How Strategic Holiday Partnerships Drive Community Impact Through Collaboration
Published on April 16, 2025, at 4:45 p.m.
by Reese Ham.
The holidays are a time for gathering, laughter, delicious treats and, most importantly, giving. The holiday seasons can be emotional, stressful and busy for everyone. Whether it’s buying gifts, cooking what feels like thousands of meals or planning elaborate parties, sometimes it is worth it to take a pause and really understand the meaning of the season.
Businesses do this extensively during the holiday season. Campaigns are launched to engage with the themes of the holidays such as the importance of togetherness, giving and sharing love. Holiday season is also a prime time for organizations to show consumers just how vital it is to give back to the community.
The significance of the holidays for nonprofits
Partnerships between businesses and nonprofits during the holiday season are not a novel thing. For example, from November to December in 2021, Macy’s launched its 14th annual letter-writing campaign in partnership with Make-A-Wish in order to raise money for children with critical illnesses, creating lasting change through its union with the nonprofit.
So why do these pairings pop up during the holiday season?
Valerie Victor, Second Harvest Food Bank’s community partnerships manager, emphasized how mutually beneficial the relationship between businesses and nonprofits can be during the season of giving.
Similarly, Katie Coppens, communications director of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, spoke about how the Foundation partnered with Bentley Automotive Group for a fundraising campaign stating, “It is a really great opportunity to validate each other. Their customers are seeing the good that they’re doing in supporting their hospital, and it gives us a little bit more leverage when we’re launching our campaign.”
As well as helping with the overarching campaign, the union between a nonprofit and a business not only helps on a monetary level but allows for a wider reach to different audiences. Lina Lloyd, director of resource development for Society for the Blind located in Sacramento, California, said, “These businesses help us amplify our message to audiences beyond our current circle of supporters. Their public support may be what compels someone to get on board and support us as well. Businesses are often helpful in recruitment of new donors and volunteers, too — both are critical for maintaining the mission of our organization.”
The reason behind these partnerships is twofold; both the business and nonprofit get more visibility during the holidays, and they are both contributing to something that is meaningful, important and creates an impact.
Importance of PR tactics in these campaigns
The holiday season is the peak time for charitable giving with many different companies vying for consumers’ attention. When the alliance between a business and a nonprofit forms, public relations and communication tactics must be used to gain visibility.
Pearce Barringer, media and communications manager for Second Harvest Food Bank who partners with Publix, stressed the importance of being prolific and intentional with messaging, such as playing ads over the speaker in grocery stores or through the radio. “I don’t think you can get in front of people too much. If somebody spends a quarter of a second interacting with a piece of your content, you are doing a good job,” said Barringer.
Lloyd relayed a similar sentiment about how the media is constantly looking for “feel good” stories and messages during the holidays. She also emphasized the importance of capitalizing on those media outlets in order to reach previously untapped audiences.
In reaching those audiences, Coppens illuminated how PR practitioners bring a different perspective and analysis to engaging with consumers in the most effective ways possible. While outlining one of her recent projects, she stated that the PR tools used — such as direct mail, e-mail and earned media — were vital in the success of her campaign.
Effective PR behind these holiday partnerships and campaigns is clear: Be abundant in messaging, and always be strategic.
The value in giving back
The impact that partnerships between businesses and nonprofits have is monumental. Barringer emphasized the positive impact that these holiday campaigns have for Second Harvest Food Bank. He noted that it is essential to receive donations during the holiday months, which allow Second Harvest to serve its community in the best way throughout the year.
The partnerships of these businesses only helps these nonprofits to continue serving their community to the fullest. “It’s mutually beneficial where the donors are getting tax benefits, but it’s truly helping and impacting an organization and the people that organization serves 365 days of the year,” said Coppens.
The holiday season curates the perfect time for joy and fellowship, but it also allows for reflection over the many ways the past year has brought countless blessings. This reflection engenders gratitude, which in turn, makes people want to pay it forward. Businesses partnering with nonprofits is not just to check a box — it’s to create lasting relationships, positively impact the community and generate change.
