I need to be brief this week as I'm busy teaching at the New Strategies Program at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. The attendees are my guinea pigs as I'm testing a new presentation called Future Proof Your Nonprofit with Audience-Centric Fundraising.

You might be thinking, "Whoa, Joe is talking about something else besides corporate partnerships." That's not true. But I am thinking more about the best to way nonprofits can attract corporate partners.

Too often we talk about what happens after you've landed a prospect. "Yay! I have a partner. What can I do with them?" Frankly, that's the easy part. The real challenge is getting a corporate partner in the first place, right? I would argue that an even more pressing challenge is developing something that raises money from both individuals AND companies. 🤭Wouldn't that be ideal?

Here are the results from the snap survey you took last month on SEO and corporate partnerships.

As you can see, 42% of respondents don't even have a corporate partnership page for Google to rank. Why? As one respondent explained:

"Absolutely agree with SEO being under-resourced and smaller non-profits being under-staffed. We have been operating without a dedicated MARKETING staff member for almost four years. We split email, social media channels, and communications work between our two development staff members and two of the program staff. Our budget is close to $2M so I don't know where these prioritized decisions come from."

A second question in the survey asked if respondents would be interested in learning more about SEO and corporate partnerships via a detailed blog post or webinar…

Last week we talked about SEO for corporate partnerships. This week let's talk about social media.

One of my favorite experts on the subject is Jay Baer of Convince & Convert. In his newsletter to weekly subscribers last month, he offered this advice: think small. The future of social media is not broadcasting but narrowcasting. Instead of communicating with 500 friends, we'll talk to seven with channels like Facebook’s Messenger, Instagram direct messages etc.

To prepare for Q1, 2020 and the rollout of new features from the social media giants, particularly Facebook, Jay suggests to think more about "what you would do if 'social media' allowed you to reach only a few people at a time. What would you offer? How would you be useful and relevant?"

Jay also recommends that we focus more on eliciting comments from supporters, as "likes" ❤️could be eliminated or downgraded on most social media sites.

You ask, "How will this impact my corporate partnership efforts?" Great question….

Like most things in digital marketing, SEO (i.e. Search Engine Optimization) is getting harder. According to SEO leader Rand Fishkin, less than half the searches on Google will result in a click.

What does this mean for you and your corporate partnership program?

It means that even if you've done the work to create a corporate partnership web page and filled it with all sorts of keyword rich content - like case studies - that earn you a top ranking on Google's coveted first page, most people still won't end up clicking through to your site. There are several reasons for this, and I suggest you read Rand's excellent article on the subject.

What's a corporate partnership pro to do? Well, I posed this very question to Rand...

While Americans are fighting to wrestle machine guns away from domestic terrorists, in England and Wales the Home Office, in partnership with 210 chicken shops, is asking diners to go #KnifeFree.

The campaign has sparked a serious (and at times not-so-serious) debate, which you can follow at the #KnifeFree hashtag.

One group, Word on the Curb, is turning this cause campaign around and sending the chicken boxes back to the government agency that spent £57,000 to launch it.

The survey results are in on asking corporate partners for a minimum revenue commitment (MRC). There are four parts to this post.

1. The graphs showing the results. I took these right from the Survey Monkey survey my email subscribers completed in July.

2. Two of the three survey questions included a section for comments. There were some great insights from respondents so I’ve included a selection beneath the respective questions.

3. I asked the team at Accelerist, my partner in the survey series (check out the results of our salary survey here), to offer their perspective on minimum revenue commitment based on their additional research on the topic. These insights are very helpful…

Newsletter reader Robyn had a great question last week. Here's the question and my answer.

Q. I am trying to find out how local businesses partner with us to raise funds. For example, we have some local businesses that want to help us raise funds the week of Boulder Pride (i.e. where they ask for a donation at the register). However, these businesses don't know how to set this up and neither do we? Do you have any information on what is the best way for a business to do this?

A. Thanks for writing, Robyn. Here's the key with point-of-sale fundraisers. Whatever point-of sale (POS) system the business currently uses to process sales, use that same system to process the donation….

I write case studies for organizations and many have the same challenge: they don't have a lot to say. Getting a few quotes from the partner is expected (and important!). But wouldn't it be great if you had some hard data that the partnership actually worked? That it was actually win-win for both partners.

It's for this reason I'm partnering with Accelerist for a special case study offering for August. Here's how it works.

1. Pick a partnership. You can pick a current, future or even a past partnership (up to 300 days in the past - and not a day more!).

2. Analyze the partnership. This is where Accelerist will work its magic! They'll measure the earned and shared media [What the heck is this?]…

Some lucky nonprofits don't even have to build an audience from scratch. They can just tap into an existing one that's growing around them. That's the case with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy (AWSC) on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Due to the climate crisis and rising ocean temperatures, more seals are visiting the balmy waters of the Cape and they've brought company: lots of great white sharks.🦈

With the seals came the sharks and with the sharks came....tourists who are eager to learn about these powerful apex predators.

