Newsletter: Biden Win Will Lead to Better, Bolder Partnerships 💙 ; You Should Run Your Nonprofit Like This Bike Shop 🚲 ; Why Businesses Must Help Build Trust in a Virus Vaccine 💉
Two things - one later today, the other tomorrow - that you won't want to miss!
1. Today at 2pm EDT, join Brittany Hill, CEO at Accelerist, Brian McKinney, VP of Operations at DonorDrive and Diane Palmer, Director of Corporate Relations at Blessings in a Backpack to discuss virtual assets that increase corporate revenue. This FREE webinar will feature a new innovative virtual employee engagement option from DonorDrive that can bring value to your corporate partners. Register Here.
2. Tomorrow at 4pm EDT, join me and Megan Strand for our first Learning Club, which we are testing this month in place of the reading club. This month's topic is the future of retail and how it will impact corporate partnerships. We suggested some resources for the discussion several weeks ago. But you can read whatever you want - just bring your smahht insights! 🤓Register Here. (Remember, you can participate in the Learning Club via Zoom meeting OR just watch it live on the Read with Purpose Facebook page!)
✍️ Partnership Notes
1. An Indiana business explains why they won't be making any donations in 2020 - and suggests which businesses nonprofits should be reaching out to instead.
2. Prediction: A Joe Biden win in November will lead to better and bolder corporate partnerships. If Biden loses the only business you'll soon have left to partner with is the My Pillow guy.
3. Because of the pandemic, MDA is moving its annual partnership with firefighters online. I started my fundraising career at MDA and remember the thousands of dollars you could raise in just a few hours with a Fill the Boot fundraiser. These firefighter led drives were a gold mine! The online effort appears to be off to a good start with over $300k raised - and Labor Day is still more than a week away!
🤑 Marketing Your Cause
1. Oh, if you only ran your nonprofit like this guy ran his bike shop. Targeted audience, outstanding service, personal outreach.
2. This is a great, long article from Rand Fishkin on how to do outreach right. So many great tips that our bike shop owner above ⬆️would approve of! I especially like #8: don't start with email.
😎 Cool Jobs in Cause
1. Deputy Development Director, Strategic Partnerships, AmeriCares, Remote ($200k+)
2. Digital Transformation Officer, Boch Center, Boston ($80k - $100k)
3. Director of Development, Diversified Portfolios/Institutional, Greater Boston Food Bank ($72k - $100k)
🧠🍌 Brain Food
1. In 2019 veteran Brian Kolfage launched a GoFundMe fundraiser to build Trump's wall. As I admitted in this newsletter, there was no denying the audience he built was impressive - as was the $25 million he raised from them. Using the campaign to launch a nonprofit called We Build the Wall was brilliant.
But now, Kolfage, Steve Bannon and others are accused of using some of that money to pay for everything from cosmetic surgery to boats to personal travel.
Audience building = 👍🏽. Allegedly misusing donor funds = 👎.
2. Why businesses (and nonprofits) must help build trust in a Covid-19 vaccine.
3. This week's gahhden photo is another shot from my new pollinator garden of native plants. This is purple Ironweed, Vernonia baldwinii. This will eventually grow to six-feet tall! In the background is False Sunflower, Heliopsis helianthoides. 🐝🦋❤️If you love sunflowers, but don't like how tall they can get 🖐, Heliopsis is a good alternative!
Have a question (garden questions welcomed!), comment, or just want to say hi? Just leave a comment below or head over to Twitter.
