As with business partnerships, the board can help in a number of ways with securing donations, whether through corporate philanthropy, Foundation grants, or individual donations.

In the case of corporate philanthropy and Foundation grants, the nature of the board's possible involvement will be very similar to that outlined for business partnerships, except that the Business Case will become the philanthropic case, and that meetings and negotiations are relatively unusual  - most philanthropic organisations seek a written proposal as the starting point.

In the process of securing individual donations, the board's role may include:

The board's engagement in business partnerships will vary according to the professional infrastructure of the arts organisation.  If there is an experienced Development Officer, the board may restrict its review and critique-ing of material to the establishment and settling in of the post-holder.  If there is no Development Officer, and relatively inexperienced staff, the board may choose to become far more closely involved.

In each of the steps towards building partnerships with the business sector there is a role the board can play, individually or collectively: