70% of Brands Say Charity and Non-Profit Tie-Ups Improve the Business
Seven in ten brands say partnerships with non-profits and charities change their business for the better, according to research reported by Marketing Week in mid-September 2026 — a sign that purpose partnerships are maturing from PR gestures into strategic tools.
The headline finding
Seventy percent of brands report that tie-ups with non-profit organisations change their business for the better, according to new research reported by Marketing Week. The figure suggests that charity partnerships, long dismissed by sceptics as cause-washing, are increasingly delivering tangible internal and commercial value.
That framing matters. The most durable purpose partnerships are not the ones that generate a feel-good press release; they are the ones that change how a business behaves — its supply chain, its culture, its product decisions — and earn credibility as a result.
Why partnerships beat performative purpose
The past decade taught marketers a hard lesson about purpose: audiences punish brands that talk about values they do not live. A genuine partnership with a non-profit is harder to fake than a slogan, because it involves scrutiny, shared accountability and real activity that either happens or does not.
That is precisely why partnerships can 'change the business for the better'. Working alongside an organisation with genuine expertise forces a brand to move beyond messaging into action — and it is the action, not the advertising, that builds lasting trust.
The internal dividend
One of the underrated benefits is cultural. Meaningful cause partnerships give employees something to be proud of and rally behind, which supports recruitment, retention and engagement at a time when talent is hard to keep. In many businesses, the first audience for a purpose partnership is the workforce, not the public.
There is a commercial logic too. Customers increasingly factor a brand's behaviour into their choices, and a credible partnership can be a genuine differentiator in crowded categories — provided it is relevant to the brand and consistently supported rather than switched on for a campaign burst.
How to make it work
The brands that get the most from non-profit partnerships treat them as long-term commitments aligned to their business, not one-off donations. Choose a cause with a natural connection to what you do, give the partnership real resource, and measure it honestly against both social and business outcomes.
Our advice: start from what your business can uniquely offer a cause, not just what a cause can do for your image. The partnerships that endure are reciprocal, specific and woven into how the company operates — and those are the ones that show up in the numbers.
Quick FAQ
What did the research find about non-profit partnerships?
Seventy percent of brands say partnerships with non-profits change their business for the better, according to research reported by Marketing Week in mid-September 2026.
Why do partnerships outperform 'performative' purpose?
A genuine partnership involves scrutiny, shared accountability and real activity that is hard to fake, so it builds trust that a slogan or one-off campaign cannot.
How can brands maximise the value?
Choose a cause with a natural connection to the business, commit long-term with real resource, and measure honestly against both social and commercial outcomes.
The purpose era's hard lesson was that audiences punish brands that preach values they don't live. A real non-profit partnership is harder to fake than a slogan because it demands action, not just messaging — and it's the action that earns trust. Start from what your business can uniquely give a cause, and the commercial return tends to follow. — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
The takeaway: purpose partnerships deliver when they change how a business behaves, not just what it says — pick a cause connected to your business, commit long-term with real resource, and measure honestly.
Is your brand's social commitment woven into how you actually operate — or switched on for a campaign and quietly forgotten?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: Marketing Week.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
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