I came across an infographic by the Bank of America and it gave me a few ideas on cause marketing to share with you today.

As you look over the infographic below, you’ll see that it only talks about what the Bank of America is doing to help fight hunger in America. I have no problem whatsoever with this approach! It appears they’re supporting a variety of unnamed charities and doing a bit of PR work for themselves by publishing this infographic.

That’s great.

My thoughts for those of you working for nonprofits are these:

• If you’re already in a cause marketing relationship with a business, see if they’ll pay for the creation of an infographic that promotes what the two of you are accomplishing together (i.e., both of your orgs). You help with the data, listing the benefits of their generosity, and other ideas for the infographic.

• Local and regional charities can reach out to area businesses to form a cause marketing relationship.

o Point out the many ways you’ll help promote their business and their role in your good work – social media, joint press release, on your website, in emails and other communications.

o Also explain how popular infographics are and how this can be another way to illustrate what the business is helping to do. People like to share infographics with their networks so it helps give the business more positive PR. And again, persuade the business to pay for the creative design and you help with the content of the infographic.

• Or simply use the infographic below as an idea generator for creating your own infographic on what donors are accomplishing.

o Remember to put donors in the spotlight and publish it with a multi-channel campaign.

o Done right (readable graphic that illustrates value, includes a call-to-action, and is marketed wisely) . . . you could not only raise awareness, but acquire more donors.

Oh, and don’t forget to look at the related links posts found below this infographic for more help on nonprofits using infographics.

Share by writing a comment below the ideas you got from the graphic. Or what tips can you share about cause marketing?

Related posts:

Infographics for Nonprofits … the Good; the Bad; the Ugly

How color impacts online donors (and the design of your infographic)

More ideas for nonprofits using infographics – Donor Cultivation and Natural Disasters

Here we come a-GivingTuesday among the holiday season;

Here we come a-searching for ways to fulfill our vision.

Love and joy come to you, and to you your giving too . . .

Just a fun take-off on the Christmas carol, “Here We Come A-Wassailing” that seemed to fit this topic.

Anyway, I hope you’ve been promoting Giving Tuesday which is on November 27th!

As the GivingTuesday.org site states: Thanksgiving is a day for giving thanks. And there’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday (they forgot to mention Free Shipping Day) for getting deals.

And this year some folks have banded together to launch #GivingTuesday. They’ve dubbed it the “giving season’s opening day.”

The concept is to encourage more people – charities, families, businesses, associations, and anyone under the sun – to give in other ways during the holidays. And to also expand how we think about the season.

Perhaps the only down side is the timing. By that I mean that Giving Tuesday follows four days (Friday – Monday) of people spending money and shopping for deals. So gently remind them to set aside money for charitable gift giving BEFORE spending the budget on gifts for family and friends as well as treats for their self. Or remind them to donate their Black Friday and other savings to charity.

The Giving Tuesday website has many ideas on how to participate. Ideas for big business. Ideas for families. Ideas for local businesses.

So tweet about it with the hashtag #GivingTuesday.

Share what you’re doing on the official Facebook page, Facebook.com/GivingTuesday

Get your donors, volunteers, and advocates fired up and taking action with you on this unique day.

There’s also a most helpful blog post on the site that lists fifteen (15) charities taking part in this initiative and how easy it is to give on Tuesday to each of their causes.

When all is said and done there are multitudes of ways in which kind-hearted souls can give to charity on Giving Tuesday. What is your nonprofit doing? What are you as an individual doing?

Meanwhile, my best to you all . . . and Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Americans!

It’s good business sense to team up with a retailer or other for-profit company to help your nonprofit cause.

Yup. Cause-marketing is alive and well. And it’s also a way to boost your year-end fundraising.

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A recent article in Retail Online Integration, “Pay it Forward,” shared results from the 2012 Edelman goodpurpose study which include:

• 47% of consumers have bought a brand at least monthly that supports a cause. (By the way, that’s a 47-percent increase from 2010.)

