What We Learned From Visiting Our Rescue Partner Last Month (and What We'd Recommend for Anyone Starting a Cause Partnership)

Last month, two of us from the roastery drove out to spend a day at the rescue facility that we send a portion of our monthly profits to. We've been partnered with them for about a year now, and we hadn't visited the site since we set the partnership up. We were overdue.

This is what we learned, what we got right when we set the partnership up, what we'd do differently if we were starting from scratch, and the general notes for anyone thinking about a cause-based business.

Why we visited

The reason for the visit was simple: we'd been sending money and posting photos and tagging them on social media, but we hadn't actually been to the facility in over a year. The partnership had become transactional on our side, and we wanted to fix that.

A rescue partnership — or any cause partnership — works best when both sides actually know each other. We've been lucky that our partner is small enough that the person who answers our emails is the same person who feeds the animals, but we hadn't been to the site, and the gap was starting to show.

The visit took most of a day. We drove out, walked the facility, met the staff, met some of the animals, sat in on a morning feeding, and had lunch with the director. We came back with notes.

What we got right

A few things we'd done well when we set the partnership up:

• Started small. We didn't promise a fixed dollar amount from the start. We told them we'd commit 1% of monthly profits and revisit the number every quarter. They were okay with the open-ended commitment because they understood it could grow with us.
• Asked them what they needed. The first conversation was about what they actually needed, not what we wanted to give them. They told us monthly recurring support was more useful than a one-time donation because it let them plan.
• Set up a monthly call. We agreed on a 30-minute call once a month. The calls were loose — sometimes we'd talk about the partnership, sometimes about the animals, sometimes about nothing in particular. The point was to keep the relationship alive.
• Did the basic paperwork. They sent us their 501(c)(3) determination letter, and we kept a copy on file. We also asked them for a written confirmation of the contributions we made each quarter, so we could reconcile our numbers against theirs.

What we'd do differently

A few things we'd change:

• Visit more often. We waited too long between visits. The director pointed out that most cause partners visit once a year, and that's not enough. Quarterly is the right cadence.
• Bring the team. We brought two of us. We should have brought three. The packing lead specifically asked us to bring her next time, because she wanted to see the facility.
• Set up a recurring in-person touchpoint. We set up a monthly call, which is good for business updates, but we didn't set up a recurring in-person touchpoint. Quarterly visits are now in the schedule.
• Document the visit. We took photos and some notes, but we didn't write up a summary. We're going to do that on a quarterly basis going forward, and we're going to publish the summary on our site (with the rescue partner's approval) so customers can read what we saw.

What the rescue partner taught us

A few things the rescue partner taught us that we didn't expect:

• They don't love social media. They're not on Instagram. They're not on Facebook. They're not on TikTok. They have a basic website, and they use it to post adoptable animals and accept donations. Our social tags helped them less than we thought.
• They care more about recurring than one-time. A recurring monthly commitment lets them plan. A one-time large donation is harder to integrate into their budget.
• They have specific needs. They don't need our coffee. They need money for animal food, vet bills, and staff time. We were already giving them money, but our coffee shipments (which we'd tried to send as a thank-you) ended up in their staff break room. That's fine, but it wasn't what they needed.
• They have a longer memory than we do. The director remembers every partner who has ever sent them money. They have a mental list of who's reliable and who's not. We've been on the reliable list for a year, and that's earned over time.

What we'd recommend for anyone starting a cause partnership

If you're thinking about a cause partnership for your business, a few notes from what we learned:

• Start small. Don't promise a fixed percentage or amount at the start. Promise an open-ended commitment and revisit it quarterly. Most small nonprofits can work with that.
• Ask them what they need. Don't lead with what you want to give. Lead with what they need. The two might be the same, but it's better to ask.
• Set up a monthly touchpoint. A 30-minute call once a month is enough to keep the relationship alive. It doesn't need to be formal.
• Visit at least once a year. Quarterly is better. The visit is the most valuable thing you can do for the partnership.
• Be honest about the money. If you commit 1% of profits, that's 1% of profits — not 1% of revenue. Be clear about the difference.
• Document everything. Keep the 501(c)(3) letter on file. Keep the contribution confirmations on file. Reconcile your numbers against theirs once a quarter.

What's next for us

A few specific things we're going to do based on the visit:

• Quarterly visits. We're putting quarterly visits on the calendar. The next one is in three months.
• Bring more of the team. The packing lead, the customer email lead, and one of the part-time helpers are all going to come to the next visit. They asked.
• Write up a summary each visit. We'll publish a summary on our site (with the rescue partner's approval) so customers can read what we saw. We're starting that this quarter.
• Adjust the contribution. The director told us they're at the budget they need for the year. We're going to revisit in the spring.

We don't have a lot to add to this post in terms of what the rescue partner does or who they are. We have a page about our rescue partners on the site that lists the current partners and what they do. This one is about what we learned from the visit and what we'd recommend.

A note on the partner we didn't visit

We currently support two rescue partners. The one in this post is the first one we partnered with, and the one we visited last month. The second partner is a smaller organization that we started supporting more recently.

We haven't visited the second partner yet. We're planning to visit them in the next quarter — same protocol as the first visit, same notes, same team. The reason we're mentioning this is to be honest about the fact that the relationships are at different stages. The first partnership has a year of history and a quarterly cadence. The second partnership is younger, and we're still building the rhythm.

If you've ever wondered whether small businesses actually maintain these relationships or just send the money and post the photos, this is the kind of detail that should answer the question. We send the money, and we visit. The two parts of the partnership are not optional.

P.S. If you're running a small business and thinking about a cause partnership, the most useful thing you can do is start small, ask the partner what they need, and visit. The visit is the part most partnerships skip, and it's the part that matters most.

— Seraphina