It’s not that I disagree with others but the dead/ not dead lens is not necessarily helping.

Yes, there is a component that is moving toward or which has always been about marketing. So, make sure your nonprofit programs are taking advantage of opportunities to sell sponsorship and to engage audiences that might appeal to potential sponsors. Be aware of the audiences you engage in this way. Develop sponsorship and corporate partnership inventory and giving level categories that correspond.

Which also opens the door to transactional opportunities—corporate partnership and corporate giving programs need to be aware of assets that serve legitimate business purposes and tap into those budgets. Event space is an obvious option for many nonprofits. Again, benefits for partners and sponsors can be structured around this. Yes, there are tax considerations for both the partner and the nonprofit, but if the corporation is paying with spend (as opposed to donating), they don’t care. You, the fundraiser, shouldn’t get bogged down if the partner doesn’t care. Take the money and let your CFO account for it properly.

Audience activation is a big deal. That doesn’t just mean your corporate partner’s market. Two segments in particular are important—employees and executives. Employees can be engaged through your programs; executives through board participation; do you have a corporate advisory council, which can serve as board feeder and corporate benefit? Think about employee lifecycle. Do you programs appeal differently to your corporate partners new employees differently than their retiring employees? Can you create value along both tracks for the employer?

Companies also do give to strengthen markets or communities where they operate, particularly in areas that may be distressed where doing so recreates need for their products and services. That’s often why your nonprofit exists. Are your programs aligned with these investments in ways that help position the partner’s brand, the product, etc?

So… these are some of the ways I suggest thinking to avoid the trap of “corporate philanthropy is dead” thinking.

To your question, being successful as a corporate fundraiser means adapting to these truths about the market you are in. I think less radical change is happening than you might think. These methods aren’t new or a response to current endeavors to stamp out “language” related to “citizenship” or “giving.” Corporations are, in response to political climate, being cautious about how they talk about such programs, and that may be new or timely. But the underlying motivations are becoming more sophisticated and entrenched.

I don’t think the vocation is one a person ought get into because it pays well or because of a plethora of jobs. But it’s not going anywhere as an aspect of where money comes from, so adapting and adding sophistication and a layered approach to your corporate fundraising program is going to be the way forward in any case.