Newsletter: Tractor Supply Cuts DEI, Details New Approach to Cause Marketing✂️; An Independence Day Lesson in Partnership Contracts 🧨; What Nonprofit Leaders Are Reading This Summer 📚
The American Revolution started over a broken contract, so discussing partnership contracts the day before Independence Day seems appropriate.
According to the Declaration of Independence, King George III broke the social contract between himself and his subjects, the American colonists. (Boy, punctuation and capitalization were off the rails in 1776!)
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
Contracts matter and should be upheld. They should be honored when they are made between a king and his subjects - and when they are made between a nonprofit and a company.
But what should be in a contract?
Ironically, a post from my friends at Remarkable Partnerships in Britain (ironic, right?😬) got me thinking about agreements and contracts.
They shared five recommendations for effective partnership agreements. I really liked their fourth point: Establish a dispute resolution mechanism. That's a great idea.
Their post reminded me that several years ago, cause marketing attorney extraordinaire Karen Wu of Perlman & Perlman fame 🤩 and I shared a detailed post on contracts that included a 15-point agreement checklist.
The very first item on the checklist is to outline a clear description of the promotion, including:
Name of the benefiting charitable organization and charitable purpose supported by the promotion
Participating goods/services
Dollar amount or percentage of the purchase price to be donated
Promotion period
Minimum guarantee or donation cap (if applicable)
Any additional requirements to trigger a donation (e.g., coupon redemption, submission of special code, etc.)
You can check out the other 14 points here.
When you sign a contract, both partners agree to do certain things. Reneging can lead to hard feelings, bickering, litigation, and maybe even....REVOLT!
King George should have thought twice. The "fireworks" he got for breaking his contract weren't festive, and he lost his colonies forever.
Let's make sure your contract is a cause for celebration.
👇 👇 👇
Fresh content!! 🎆 How to review a contract in ChatGPT. This comes straight from one of my favorite newsletters: Superhuman AI!
1. Go to ChatGPT and log in.
2. Upload your contract and ask ChatGPT to review it. (do not enter any sensitive data into ChatGPT)
3. Use the following prompt:
“Assume you are an expert lawyer. Review this contract. Summarize the key points and highlight any clauses that need attention.”
Note: ChatGPT is prone to errors and is not a substitute for professional legal services. In short, you should really follow up with Karen Wu!
✍️ Partnership Notes
1. This is an excellent example of newsjacking for a cause (aka "causejacking"). A group of businesses in my hometown used last Thursday's presidential debate to donate 10% of their “Debate Night” sales to a nonprofit.
2. Your next point-of-sale fundraising partner is on this list. This list is FREE with registration, which is just a few questions.
3. Four tips for closing a deal that has hit a wall. #2 is critical: "Sell based on your buyer's self-proclaimed reasons for their timeline — not your own interests."
4. Tractor Supply cuts DEI and describes its new approach to cause marketing.
🤑 Marketing Your Cause
1. I often talk about selling partnerships in stages: Awareness, Consideration, and Decision.
This article defines the CONSIDERATION stage and the five standout types of marketing content for this stage.
#4: Podcasts. A limited podcast series that interviews corporate partners would be a great idea!
😎 Cool Jobs in Cause
1. Corporate Giving Officer, National Military Family Association, Remote ($80k - $90k)
🧠🍌 Brain Food
1. What nonprofit leaders are reading this summer.🔒 (🔒 = This article is behind a paywall, but I can email it to you.)
2. TikTok influencers are maligning sunscreen with misinformation...and Gen Z is falling for it.
3. It's a good week to read this poem: There Are No Kings in America.
Thanks for reading this week! As always, let me know if you have any questions or if I can be helpful in any way.
