The Framework for Brand Partnerships That Last

Partnerships don’t start with the brand. They start with the humans reading your emails, making the case internally, and tying this partnership to their own career growth. If you don’t see them, respect them, and support them, the commitment won’t hold up.

This is one of my core work beliefs. Write it down. Tattoo it if you must. Because a brand can’t cut you a check without an actual person convincing someone else in the building to approve it. That person is your partner long before the contract is signed. And if you get this right, you don’t just earn the check, you’ll earn a relationship that can outlast their time at that company.

That’s exactly what happened with PERIOD. and OUAI. From the very first call, I wasn’t pitching a beauty brand. I was connecting with the women on their team. I wanted to know what they were excited about at work, what their goals looked like this year, and how they thought impact could show up inside their company. Those conversations shaped everything that came after, from the deck I presented to the engagement plan we built.

Once you understand the people, you stop asking for a donation in the abstract and start building something they can champion.

And when they can champion it, they’ll keep it alive through budget reviews, leadership changes, and even career moves. That’s why OUAI didn’t just write a check. They supported our youth programs, packed products with us, joined our corporate advisory board, and partnered with us on Period Action Day.

When I first connected with the team at OUAI, I wasn’t thinking, “Wow, big beauty brand, let’s go!” I was thinking, “Do these people actually get it? Can they explain to their CMO why period poverty is a cause worth supporting?” If the answer is no, the partnership stalls before it starts.

And I tested that on our first call. I didn’t launch straight into a deck about PERIOD. I asked about them. What they were excited about inside OUAI, what their goals looked like this year, and where they felt impact could fit. That gave me the blueprint. By the time I shared our deck, it wasn’t “here’s a list of nonprofit asks,” it was “here’s how what we do ties directly to the wins you already care about.”

That’s a huge difference. It meant when they pitched internally, they weren’t saying, “This is Candice’s thing or this is PERIOD’s thing.” They were saying, “This is our thing.”

Because they cared, they asked thoughtful questions about visibility, audience impact, and employee engagement. They brought in other teams so the partnership felt connected across the organization and returned with ideas that built on our conversations. They wanted to get the language right when sharing with their community and thinking thorough what next year might look like.

💡 Ask for a meeting with other team members before you finalize your deck: Who are the other stakeholders? What do they care about? What do they need? Getting those answers early can expand your scope and sharpen your ask while scoping a longer term partnership.

This is where nonprofits get it wrong. Partners aren’t waiting to plan your gala or co-write your annual report. A brand’s team already has a full plate. A Partnership Director’s job is to design engagement that feels meaningful without overwhelming the client or stretching their team beyond capacity.

I don’t throw spaghetti at the wall and say, “Here’s a bunch of things you could fund.” I map what we could realistically deliver and what would feel meaningful for the client as a brand. That overlap is where the best partnerships live.

In this specific case, I started with our bandwidth. What events and campaigns were already happening no matter what? Period Action Day. Packing parties. Advisory board meetings. Those are baked into our calendar, which means they’re easy for us to scale without reinventing the wheel.

Then I looked at their goals. They cared about doing good in their community first and foremost which is amazing to come across but, we still had to think about their brand. Things like visibility, employee pride, and ways to connect with Gen Z authentically. 

Finally, I layered in our system of accountability. That’s where the monthly check-ins come in. Because you can’t drop a partner into a big splashy moment and then disappear. You need a rhythm that keeps the relationship alive.

That’s how we landed on the four touch points: one big tentpole, one employee engagement lever, one advisory seat, and one steady rhythm of proof. Enough to keep them invested. Not so much that they ghost us. And not so much that our team spent more time managing the partnership than serving our community.

This balance went straight into the deck. I literally had a section that laid out engagement opportunities by level of effort for both OUAI and for us. It was a simple matrix: low lift, medium lift, high lift. I used it to show that we weren’t asking for everything at once, we were showing a plan that made sense for both sides. That’s what builds trust. It says, “Here’s what we can do, here’s what we won’t do, and here’s why.”