• 9% increase in the number of consumers who said they would switch brands if a similar brand supported a good cause

• 39% more consumers are saying they would recommend cause-related brands to friends.

What does that mean for your nonprofit?

If you’re tied to a brand, and more consumers are buying and promoting that brand because it’s tied to your cause . . . then you raise more money in at least two ways.

1 – Definitely raise more because you get some cut of each sale (depends on the deal you struck with the brand).

2 – More people know about your cause from the packaging, the ads run by the brand, consumers telling friends, etc. There’s an excellent chance you’ll acquire some new donors this way.

As the article points out to the retailers (target audience for the article), Facebook is a good place to promote cause marketing. And you’re on Facebook right? So are many retailers and other businesses of all sizes.

Oh, and in addition to Facebook, I recommend you add as many other channels as possible for promotion: YouTube, Twitter, online press releases (more than one), direct mail (perhaps post cards), maybe your area newspaper and media stations will run a story for you (or a PSA), email, signs in the retailer’s store, their ads and promos, and on it goes.

An idea for charities of ALL sizes

I believe even local and regional nonprofits could team up with smaller area retailers this way. It doesn’t have to be only the Macy’s, Kohl’s and IKea’s teaming up with large national and international charities.

Work together with smaller retailers and other businesses. Help each other come up with an idea for a promotion – especially as we close in fast on the holiday season. They’ll be receptive to ideas that help them boost sales. Just don’t go there begging and expecting them to do all the work. That’s no partnership. That’s not a team effort.

If you’re stuck for ideas, read the article in Retail Online Integration. And just because these examples are on a larger scale, doesn’t mean you can’t do something similar on a smaller scale. Brainstorm. Get creative. Be open to trying something new.

Act fast

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NOW is the time to team up with a for-profit company and get ready for the holiday season.

Just as year-end is when the most money is raised for charities . . . it’s also the most important time of the year for retail sales. And October 1st (the fourth quarter) is only two months away. That’s why I urge you to act now.

Very important tip: As you approach a for-profit company to team with you in cause-marketing, remember to point out the benefits to them. Don’t assume that just because you have the greatest cause in the world that the business will rush to partner with you.

You’ve got to raise enough money to cover expenses and support your mission. They need to raise money to keep their doors open, serve customers, cover expenses, and make a living. So spell out the opportunities for them. Apply the principle of reader-centric copy and put the business in the spotlight.

For example: Product reviews are important to retailers and businesses. Perhaps part of the promo is that for every product review written for a purchased item (advise consumers on where to post them) the consumer gets a coupon.

The “Pay it Forward” article also has a sidebar with a four-step checklist on how a business should choose a cause to support. Share that with businesses as part of your sales pitch. Be sure to credit the article where you found it. They’ll see you’ve done some homework and are striving to understand their perspective. That’s always appreciated.

The 2012 holiday shopping season is almost upon us. Act fast to team up with a business to boost revenue for them and your nonprofit during the fourth quarter of 2012. Cause-marketing, done correctly, is a win-win for everyone including consumers and donors. Happy Holidays!

More cause-marketing ideas found in these related posts:

Diverse help for charities

Charitable solution to unwanted stuff

Cause marketing: Restaurant company partners to help solve hunger

Sending out periodic online press releases is another effective way to acquire prospects, donors and members for your nonprofit.

Maybe you want to promote an upcoming event.

Or perhaps a major campaign warrants the added help of a press release.

Or you just signed a cause marketing agreement with a corporation.

Hey. Maybe a great story crossed your desk on how your nonprofit made a difference in someone’s life. So you use that story as a lead in your online press release and finish with info on how readers can help make it happen again.

Whatever the message, to get maximum benefit you need to follow a few guidelines. The one I’m going to focus on today is the headline.

Stand out in the crowd

Begin by crafting a headline that makes you stand out from the crowd. And it is a big crowd you’re in. Over 50,000 press releases hit the wire services each and every day. But don’t dismay. Most releases have dull headlines and dull body copy.

