Newsletter: Beauty Brand Explains How to Do Cause Marketing Right💄; A&W, Veterans Org Raise funds on Root Beer Float Day🍺 ; Chick-fil-A Takes Page from Nonprofits, Recruits Volunteers 🐓
I wanted to share a couple the answers I got to the two questions I posed to readers last week.
🙋♂️The first question was on whether having a media partner attracts corporate partners. (Read the original question and my response.) The overall response was mixed. Some readers believed having a media partner helped recruitment, others didn't.
On the nay side, one reader wrote:
"While I think it is great to have a media partner for the exposure, it doesn't necessarily mean you can leverage it to attract corporate partners. As you suggested, Joe, we had a media partner that brought a corporate partner to us, and we've been able to retain both those relationships after the campaign ended...I have also experienced media companies wanting to create a program with nonprofits with the intention of selling those packages to their advertisers with no donation component for their nonprofit partners."
However, a strong believer that having a media partners helps attract corporate partners was none other than Bruce "Father of Cause Marketing" Burtch! 🫢
Bruce wrote:
"One of the primary goals of for-profit partner is to create community awareness of their participation in the partnership. Yes, they want to do good for their community, they want to motivate their employees, and they want to sell their products. But they really want their marketplace to know about what they're doing.
In nearly all cases, I have approached a major media source as a partner at the very beginning of developing a cause marketing partnership. My rationale is simple: by securing a major media source as a partner, you can, in nearly all cases, guarantee that your corporate partner will receive significant media coverage. Once that goal is achieved, I leverage that relationship when approaching the for-profit/corporate partners and tell them that XYZ media source has already signed up. This approach can be very effective in attracting corporate partners."
↨ Bottom-line: Sometimes having a media partner attracts corporate partners, sometimes it doesn't. You don't really know until you present the opportunity to a corporate partner so you should work with your media partner to maximize the benefits you can offer.
🙋🏻The second question asked for unique ways to leverage a new automobile from an auto partner. (Read the original question.)
One reader wrote...
"Our nonprofit gets vans donated for our back-to-school programs. Bridgestone, Toyota and Hertz have all done it with us. The donation includes the van as well as gas and maintenance. The vans are also full of supplies for youth - school supplies, clothing, etc."
💭 Thought: Whenever you get a car donation, consider how you might leverage it to accomplish another goal. For example, park the car outside your building and encourage the community to fill it up with money or supplies!
Another reader wrote...
"A dealership offered us two popular vehicles so we parked them at our gala and two donors bought them by giving us tax-deductible gifts. It was a much better arrangement because we never actually took possession of the cars. We collected the cash and the dealership worked directly with the donors on delivery.”
💭 Thought: Interesting! But is that even legal?? 😂 Still, there is a lesson here. Make sure you have a plan for using the vehicle before you ask for one! A gala where lots of money is being thrown around is a good place for a car donation - especially if it's a car that everyone wants (e.g. Tesla, Ford's new electric truck the F-150 Lightening, etc.)
💭 Final Thought: This article summarizes some of the other things you can do with a car donation. (Thanks to reader Ashley Byars at For Momentum for sending this over!)
Turn the donation into a contest.
Ask the dealership to include accessories or to add a cash gift.
Ask for an exterior wrap that showcases your organization.
Ask them to donate it to Selfish Giving because my kids are always using my car and I could really use another ride!
The possibilities are endless! 🏎 🏁
✍️ Partnership Notes
1. 💉 = 👞
2. A&W partners with Disabled American Veterans to raise funds on Root Beer Float Day.🍺
3. Beauty brand L’Occitane explains how to do cause marketing right. My favorite tip: Don't treat your partner like a charity.
🤑 Marketing Your Cause
1. Your content is as boring AF. Some good tips here on how to improve it.
2. Graph📉: Why a company will choose to partner with your organization over another. Note the importance of quality content. How's that going for you?
😎 Cool Jobs in Cause
1. Assistant Director, Corporate Sponsorships, Boston College, Newton, MA ($65k -$82k)
2. Corporate Partnerships Director, City Year, Boston, MA ($82k - $98k)
3. Director of Partnership Communications, Meals on Wheels America, Arlington, VA ($75k - $85k)
4. Director of Development, Corporate Partnership, CARE, Atlanta
5. Director, Development Cause Marketing, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Remote ($85k - $110k)
🧠🍌 Brain Food
1. Opinion: Who is corporate America’s next Josh Hawley? A drugstore chain is a top contender.
2. Some Trevor Project staff say CEO should resign after learning of work for drug maker.
3. Taking a page from nonprofits, Chick-fil-A is recruiting volunteers.🍗
4. This job is MINE so don't even think of applying for it. I will be their next CCO! 🍫🍭
