Trusted, purpose-driven partnerships between companies and nonprofits are more important than ever. Many leading Canadian companies are already experimenting with innovative approaches, but these efforts often remain siloed without shared guidance across the sector. The PRISM Practices address this gap.

This whitepaper introduces the PRISM Practices framework. Drawing on Imagine Canada’s Bridging Perspectives study — which surveyed nonprofit leaders on their experiences with corporate partnerships — and pilot testing with 11 companies across multiple sectors, the PRISM Practices provide a common language and structured approach for continuously improving community investment strategies.

“This has been very, very useful for us. And there's definitely things that we can do better, and things that we can do differently...So this process has helped us sharpen our own practices." – PRISM Practices Pilot Company

Developed in close consultation with nonprofits and corporate leaders, the PRISM Practices help companies go beyond recognition of dollars spent to improve how they plan, implement, and evaluate nonprofit partnerships and community investment efforts.

How can companies ensure their community investment efforts are effective, strategic, and trusted? The PRISM Practices is a field-tested, nonprofit-informed framework to help companies achieve sustained impact more strategically and equitably. 

The framework is structured around four practice areas that matter:

• Strategy: Align community priorities with business goals and ESG strategies.
• Partnership & Collaboration: Build reciprocal, trust-based nonprofit relationships.
• Truth and Reconciliation: Foster respectful, ongoing engagement with Indigenous communities.
• Measurement & Reporting: Track outcomes in ways that fit partner capacity.

Practical and flexible

The framework is grounded in five core principles: being community-centered, trust-based, business-integrated, reflective, and adaptable.

It is not a checklist but a learning and reflection tool designed for deep engagement. Depending on organizational goals and maturity, companies can use the framework in multiple ways:

• Self-Assessment Tool → Identify strengths, gaps, and priorities to build your business case for enhanced community investment
• Strategic Roadmap → Guide strategy refreshes or implementation planning that aligns community impact with business objectives
• Conversation Starter → Facilitate discussions across corporate social purpose, ESG, human resources, and leadership teams to secure internal buy-in

Whether you focus on a single area, like improving reporting practices to strengthen ESG integration, or use the full framework for broader transformation, the PRISM Practices provide the credibility and structure needed to elevate community investment strategies.

To put the framework into action, companies can also use the Gap Analysis Tool — a self-assessment designed to show how their community investment efforts align with best practices.

Together, PRISM Practices and the Gap Analysis Tool give organizations the confidence and credibility to plan, partner, and measure their impact with purpose.

This self-assessment is designed to help your company understand how your corporate community investment efforts align with current best practices. It is not a compliance check list, but a tool for learning, planning, and growth. 

We’ll be releasing the Gap Analysis Tool in the coming weeks – email prism@imaginecanada.ca to be notified.

This project was made possible through support from our core national partners, ongoing contributions from companies in the PRISM Network, and in part by RBC Foundation, whose continued investment in initiatives like these strengthens shared learning and dialogue across the social impact sector.

We thank the many nonprofit and corporate leaders, consultants, and pilot companies whose expertise and feedback shaped this framework.