Although the nonprofit didn’t write this one, the example below still illustrates the point. And when you do have news about a new cause marketing partnership, perhaps you ought to try and influence the press release copy that the corporation distributes.

Or better yet, write one of your own with more pizzazz so it actually gets noticed … so it gets published by news services and bloggers … so it gets tweeted and talked about on Facebook … so it gets lots of exposure and your nonprofit gets lots of publicity.

Here is the headline and summary of the press release I found on PR Newswire:

US Airways Dividend Miles to Help “Keep America Beautiful” Through “Miles of Hope” Program

Airline Jumpstarts Partnership by Matching Mileage Donations

That’s not exactly exciting.

Just a bit of tweaking makes a big improvement. Here’s an alternate headline and summary I came up with:

Fly with US to Keep America Beautiful

National nonprofit – Keep America Beautiful – is able to send more of its volunteers to communities in need thanks to donated frequent flyer miles from US Airways.

The headline triggers a bit of curiosity. And it’s not burdened with self-serving organizational names and jargon.

Plus the summary explains the concept in a nutshell. So someone can quickly see if they like the idea and decide to help spread the good news by publishing your online press release.

Make it easy for journalists and other publishers. Give them something that stands out and will also attract their readers. After all, that’s what is most important to the publisher – satisfying their readers.

Getting published is your goal

Your primary goal with a press release centers on having it published in as many places as possible. And again, you increase the odds of this happening by writing something interesting.

The more it is published … the more prospects, donors and members will read the story about your nonprofit. More people will click through to your landing page and respond to your call-to-action. Therefore, tell a great story and start with a captivating headline.

Related posts:

Act Immediately to Shake Up Your Nonprofit Publicity

How to get your nonprofit on local TV news

A Press Release Without “News”

I came across three articles from the news worth sharing.  They’re all interesting and sometimes fun sources of revenue for charities.

1 – Hewlett-Packard (HP) has changed its corporate giving policy.

HP’s new policy means they’ll not only give money to charity, but also “…the expertise of its employees to build solutions for nonprofits.”  No doubt about the fact that receiving their expertise has considerable value!

One example cited (article by VentureBeat.com) was for the NGO “mothers2mothers” in South Africa.  By collecting and sharing data via basic mobile phones, they can serve more patients.  Ultimately this means they reduce the HIV-transmission rates from pregnant women to their child.

HP focuses on education and health.

Takeaway:  Is your mission related to education or health?  Does HP know about you?

2 – Get a drink, help a charity

“Since early December, Eldon’s Restaurant in Sioux City, Iowa has taken on a guest bartender every Thursday night.  That bartender chooses a charity and Eldon’s donates 20% of bar profit, and sets out tip jars, with that money going to the charity.” (KTIV.com news article)

Apparently it is standing room only and folks enjoy helping while they socialize, and the bartenders don’t have to be pros (e.g., radio hosts scheduled to be guest bartenders).  Oh, and it’s mostly up to the bartender to spread the word and draw in the people.

Takeaway: Is there a restaurant in your area that’s willing to get publicity, help a cause, and draw in more customers? 

3 – Springtime Sweethearts Charity Zip Wire Challenge

This particular event takes place in the UK in February.  The special event is organized by The Stroke Association and the Motor and Allied Trades Benevolent Fund.  Two charities encourage companies and individuals to form teams that raise money for the charities. 

Sounds like this zip wire (zip line) is fairly high up.  Challengers tackle the 250m (that’s 820 feet or about 0.16 miles long) zip wire off the Imperial War Museum North.  The biggest zip-line I’ve dared to try is only about 30 yards long and a few feet off the ground.  I’d definitely be a spectator at this event in the UK.

Takeaway:  Could you team up with another nonprofit (charity or association) and organize a fun event for people?  If you don’t like the idea of a zip-wire/zip-line, how about a go-cart race?  Or if your charity has anything at all to do with aviation (and many do), have a toy airplane flying contest.  Make them out of paper, balsa wood, or whatever you choose.

