Community engagement is no longer a side initiative; it’s a core business priority. Today’s companies within the gasoline marketing industry and beyond recognize that their long-term success is closely tied to the health and resilience of the communities they serve. And as more consumers demand authenticity and companies are expected to demonstrate their social responsibility, partnerships with nonprofits and community organizations are becoming even more ingrained in corporate strategies. Whether it’s through volunteer programs, local coalitions, or advocacy work, businesses are stepping up.
As a consultant with Roos Advisors and as owner and principal consultant of Zien Marketing, Deb Hanson works closely with nonprofits to help corporations build meaningful, values-driven partnerships. Over the past decade, she’s seen a profound shift in how companies approach community partnerships. What was once viewed primarily as charitable giving has matured into a strategic, values-driven collaboration.
“Today, corporations are aligning with nonprofits not just to ‘give back,’ but to co-create solutions that address systemic challenges – whether it’s youth development, health equity, or economic mobility – while also encouraging employees to come together for a cause,” Hanson says.
At Roos Advisors, Hanson has helped organizations evolve from transactional sponsorships to transformational partnerships. These relationships are now deeply embedded in corporate culture, often tied to ESG goals and employee engagement strategies.
“For example, working with organizations like RYTMO.org, which empowers disadvantaged youth through music and mentorship, allows companies to invest in future talent pipelines while making a tangible difference in underserved communities,” Hanson says. She’s also seen this firsthand through her involvement with ACS.org’s Road to Recovery program, where volunteer drivers help cancer patients get to treatment appointments.
Jasmine Bloemhof, founder of Jasmine Bloemhof Brands is a media visibility strategist. Over the years, she’s worked extensively with both for-profit brands and nonprofits – helping each tell their stories, build strategic partnerships, and amplify impact. Her husband works in the oil and gas industry out of the Ports of Los Angeles, which has given her a close-up view of how corporate operations intersect with local communities.
Over the last decade Bloemhof has seen company and community partnerships moving from being occasional charitable gestures to core strategic elements. What once was limited to donation or sponsorship is now more collaborative: companies are teaming up with nonprofits to co-create programs, engage the public, and solve systemic problems that affect their operations and reputation.
“More companies are recognizing that community partnerships deliver long-term value. They inform brand trust, influence customer loyalty, and even help with recruitment,” Bloemhof says. “In industries like oil and gas – especially when operations affect local communities – companies are seeing that investing in genuine relationships pays off.”
Helen Roldan, senior director, public affair at Ingage Biz says it’s become more expected for both large corporations and “Mom & Pop” small businesses to have some sort of ethical awareness and community minded goals. Roldan frequently advises companies from all industries on the best community partners to collaborate with to help with their corporate social responsibility (CSR) goals, public image, and overall company impact. She has experience bridging nonprofits and partners to causes with for-profit institutions.
“Many companies are making genuine progress, but for some, community relations still feels like an afterthought rather than a core business strategy,” Roldan says. “In this economy, it’s also easier for some companies to thrive in the environment. Others may be impacted by policy issues such as tariffs, and the last thing they are able to focus on is a community initiative when they have to consider their bottom line.”
Community partnerships are crucial for fostering trust, relevance, and a shared purpose.
“They allow companies to listen, learn, and respond to real needs – not just perceived ones,” Hanson says. “These collaborations foster innovation, strengthen brand loyalty, and create meaningful opportunities for employees to engage beyond the workplace.”
For nonprofits, the benefits are equally potent: access to resources, expanded reach, and the ability to scale impact.
“Partnerships allow companies to understand the needs, values, and concerns of local stakeholders,” Bloemhof says. “They help align operations with social expectations and reduce friction or conflict. For nonprofits and community organizations, they offer access to resources, visibility, and sometimes infrastructure that might otherwise be out of reach.”
Janetta Cravens, founder and CEO of CoSpire Consulting, says community partnerships work best when companies think in terms of giving more than they take. That doesn’t mean charity for its own sake – it means recognizing that thriving businesses depend on thriving communities.
“When companies approach partnerships as a way to leave communities better than they found them, trust grows on both sides,” Cravens says. “The most successful partnerships aren’t one-off sponsorships or PR campaigns; they’re multi-year commitments built on trust and mutual respect. Community change takes time, and people notice when a company shows up consistently, not just when it’s convenient or when there is a crisis.”
Cravens says it’s also important to understand that nonprofits don’t typically have R&D budgets, marketing teams, or market research departments. What they do bring is deep community knowledge, trusted relationships, and the ability to mobilize people.
“When companies pair their resources and analytical capacity with a nonprofit’s on-the-ground insight, that’s when real change happens,” Cravens says. “In many cases, those relationships and the credibility nonprofits bring to the table are worth more than metrics alone.”
Ethical marketing expert Shel Horowitz also sees that more businesses are beginning to understand more deeply how a partnership with the right charity can open many doors, win over new customers, retain existing customers and employees, and leverage their impact.