💡 Map the overlap. The sweet spot is where your existing strengths meet the partner’s actual goals. Don’t build from scratch, pitch to impress.

We showed up at their virtual all-hands and later went to their office in LA for in-person service events with their employees. They packed period supplies, learned about our organization and the real impact we make, and we had fun together. It felt like a party, not a transaction. Employees didn’t leave thinking, “Our brand wrote a check.” They left thinking, “I personally helped fight period poverty and I want to keep this going.” That feeling sticks far longer than any one check could. 

We also set a rhythm. Every month we meet for 30 minutes, and I treat it like a standing coffee catch-up, not a dry status update. I come with receipts: how many products were distributed, what new stories came out of the field, and what their support made possible. I also share what’s happening across our service work and programs, the fun moments as well as the serious ones, so they see the full picture.

And I always close with one clear ask. Not five. Not “let me know your thoughts.” Just one concrete thing they can say yes or no to. That keeps me consistent and valuable without crossing into annoying. They never wonder why we’re meeting, and I never wonder if they’re walking away confused.

💡 The power of one ask. Ending every check-in with a single, specific request creates clarity and builds trust. 

We added OUAI to our Corporate Advisory Board. I’ve found that when you give people ownership, you get their loyalty. Partners don’t just fund our work. They shape it.

They bring insights from beauty, retail, and culture that help us think differently as a nonprofit. They ask questions we wouldn’t have thought to ask. And in return, they feel proud to say, “We helped build that.”

Advisory seats turn sponsors into investors. And when budget cuts hit (because they always do), you want someone in that room fighting to keep you on the list.

But an advisory board is not a silver bullet.

The pros:

The cons:

The key is structure. Ours is light but intentional: one strategic question per quarter, one co-build tied to a business moment each year, and clear boundaries on governance versus guidance.

I’ll save my full playbook for “what makes a good board” for another newsletter, because it deserves its own breakdown. But here’s the short version: if you don’t design the board with care, it will eat your time and deliver nothing. If you do it right, it becomes one of the most valuable loyalty tools you have.

💡 If they help shape it, they’ll help protect it. Always give your partners some skin in the game.

People change jobs. The woman who championed your nonprofit at Brand X might be at Brand Y in six months.

I make it a point to care about my partners’ careers. I want to know what they’re proud of, what they’re pushing for inside their company, and how this partnership can help them hit those internal wins. Because when they shine, we shine.

I’m not trying to flatter them. I just look for those threads of alignment. If they’re working on a promotion or leading a new initiative, I want our partnership to help them tell that story. If they’re trying to prove to leadership that social impact isn’t just a nice-to-have, I want to give them receipts that make their case stronger. Partnerships aren’t just nonprofit outcomes. They’re career outcomes too.

And if they leave I don’t lose the relationship. I gain a friend who now has influence somewhere else. I’ve seen this play out. Someone leaves a brand, calls me months later, and says, “I’m at a new place and I think we can do something even bigger here.” That’s the kind of call you want.

That only happens if you’ve built trust with the person, not just the company. That’s why I focus on the humans across the table as much as the logo on the deck. That’s my ultimate marker of success.

💡 Partners aren’t just gatekeepers. They’re people building careers. If your partnership helps them win inside their company, they’ll take you with them wherever they go.

OUAI didn’t become an amazing partner because of a flashy pitch. They became a great partner because a group of women inside that company cared, I respected their bandwidth, and we built a system of engagement that worked for everyone.

The real test of a partnership is if it still makes sense a year later? With OUAI, the answer is yes because the relationship is layered. We’ve created moments that mattered for them, shared receipts that proved impact, and built trust at the human level. That’s the kind of foundation that can grow in year two, year three, and beyond.

Other nonprofits will tell you to chase brands. I’m telling you to chase people. A brand won’t spending time wondering how to make this work. Brands don’t email you back. People do. And people are the ones who carry you into the next company, the next boardroom, and the next opportunity.

That’s how you build partnerships that last.