People ask me all the time about the legal side of cause marketing.

I hate legal questions because I don't have a good answer. (Which is frustrating for a know-it-all wannabe like me). "Don't ask me," I reply. "You should talk to a lawyer, or call the attorney general's office in your state."

But I got SO MANY requests for legal information - and felt so frustrated because I didn't have an answer - I finally talked to a lawyer myself! And I couldn't have asked a better one than Karen Wu, Partner, Perlman & Perlman, LLP in New York City. 

Together, Karen and I created this great infographic for you!

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Clovis Siemon, video marketing manager, at Organic Valley about their Save the Bros campaign, a spoof on the traditional charity PSA.

The initial Save the Bros video attracted over 2.4 million views on YouTube and generated a "significant increase" in product sales following the launch.

Megan, Clovis and I discuss...

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Thomas Bognanno, President and CEO of Community Health Charities (CHC) about its High Impact Causes to raise money and awareness for groups of health charities supporting similar issues.
 
On January 20th, CHC launched its first High Impact Causes – EveryKidDeserves, merging leading children’s health charities improving the health, wellness and quality of life of children in the U.S.

On the show, Tom, Megan and I discuss...

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Dr. Lisa Cavanaugh of the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business about my favorite topic: selfish giving!

Lisa, along with Francesca Gino (Harvard Business School) and Gavan Fitzsimons (Fuqua School of Business) wrote When Doing Good Is Bad in Gift Giving: Mis-Predicting Appreciation of Socially Responsible Gifts. 

Megan, Lisa and I discuss...

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Brian Reich, Director of Project Hive, the UN Refugee Agency’s innovation lab, about a new engagement campaign called Refugee Emojis. 

The goal of Refugee Emojis is to spark discussion among Americans around the daily struggles faced by refugees – while also establishing a fun and common language for people of all countries to connect around the needs of refugees.

On the show, Megan, Brian and I discuss...

I'm excited about this new book from Darian Rodriguez Heyman: Nonprofit Fundraising 101.

Nonprofit Fundraising 101 is the first truly comprehensive, practical guide to all aspects of nonprofit fundraising.

And it includes a great chapter on cause marketing by me and my mentor David Hessekiel, the Founder & President of Cause Marketing Forum!

I’m back with my annual list of 10 Best Cause Marketing Promotions of 2015. As always, it was a great year for cause marketing. 

My goal each year with my picks is the same: to inspire you to create interesting, effective cause marketing promotions that raise gobs of money for your cause. This list is just a start. You can find thousands more on Pinterest boards.

Which one is your favorite? Did your favorite promotion make my list, or did I pass it over? Use the comments or social media to let me know what you think. I'd love to hear from you!

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I take a look back at our favorite cause marketing programs from 2015 - and make a few predictions for 2016.

Our favorite campaigns, which include H&R Block, Cheeky Home, Rosa's Fresh Pizza, Doritos,  Starbucks and Dave's Killer Bread.

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Robert Thomsen, Vice President & General Manager of Merchandising & Marketing for Box Lunch, a civic-minded specialty retailer with an online store and eight physical stores.

With every $10 spent on the site, Box Lunch will help provide a meal to a person in need through its partnership with Feeding America.

On the show, Megan, Robert and I discuss...

Another year down and another great year of posts. Inspired by you and created by me, here are my top cause marketing posts of 2015.

One thing you'll notice about this year's list is fewer blog posts and more podcasts, infographics Slideshares and ebooks. Times have changed and I'm incorporating lots of new types of content. 

I just don't publish here at SG. In 2015, I wrote for CMO.com, Fast Company, For Momentum, Hubspot, Guidestar, BethKanter.org, JohnHaydon.com, HuffPost Impact, About.com and others. You can find these posts on my pin-folio!

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Kathy Collins, Chief Marketing Officer for the tax preparation company H&R Block, about the company's Dollars & Sense financial literacy program. Founded in 2009, the program gives kids of all ages the understanding they need to manage their personal finances. 

On the show, Megan, Kathy and I discuss...

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Carol Cone (aka The Mother of Cause Marketing) about her new venture, Carol Cone on Purpose! 

Carol has been a cause leader for decades and is set to disrupt the field once again with a new venture that combines partner collaboration with idea acceleration to take the field of purpose to new heights. 

On the show, Carol, Megan and I discuss...

I can't believe the holiday season is here! The most popular cause marketing program over the holidays must be the collection drive. 

Toys for Tots and the Salvation Army are collecting toys for needy kids. Food banks like Long Island Cares are collecting food donations for holiday dinners. Organizations like One Warm Coat are collecting coats to keep people warm during the winter.

While most collection drives are well-intentioned and effective, they may not be the best way to give this holiday season. That's why I've created this infographic proposing a 5-step process for improving collection drives.

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Dan Goldenberg, Executive Director of the Call of Duty Endowment, the charitable arm of one of the world's most popular video games. We discuss how the endowment is working with companies like Costco, GameStop, Best Buy, and Carl’s Jr this holiday season to put a dent in veteran unemployment.

On the show, Megan, Dan and I discuss....

Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt and No Kid Hungry (NKH) share a common brand color - orange - and a common mission: to end childhood hunger.

To reach its goal of raising $100,000 to fund one million meals for hungry kids, Orange Leaf launched a three-pronged effort in its 300+ locations. The campaign included two in-store cause promotions and an online fundraiser with the t-shirt fundraising site, Booster. 

The combination of offline and online fundraising worked! Orange Leaf customers raised $132,911 to feed hungry children.

Here’s how the fundraiser worked in-store, at the register and online....

Today on CauseTalk Radio Megan and I pilot a new format for the show.

While we still plan to regularly interview guests on the show, occasionally we want to experiment with just talking about what's happening in the incredible world of cause! We'll use the show to review some of the latest campaigns, promotions and posts from the social good space.

We welcome your feedback on this new format!

On today's show we discuss...

Giving Tuesday is right around the corner and everyone is looking for an edge to help them raise more money on December 1st. The effort will be worth it as Giving Tuesday will likely continue its tremendous growth.

Since its inception in 2012, there has been a 470 percent increase in online donations on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Last year, Giving Tuesday raised a whopping $47.5 million.

One resource that can help you is this presentation, which I delivered today to a group of nonprofit alumni of the New Strategies Program, which is part of Georgetown University's Global Social Enterprise Initiative.

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Frank Vamos, Director, Brand Communications at Wendy's, about their October coupon book campaign to raise funds for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption (DTFA).

Wendy's goal is to add to the $3.6 million the fast-serve chain raised for the DTFA in 2014. Proceeds from the fundraiser will be used to help find families for children waiting in foster care.

Megan, Frank and I discuss...