Fundraising for a Social Acquisition

As one of the first social acquisitions in Canada, we believe that part of our role is to share our story before the tsunami wave of social acquisitions that we see on the horizon begins.?

We want to answer your questions: How did we raise the money? What are our tips for future social acquisitions?

Tip #1: Go with the energy

We reached out to 187 charities. Three said ‘yes’. We rarely speak about the 184 who said ‘no’ or didn’t respond to us.?

We are one of the first social acquisitions, so most charities didn’t know what we were trying to talk to them about.? When this happened, we assumed that the odds of them investing in this opportunity were very low. If someone doesn’t respond positively to your idea’s overall concept, completing the rest of the due diligence process will be an upward battle. Your story needs to stick with them.??

You aren’t going to win them all, so you shouldn’t try. Move on - this is partly a numbers game.?

Tip# 2: Don’t slow down for (almost) anything

Since this is partly a numbers game, recognize that you’ll need to hustle to get over the finish line. When you think you have connected with enough people, push yourself to contact a few more. Every time that I thought I had finally reached enough people, my partner reminded me that there was no downside in reaching out to another 50.

And it was the last 50 people to whom I reached out that got us over the finish line! ?

Tip #3: If you aren’t speaking with the investment committee, you’re speaking to the wrong people

Charities that have funds to invest have an investment committee or trustees. You want to speak to this group. They are the decision makers and the road blockers, and they will want to compare your social acquisition to their other investments (GICs and mutual funds, most likely).???

Make sure that you are speaking to the decision makers!

You can always learn more in our book, Win Win Capitalism.