“I think until about 20 years ago, many companies saw charity as something that they needed to do but hadn't grasped the benefits to them,” Horowitz says. “The right partnership enhances the brand, helps to provide and demonstrate purpose, opens new markets, creates opportunities for media coverage, and, of course, makes the world better.”
At the root of it the significance of establishing community partnerships is better business outcomes. If the bottom line isn’t being improved, then Roldan says she can understand a CEO or president of a company not wanting to fund a community partnership. But the reality is, community partnerships build trust.
“They show that a company isn’t operating in a vacuum and that it values the people and places connected to its success” Roldan says. “When done right, these partnerships strengthen a company’s credibility and can even shape better business outcomes – whether it's through a better product due to honest feedback from the community, more customers, or greater understanding from the public when challenges arise.”
When establishing a strong partnership between a company and community organization or initiative, it should begin with mutual respect and shared values. It should be built on transparency, clear expectations, and a commitment to long-term impact.
“Companies must be willing to listen and learn from community voices, while nonprofits should feel empowered to co-lead and walk alongside in the partnership,” Hanson says.
“I’ll tell you what community partnerships shouldn’t look like. They shouldn’t be a ‘greenwashing’ type of situation – where the company is making it seem like they care about an issue, when in reality they are doing little to address it internally. A solid partnership should be authentic, transparent, and mutually beneficial,” Roldan says. “The community partner should have a real voice in the work, not just a logo on a press release. That might mean providing funding and volunteering, or sharing decision-making power on how resources are used. It’s also important to show measurable results like what changed because of the partnership, and who actually benefited.”
In a previous company where Roldan worked, they held an event that was zero-waste. “We brought in partners that held us accountable, even when it was uncomfortable for us as a company,” Roldan says. “When they realized one of our vendors was giving out plastic bottles when we had told them they were not allowed, we had to pull that vendor out and make sure they were complying. In the end, we made sure that we stuck true to our promise to that nonprofit and incorporated them in all aspects of our event.”
A solid partnership between a community organization and a business should be mutually beneficial. Both the company and the community organization should be clear about their goals and work together to create a meaningful impact. It’s not just about a one-off donation or a token gesture. Successful partnerships are collaborative, long-term, and based on shared values.
Cravens shares some key steps that companies can take when establishing community partnerships:
Start with listening: Spend time learning what the community actually needs, meet with leaders, and make sure nonprofit leaders and community representatives are included in the conversations.
Commit long-term: View community impact as a multi-year venture, not a single event. Be prepared to fund three, five, or 10-year initiatives that may take time before outcomes and objectives are met.
Share strengths: Businesses can contribute resources, data, and visibility; nonprofits bring trust and access to stakeholders.
Be transparent: Set clear expectations and communicate openly about what success will look like for both sides.
Measure impact together: Develop goals jointly with nonprofit partners, balancing hard metrics with the less tangible but equally valuable outcomes like trust and engagement.
Have patience: Community initiatives take time. And then they take more time. It's not another company you're working with – it’s people.
As we’ve seen, many companies now treat community partnerships as essential to their operations, understanding that a company thrives only when the local ecosystems supporting it also thrive. Effective partnerships focus on shared goals and transparent communication, not just financial support; aligning resources and expertise to solve specific problems creates durable mutual benefits.
So, the best way for a company to partner with any group is to know what you have in common and how your message can be amplified by their situation. What is your mission and who also has a similar mission or goal? Lean in and find commonality. More can be achieved with shared resources.
In the past, partnerships between companies and community organizations may have been a bit “fake” or manufactured, but now they’re becoming genuine drivers of connection and loyalty. Looking ahead, experts agree that community partnerships will become a core part of business growth strategy. With how the economy’s shifting and technology advancing, people expect businesses to do more than just sell – they expect them to contribute.
In the future, Hanson believes we will see more cross-sector alliances between corporations, nonprofits, government agencies, and academic institutions– working together to tackle complex issues such as climate resilience, mental health, and workforce development.
“Technology will play a role, but the heart of these partnerships will remain human,” Hanson says. “As companies continue to embrace their role as community stewards, I believe we’ll see a new era of corporate citizenship and impact on the communities they serve.”
Bloemhof stressed that more companies will embed community partnerships into their strategy: not just marketing or CSR, but into product development, supply chain, and governance.
She expects partnerships will be more localized and responsive – especially as communities assert their power and expect more accountability.
“Technology and data will help both corporations and nonprofits measure impact more precisely and spot opportunities to amplify real community signals versus noise or superficial ‘visibility,’” Bloemhof says.
Roldan also believes the business community will continue to see a shift toward more intentional, mission-aligned partnerships.
“Companies are realizing that surface-level engagement doesn’t build long-term trust,” Roldan says. “Younger consumers and employees expect transparency and consistency, not performative gestures – they will be quick to call these out on social media and with how they spend their dollars. The future of community partnerships will be rooted in accountability.”