Consider every opportunity to raise funds.  Perhaps suggest ideas to businesses (e.g., bartender fundraising, contests on just about anything … including zip-line challenges).  And be on the lookout for surprises like the three examples I cited here today.  Perhaps you can join in.

There are many diverse ways for charities to get help: money, gifts-in-kind, plus expertise and services.  And they come in a wide variety of ways as today’s post illustrates.

UPDATE: Dec 14, 2010 (Idea #7 at end of post)

During this past week I’ve come across six examples of creative fundraising.  Perhaps a few may even fit the category of guerilla fundraising.  In any event these are six ideas worth sharing.

Below you’ll find a link to each news story and a synopsis of the article.  Your challenge is to remain open-minded about how you might do something similar. 

1 – Trivia contest will aid food charity: Several businesses in town are participating as food drop-off centers for a local pantry – the Shepherd Center.  People must come to the stores/businesses to collect answers to trivia questions.  When they have all 12 answers they mail in their entry form to the newspaper for a drawing – either a trip or a gift card at a grocery store.

Takeaway: You don’t have time to organize this for the holiday season, but could your food bank / pantry do something like this for another holiday?  Valentines Day, Easter, or Mother’s Day? 

Or could a museum team with the historical society to raise funds for a project?  Get businesses to fund the prize; people pay an entry fee; solve the puzzle and are eligible for the prize drawing.  Get creative!

2 – Morgan Stanley Smith Barney “Perspectives in Philanthropy Gift Catalog” :  “Many of our clients are looking for advice on how to make their giving more impactful and they are turning to us for advice,” said Melanie Schnoll-Begun, Managing Director of Philanthropic Services, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.  This company uses a gift catalog to showcase meaningful gifts and funding opportunities.  In includes a wide spectrum of 20 nonprofit organizations. 

Takeaway: Can your nonprofit get listed in next year’s catalog?  Or if you’re a small local or regional nonprofit, can you team with a financial planner locally to suggest your nonprofit as an investment option? There are several companies besides the one featured in this article. And don’t forget insurance agents because many of these companies also offer investment services.

3 – Concertgoers getting ticket to philanthropy: Musician Dave Matthews is testing an idea in Seattle in partnership with the website JustGive.  Matthews hopes it will inspire more charitable giving. 

“Matthews is letting fans direct the proceeds of two upcoming Seattle shows to the charities of their choice. Every ticket is matched with an equal donation to philanthropy.  For each ticket sold, the buyer will receive a credit back for the full $150 ticket and handling price to apply to any of the 1.5 million charities in JustGive’s database.”

Takeaway:  If not already, then become a member of JustGive.  And if you are a member, are you encouraging your donors in this geographic area to attend the concert?  Or encouraging donors to give someone else the gift of a concert ticket and a donation in their name to your charity?

4 – Philanthropy gives books to Africa’s students:  A fraternity at Iowa State University is giving students another way to get rid of old textbooks – about 80-90% of which end up sitting on a shelf or packed away somewhere.  Pages of Promise, a philanthropy of ACACIA fraternity partners with Books for Africa in St. Paul, Minn., to ship and distribute the books among the libraries and universities in Africa. 

It’s an alternative option for students to give their books to underfunded schools, universities and libraries in Africa to improve literacy.

Takeaway: Can your college, university, fraternity or sorority also partner with “Books for Africa?”  Or if your nonprofit works with the very poor overseas (including any form of education or literacy), could you team with a college or university somewhere to get more quality books for the people you help?  What do other schools in your area – elementary, middle and high school – do with their old textbooks?

5 – Intentional Chocolate™ Provides Sweet Relief to nonprofit, USA Cares:  This chocolate maker “… has partnered with USA Cares pledging a 20% donation of net profits to the military charitable organization serving post-9/11 service members, veterans and their families.”  Intentional Chocolate will donate 20% of net profits up to one million dollars. 

USA Cares helps veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) by relieving them of the financial burden of maintaining their households while they seek in-patient treatment.   One reason this partnership is so strong is that Jim Walsh, CEO of Intentional Chocolate knows how difficult TBI can be. At the age of 32, he suffered a traumatic brain injury.

