Newsletter: How a Business Should Pick a Cause Partner 🤝 ; Why Asking for Donations at the Cash Register Can Backfire 🔥💨 ; A Baby Boomer Curator of Natural History is Killing It on TikTok 🦕
I had an interesting conversation with a corporate client the other day about the best way for her company to pick a nonprofit partner.
I have to admit my first response was: "It can be kind of complicated."
It's complicated because there are a lot of variables that go into picking a nonprofit partner. As I talked to her, I started drawing circles and writing things on them. I eventually came up with the acronym T-W-A.
Unless you have an overwhelming preference for one nonprofit (and let's face it, this is how many businesses pick the nonprofit they want to support), you should consider the TYPE of partnership you want, a nonprofit (e.g. charity: water) or a cause (e.g. water conservation). BTW, I prefer the latter. But I'll save that explanation for another post.
Another thing to consider is the WAY the nonprofit is going to be picked. Will it be the CEO? The employees? The customers? Or will it be hybrid decision among the three entities? My experience is that businesses have strong opinions on who should do the picking. The CEO I was meeting with was inclined to choose the nonprofit. I told her that was fine, but I encouraged her to at least consider what employees and customers thought of the selection.
The final thing to consider is what ATTRIBUTE is driving the decision. Is a deep passion for a nonprofit or cause making any other option unthinkable? Is emotion an important factor because the business believes that customers want to support kids with cancer or to save dogs from puppy mills? Or, is the business making a marketing decision and choosing a nonprofit based on the audience it will give them access to? Again, a hybrid decision is possible here and may be the best approach.
What do you think? Did I hit the mark with my explanation? Or did I miss it? Hit reply and tell me how you would guide a company in picking a nonprofit.
✍️ Partnership Notes
1. I'm a big fan of donate profits days, events, products and businesses. So I like Otter Products' idea of a donate employees day.
2. Are you sending cold emails to potential corporate partners? (Of course you are! We all do.) This article does a great job showing you how to do it right. Sending effective cold emails that get opened and replied to is a skill you should develop!
3. Why soliciting donations at the cash register can backfire. I agree with a lot of this article. But I don't think that businesses always have to choose something that "fits" their business (e.g. a pharmacy has to partner with a nonprofit that funds medical research). Choose something different and get noticed!
4. Love this! This women's clothing brand is dressing women that are campaigning for office. Because campaign laws make it difficult to give them the clothes, they are renting the outfits to them instead. After the election, the clothes go to the nonprofit Bottomless Closet.
🤑 Marketing Your Cause
1. This baby boomer curator at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History is killing it on TikTok.
2. Nonprofits need to maximize every piece of content they produce. Here's how to repurpose one blog post into 80+ pieces of content.💥
3. This nonprofit had to take down its version of Friends showing Chandler getting HIV. It was a bold move that failed, but they hope it will return with the proper approvals. “The campaign really makes you take stock and consider, ‘What if the TV shows that defined the cultural zeitgeist of the time could have helped improve the lives of those living with HIV/AIDS today, decades later?'”
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😎 Cool Jobs in Cause
1. Sponsorship Manager, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (Rockville, MD)
2. National Director, Corporate Relations, American Lung Association (United States)
3. Development Associate, United Way of San Diego County (San Diego)
4. Corporate Partnerships & Culinary Events Spring Internship, Share Our Strength (Washington, D.C.)
Have your cause-related job featured here for FREE. Hit reply to this email and give me the details and a link to the position.
🧠🍌 Brain Food
1. Newsletter reader Susan McPherson - who has her own fabulous newsletter - The McPherson Memo - just came back from visiting Antarctica. Here's a report on her journey, and why Antarctica should be on your bucket list (it's on mine!).
2. Massively long and detailed post from Joe Garecht on how to launch a viral fundraising campaign for your nonprofit.
3. Have a strong accent? Here’s how that hurts your paycheck. (Unless it's a Boston accent 😏)
Have a question, comment, or just want to say hi? Just leave a comment below or head over to Twitter.
