NONPROFIT MARKETING EDIT

In 2018, Lacoste did something most brands would never do.

They surrendered the crocodile.

Every Lacoste shirt carries that little green crocodile on the chest. It is one of the most recognized logos in the world. And for a three-year partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Lacoste replaced that crocodile with ten different endangered species.

Then they did something even smarter.

For each species, they produced exactly as many polos as there were animals known to remain in the wild. The Iberian Lynx had 589 specimens left in the wild, so Lacoste produced 589 polos. The Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat had 115 specimens left, so they produced 115 polos. The Addax had 90 specimens left, so they produced 90 polos.

3,520 polos for 3,520 specimens.

They sold out in 24 hours.

The next year, Lacoste went further. For International Day for Biological Diversity, ten of their flagship stores in Paris, London, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Miami, Berlin, Shanghai, New York, Seoul, and online went "crocodile-free" for 24 hours. The crocodile was removed from every square foot of the store. Each store hosted one species. All profits went to IUCN's conservation work.

This is what a brand partnership can look like at its most ambitious.

But here is what I want every nonprofit leader reading this to understand.

The principles that made Lacoste and IUCN work do not require a luxury fashion house. They work at any scale. And there are partnerships happening in your city right now that could move your mission forward, if you know how to think about them.

WHAT MADE LACOSTE AND IUCN WORK

Five things, and none of them are about the size of the brand.

1. The brand gave up something precious. Lacoste did not slap an IUCN logo on a pamphlet. They gave up their most iconic asset, the crocodile itself, for a year. The cost to Lacoste was real. The signal to customers was unmistakable.

2. The specificity was unforgettable. "589 polos for 589 lynxes" is a number you remember. A statistic with a tangible product attached to it lands harder than a million-dollar donation announcement.

3. The scarcity created urgency. Selling out in 24 hours was the design, not the accident. When something is rare and meaningful, people show up.

4. The commitment was multi-year. Three years, with each wave building on the last. That is what made the second campaign stronger than the first.

5. The ecosystem partners showed up too. JCDecaux donated outdoor media. Metrobus and Branded Cities offered visibility. An artist donated music. The partnership was a system of partners, all rallying around the cause.

HOW NONPROFITS CAN PARTNER WITH FOR-PROFIT BRANDS

There are three things every nonprofit wants from a partnership.

Advocacy. Someone to amplify your voice in rooms you cannot reach.

Awareness. New audiences finding out you exist.

Funds. Money that supports the work.

Most partnerships I see in the nonprofit sector aim for one of these and miss the other two. The strongest partnerships are designed to deliver on all three, sometimes through the same activation.

Here are five partnership models that work at any scale.

1. LOCAL SMALL BUSINESS: PERCENTAGE-OF-SALES PARTNERSHIP

The simplest model. A local cafe, bookstore, florist, or restaurant donates a percentage of sales for a defined period to your organization.

What makes this work is a specific product or menu item, a clear time frame, and a story attached to the partnership. The bakery in your neighbourhood does not need to commit to "10% of all sales." They can commit to "$1 from every loaf of sourdough sold in November goes to our food bank."

What you offer the business: a visible cause connection, social content they can share, foot traffic from your community, and an authentic story they can tell their customers.

What you ask for: a defined donation, a window decal, a few social posts, and permission to feature them on your channels.

This model raises funds, builds awareness in their customer base, and gives both organizations something to talk about.

2. MAGAZINE OR PUBLICATION: EDITORIAL PARTNERSHIP

A local magazine, an industry publication, or a digital newsletter can be a powerful partner. They have audience. You have story.

What makes this work is offering them a feature-worthy angle. Something with characters, tension, and stakes. A real story their readers will care about.

What you offer the publication: exclusive access, original content, expert commentary, beautiful photography, and a topic their audience will actually engage with.

What you ask for: editorial space, ideally a donation of ad inventory, and a digital tie-in like a sponsored newsletter or social campaign.

This model is heavy on awareness and advocacy. The funds usually come later, through new donors who first heard about you in the piece.

3. SHOPPING MALL OR COMMERCIAL PROPERTY: ACTIVATION PARTNERSHIP

Malls, business improvement areas, and commercial property managers are constantly looking for foot traffic and meaningful programming. You can offer both.

What makes this work is a defined activation that fits the space. A pop-up, an art installation, a community storytelling project, an awareness moment that lands visually inside the environment.

What you offer the property: programming for their tenants, social content, community connection, and a story they can tell their stakeholders.

What you ask for: space, signage, marketing inclusion in their channels, and sometimes a financial contribution toward the charitable activation budget many of them already have.

This model leans heavily on awareness, with potential for donations on-site and follow-up advocacy.

4. EXISTING COMMUNITY EVENT: INTEGRATED PARTNERSHIP

Festivals, conferences, sports events, parades, and seasonal markets are already happening in your community. They have crowds, infrastructure, and budgets. You can become part of what is already drawing people in.

What makes this work is being useful to the event organizers. Show up with a clear ask, a turnkey activation, and a willingness to be visible without being intrusive.

What you offer the event: meaningful programming, social proof, charitable association, content they can use in their own marketing.

What you ask for: a booth, a stage spot, a featured moment in the program, and ideally a percentage of ticket sales or a designated donation moment.

This model can hit all three goals if designed well.

5. CO-CREATED PRODUCT OR CAMPAIGN

This is the Lacoste model, scaled down. You partner with a brand to create something neither of you could create alone. A limited-edition product. A co-branded campaign. A shared activation.

What makes this work is finding a brand whose values genuinely overlap with your mission, and proposing something specific.

What you offer the brand: authenticity, story, audience connection, association with a cause their customers care about, and content for their channels.

What you ask for: design collaboration, production at their cost, distribution through their network, and a defined share of proceeds.

This model delivers on all three goals. The trick is finding a brand whose audience actually overlaps with the people you want to reach.

HOW TO START

Pick one of these ideas.Pick one potential partner. And then do three things before you reach out.

Know what you are offering. Brands need things too. Story, content, foot traffic, authentic association with a cause, an excuse to talk to their customers about something that matters. Walk in knowing what is on the table from your side.

Be specific about the ask. "We would love to partner with you" gets nowhere. "We would love to feature your bakery as our community partner for November, with $1 from every loaf of sourdough going to our breakfast program, in exchange for window signage, three social posts, and a launch event on November 1" gets a meeting.

Plan for the long game. The Lacoste partnership was three years. The best small business partnership I have ever seen was renewed for seven. Start small, deliver well, and build the kind of relationship that grows.

The Lacoste crocodile became something bigger than a logo when it stepped aside for the species who needed the spotlight more.

Your organization has the same kind of opportunity, at a scale you can absolutely reach. The brand does not need to be global. The partnership does not need to be flashy. It just needs to be specific, generous, and built on something both sides care about.