Takeaway: What partnering opportunities can you find?  What CEO or business owner can you connect with by effectively sharing your story through speaking engagements, press releases, social media, grassroots supporters, and so on? 

Depending on your mission, it might make a lot of sense to ask people who have experiences similar to those you help to contact you. There may be some very unique ways they can help you – spokesperson or even matching gifts such as International Chocolate is doing.  Opportunities exist on local, regional, national and international levels for nonprofits of all sizes.

6 – Red Sox baseball and philanthropy: The Red Sox Foundation selects 25 economically disadvantaged fifth graders from public school each year. The students receive tutoring, mentoring, after school enrichment and summer camp assistance through the 12th grade, culminating with a $10,000 college scholarship.

Takeaway: Are you located anywhere near a professional sports team?  Do you know what charities they support?  As shown by this article they don’t all focus on national programs, but also look to their local community.  This is because their fans that buy tickets to live events are from the local area.   Consider assembling a press kit / marketing kit to share with them.  Yes it needs to be well written, but I doubt they’ll expect glossy 4-color brochures from a small local nonprofit.  Take the approach of helping their fan base.

For example:  Do you help underprivileged kids in any way?  Maybe you can get a batch of tickets donated so the youth can attend a game.  Great PR opportunity for you and the sports team.

That’s all for now!  Creative fundraising opportunities abound.  Just be open-minded and don’t hesitate to ASK.  And remember, you’re not always asking for a direct donation.  Nonetheless, the right partnership can lead to more donors and fundraising as you work together to spread the word.

UPDATE Dec 14, 2010 – Idea #7:  Today I found another possible source of funding for nonprofits.  I came across this resource on Twitter and haven’t heard anything about it one way or the other.  But it seems worth checking out.  “Credit Cares” is the name of the company founded by Heidi Anderson.  And Credit Cares is a Division of Electronic Commerce International (a registered ISO/MSP of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Walnut Creek, CA).

To quote what’s on the website: “Through her numerous volunteer experiences with many non-profit organizations Heidi developed a strong desire to make it easier for non-profits to raise money in a way that benefits everyone without costing anyone.  Heidi created Credit Cares so businesses could contribute to their favorite cause directly from the monthly processing fees they already pay without paying any additional fees and possibly even saving money.”

Last Friday I wrote a post with a similar theme: Get Your Nonprofit Ready for 2011.  Well, this post is inspired by an article today on MarketingWeb, “11 brand and marketing trends for ’11” by Dr. Robert Passikoff.

Donors are also consumers.  That’s why this article — and how I’ve adapted it for nonprofits — is relevant to your charity.  Because throughout their day donors receive considerable exposure to the for-profit world and its marketing.  But that doesn’t mean for-profit marketers are in full control of the scene anymore than you are of yours.

Power to the people.  Consumers and donors are driving the train most of the time. 

11 trends and how they relate to nonprofits

According to Dr. Passikoff, “… these 11 trends will have direct consequences to the success – or failure – of next year’s branding and marketing efforts.” 

1 – “Value is what the consumer donor says it is”

Give me a reason to donate.  Saying you have a need isn’t enough.  Give meaning to my action of giving.

2 – “Brand, meet value . . . “

The lines between brand and value are blurring.  Donors will brand your nonprofit based on what they believe you stand for.  And what they value is intertwined with your brand.

3 – “Zappos-ification”

This expression comes from Zappos shoes.    “… its brand equity lies primarily in the emotional driver of service – how it gets shoes to customers and accepts returns.”  What do donors really expect?  Is it great service?  Is it expecting friendly staff on the phone; staff that can answer their questions; and staff who are trained to guide donors to the next giving step?

4 – “Ethosnomics”

“Corporate social responsibility efforts will need to be believable, sustained, and engaging.  Some of the strongest will come from those brands that connect the public and the personal in today’s financially-strained world.” 

For-profit companies are under a lot of pressure too.  Choose your corporate partners (cause marketing) carefully.  And be ready to give what they need from you in order to satisfy their customers … your potential donors.

