the masterclasses, the coaching, the peer community, the chance to apply the techniques in real time — gave her the ideas and the confidence to really go for it.
“I know we’ll continue to win partnerships. The programme gave me the tools and the confidence to make that happen. If the timing is right for you, I would highly, highly recommend it.”
You can find out more about Corporate Partnerships Mastery here.
What’s one proactive conversation you could have this week that might make all the difference?
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