Cause Marketing

Entrepreneurs and the companies they lead are more inclined to give to charitable organizations, according to a recently released study by the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund.

No matter how trustworthy or respected your organization's brand is, nothing gets a donor's attention more than a referral from a friend, family member or peer. That's why having an active, engaging social-media presence is so vital.

It’s impossible to target personalized messages and relevant communications to your donors if you first don’t know who they really are. But “how do you find out who your donors are?” Austin asked. The answer is crucial for identifying affluent donors for major-gifts campaigns and planned-giving prospects, as well as unearthing the proper marketing messages, corporate relationships — “Corporations want to work with organizations that have an overlapping market,” Austin said — and more.

Corus Entertainment's Kids Can Press will donate a portion of its revenues from the North American sales of its upcoming David J. Smith book, "This Child, Every Child: A Book About the World's Children", to the children's charity ONEXONE Foundation, founded five years ago.

C-level executives Angel Aloma, Danny McGregor and Atul Tandon, along with moderator Tom Harrison, discussed the biggest issues concerning fundraisers at the DMA Nonprofit Federation New York Nonprofit Conference.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. raised $20 million for the Children's Miracle Network during a six-week campaign.

An effective sponsorship program can help a nonprofit organization quickly turn chaos, like our country’s current recession, into a creative opportunity for success. To do so, a nonprofit must be able to articulate and demonstrate how aligning the mission of its organization or cause-related effort with the dollars and brand of a corporate partner will generate awareness, increase revenue and drive loyalty for both parties in a jaded marketplace.

A recent report by the Johns Hopkins Listening Post Project, Nonprofits, Innovation, and Performance Measurement: Separating Fact From Fiction, reveals that there are widespread efforts in U.S. nonprofits to innovate. Driving that point home is the recent phenomenon of nonprofit restaurants.

I'm sure you've all seen the KFC commercials promoting the fast-food chain's pink buckets. (If you haven't, click here.) For every pink bucket KFC sells, 50 cents goes to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the Dallas-based breast cancer nonprofit. My first reaction to the commercial? "Help fight breast cancer, all while increasing heart disease!"

April 30, 2010, Press Release — Blackbaud continues its efforts to raise awareness in the local community as part of its ongoing philanthropy partnership with the Charleston Battery. This partnership incorporates a unique philanthropic theme to all home matches with a “nonprofit-of-the-match.” At soccer matches, the organization will be highlighted at halftime and will share its mission, raise awareness, and get the community involved.

On May 1, the Charleston Animal Society will be featured as the nonprofit-of-the-match. The Charleston Animal Society has sheltered over 150,000 animals over the last 100 years; they also perform surgeries, life saving procedures, and connect animals with new families seven days a week.  As nonprofit-of-the-match, the Charleston Animal Society will be on hand to help families “find their soul pet,” registering volunteers, and raising awareness. The organization will also have a “pet drive” where it will be accepting donations including new pet toys, pet food, and cleaning supplies.