5 – “Differentiation can be emotional”

You must differentiate your organization from others with a similar mission.  For example: Are you absolutely positive all your donors remember that they gave to your charity serving disabled veterans as opposed to one of the several others with essentially the same mission?  I bet they don’t.

What emotional experience do you give donors?  How rewarding is their experience with you?  How is their experience with you different from the other charities like yours?

6 – “They’re talking to each other before talking to the brand”

Donors read about you online, in social networks, and in media you don’t directly influence.  Drive positive feedback about you to the web.  Get your loyal supporters to say why they’re loyal.  Make sharing of the information easy for them.

7 – “Friendtelligence”

Friends influencing friends will continue to increase.  If donors trust the community, they’ll extend trust to you.  I believe this will also impact the opportunity for more grassroots fundraising, the super volunteers, and Independent Fundraising Events.  Again, make it easy for your fans to raise money on your behalf. See my post, The New Super Heroes of Fundraising. 

8 – “Putting the brand into their hands”

“It’s increasingly handheld technology that facilitates transactions. Brands Nonprofits that make it hard to buy donate and engage on the small screen will suffer.”  Get mobile and cultivate with it, have mobile-friendly email, have pages of your website that are mobile-friendly, etc.  I show you how easy, affordable, and doable mobile is for even the small nonprofits in my guide, Mobile for Nonprofits – Connecting to Donors Through the Power of Mobile.

9 – “Prolifetition”

Competition for donor dollars will continue.  Competition from all the nonprofits asking for donations.  Competition from a struggling economy.  Competition from changing attitudes toward giving to charity.  Like it or not, as a nonprofit you have competition everywhere.

10 – “Exponential expectations”

“Every day consumers donors adopt and devour the latest technologies and innovations, and only hunger for more.  As app technology becomes more entrenched, brands nonprofits will be expected to deliver in that space.”  You’ll be expected to give them what they (donors) want in the way they want it.

You’ve seen the studies, seniors are wired.  Oh, not as much as those younger but if they want to communicate with their grandkids (and I believe they do), they’ll learn and adapt as much as they can.

Also, remember that Boomers are very comfortable working with the latest technology, as well as using more traditional media.  They’re your huge “young donor” pool of tommorrow and Boomers are definitely connected.

11 – “Engagement is not a fad”

Engagement is our world.  Period.  And you’ll need to be prepared to engage donors with up-to-date awareness models; with emerging technology; in creative ways that donors select and demand.

In addition to creating his own vocabulary, Dr. Passikoff hit the nail on the head over and over again. 

He ends by saying that although many of these trends require some change . . . change in how you measure, manage and market your nonprofit . . . if you ignore these nonprofit marketing trends for 2011 you just might lose your last chance to survive and help those who need you most.

Think selling ice cream is only for small-time fundraising events?  I found an example of creative fundraising that will “treat” the charity to a tasty amount of revenue.

Photo from Terence Ong via Wikimedia Commons

A Florida restaurant is hosting “Scoops for Success” to raise funds for the charity, Dress for Success.  The chef has two ice cream creations for the event, and all proceeds from these desserts will go to the charity.

This event ties in with National Ice Cream Month.  It’s fun, creative, and certainly seasonal.

Consumers and donors beat the heat with ice cream.  And at the same time help women in the neighborhood beat the odds by giving them resources to become employed.  Such a cooperative cause marketing effort also raises awareness for Dress for Success in addition to raising funds.

Last week I wrote a blog post on this very topic.  I pointed out that “… There are hundreds if not thousands of special observances [such as Nat'l Ice Cream Month] throughout the year that can provide ideas for you.  Get creative.  Have fun.”

I also emphasized how these observances can help you build stronger donor relationships.  Donor cultivation is important anytime of year.  Yet during the summer when you MAY not be as active with your fundraising, it’s an ideal way to keep your donors engaged. 

Click here for many more ideas on using special observances to further your cause.

Nancy Schwartz is the person who first made me aware of this less-than-ideal decision for a cause marketing partner.  Specifically the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® (Komen) nonprofit chose Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC).

I’m not criticizing KFC!  In fact I like their original recipe chicken.  However, I know fried foods like that can’t be eaten too often so I don’t.  But I digress.

This partnership has caused quite an uproar.  Some supporters are so upset they’ve started their own grassroots campaign to pressure Komen to sever its cause marketing partnership with KFC.  I am glad to say that no one has any gripes against KFC. 

Why are people so miffed at Komen?

As Schwartz says in her article: “At a quick glance, KFC’s Buckets for the Cure campaign (launched in early April 2010) seems harmless. For each pink bucket purchased by franchise operators, 50 cents goes to the Komen for the Cure campaign.  KFC’s goal is to make the single largest donation ever to Komen. What’s bad about supporting breast cancer research, education and advocacy?  … fried foods are known to contribute to obesity and other health problems, and obesity increases the risk of breast cancer.”

In other words, Komen’s health mission doesn’t align with fried foods. 

In my newsletter and in this blog I’ve written on how important it is to choose a company that compliments your mission whenever possible.  In my March 16th cause marketing blog post I gave this example: A nonprofit with an environmental mission might partner with a manufacturer of eco-friendly products.  

It’s true that an alliance where the corporate product or service compliments (or matches) the charity’s mission is the ideal scenario.  In reality, however, if you seek multiple partnerships there may not always be a “match.”  This is where other criteria come into play which I also discussed in my March 16th blog post.

Something else to consider . . .

Yup; a lot of folks are upset with Komen.  But let’s also remember that although not an ideal cause marketing partnership, there are a lot of everyday folks who aren’t as focused on harmonious corporate and nonprofit partnerships.  And when they wander in to a KFC restaurant every other month or so for their infrequent fried food meal, they’ll be happy to help a good cause by purchasing a pink bucket for their chicken.  Strangely enough, it just might increase their awareness of the cause.

And as a result of all this commotion it’s also possible that more businesses and corporations will hesitate to partner with charities for fear of how it might be perceived.  It’s not easy to foresee all the possible interpretations from the public.  Just another angle to think about before we turn our backs on Komen.

[Click here to read Nancy Schwartz’s article.  And here’s her Getting Attention blog post with several heated comments.]

On Tuesday I wrote a post on “cause marketing.”  My main point was that a successful nonprofit-corporate partnership requires you to share the right information to your donors and prospective donors.  No need for me to repeat the explanation again today.  I invite you to read the original post:  Cause Marketing survey says: Donors like this idea so much that 56% will support the nonprofit

In that post I also listed two factors to consider when choosing a corporate partner.  One factor advises you to select a corporation or company whose products or services compliment your mission.  For example I said that an environmental cause could team with a company that manufactures eco-friendly products.

Today I found a press release that gives another example of a partnership where the cause and the company’s products/services compliment each other.

Yum! Brands took the initiative and teamed with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and other hunger relief agencies.  Specifically the company’s World Hunger Relief effort raises awareness, volunteerism and funds for the organizations to help eliminate hunger.

No idea who Yum! Brands is?  This corporation is all about food and feeding people in their restaurants.  They represent Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Long John Silver’s and A&W Restaurants.  And now they’re helping to feed many more through cause marketing and their partnership with WFP.

In the words of Jonathan Blum, Senior Vice President, Yum! Brands, Inc. “As the world’s largest restaurant company, we believe it is our privilege and responsibility to help find a meaningful solution to this critical problem and leave the world a better place than we found it.”

What does World Food Programme think about all this?  “Partnering with WFP to fight global hunger is win-win,” said Nancy Roman, Director of WFP’s Public Policy, Communications and Private Partnership Division. “Yum! Brands has made an enormous contribution to the next generation by providing millions of school meals to hungry children worldwide.”

All in all, this partnership is going so well that Yum! Brands received an award for their initiative and all their contributions toward relieving hunger.  Read about their cause marketing partnership with WFP and their “Cause Related Campaign of the Year 2010″ award.