With t-shirts and mugs for sale that say "Nice to Eat You” and "Seals Taste Like Chicken," shark commerce is big on the Cape this summer. Smartly, AWSC has thrown out a line…

Let's get clear on the difference between a charity partnership vs. marketing partnership.

A CHARITY PARTNERSHIP is when a company partners with your nonprofit because they want to support the mission of your organization. Some of the reasons companies will do a charity partnership include...

1. They love what you do and want to support you! Yay! This is the best, right? 😊

2. They love what you do, but are happy to take any benefits that may come with partnership. For example, a company could just make a donation to your nonprofit. But instead, they sponsor your golf tournament. They may get some business from the event, but that's not their main goal.

3. They want you to go away….

We got a great response to our new survey question on nonprofits that require or request a minimum revenue commitment from corporate partners. Some really interesting feedback, including the responses displayed above for the question: Why DON'T you require/request a minimum revenue commitment for specific fundraisers?

Have you taken the survey yet? If not...

TAKE THE SURVEY NOW!

Newsletter reader Trish Conklin, Director of Corporate Sponsorships at One Warm Coat, had a great idea for a survey question:

Does your nonprofit require corporate partners to make a minimum revenue commitment?

The commitment could be upfront, or for a specific fundraiser when it's unclear how much will be raised (e.g. POS program, donation boxes, purchase or action triggered donation, etc.) so you ask the partner to guarantee a specific amount.

In the coming weeks, we'll report the findings back to you and share some useful advice on how you should be addressing the minimum revenue commitment….

I'll keep things short this week as everyone is probably thinking about vacation time, fireworks and BBQs. 🏖🧨🌭

Something to think about tomorrow...

On July 4, 1845, Henry David Thoreau moved into the cabin he had built with his own hands on the shores of Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau wasn't seeking to live in isolation. His cabin was a half-mile from both the railroad and the main road into Concord. Rather, he was making a statement about who he was and what was important to him.

January is a popular month for resolutions. But the Fourth of July - the mid-point of the year - brings another chance to reflect on our direction, actions and commitments…

This week I've been noticing what I notice.

First, it was these warming stripe graphics on Twitter with the hashtag #ShowYourStripes. I was like, "What the heck is this and why is everyone sharing it?" Turns out the stripes show the rise in annual average temperature from 1895-2018 here in Massachusetts. You can find and share your stripe here.

What visual can you create that makes people curious and/or clearly shows the dire problem you're trying to fix in the world?

Second, it was all the articles on Woke Washing I read and saw this past week. Everyone is talking about how brands are selfish, disingenuous and transactional….

Robert Rose over the Content Marketing Institute has written a helpful article on the The 7 Core Roles of a 2020 Content Marketing Team.

Knowing that nonprofits are just coming around to content marketing and likely wouldn't or couldn't hire for all seven roles, I asked Robert about nonprofits starting with #5 Audience Development Manager and #6 Influencer Wrangler. With my focus on audience-building for corporate partnership success, I view the former as gasoline and the latter as a match!

I moderated a great panel at the Engage for Good Conference with the National Park Foundation on how nonprofits can attract companies from a variety of industries. Kim Hirose from NPF recorded footage from the session and I have eight clips to share with you. 

1. In the first clip (14:52), Stefanie Mathew, vice president of corporate partnerships at NPF, opened the session by explaining just how diverse NPF's partners are - "From A - Z. From American Express to Yeti." Stefanie also outlines three steps to better diversify your partnerships. Finally, the panelists from Coca-Cola, Subaru, Union Pacific and L. L. Bean introduce themselves and explain how they came to work with NPF.

2. In the second clip (2:03), Amy Strawbridge, Subaru's brand partnerships and experiential marketing manager, discusses how the car company's work with NPF helps their business.

3. In the third clip (0:42), Ranae Keckeisen, Union Pacific’s director of corporate relations, answers my question on if nonprofits have to approach B2Bs differently than they approach B2Cs…

I'm back from the Engage for Good Conference in Chicago! The conference was great, as usual. Congrats to David, Megan and the entire Engage for Good team.

I moderated two session at the conference and attended several more. A few highlights...

1. Chad Royal-Pascoe, National Vice President for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America outlined a comprehensive 8-point framework for working with corporate partners. The visual above is from Chad's presentation. Look at all the ways BGCA is striving to work with each corporate partner!

2. Lifestraw's Tara Lundy and attorney-turned-influencer Rachel Pitzel led an interesting conversation about getting serious about influencers. The big takeaway for me was that working with influencers is still very much a work in progress for many causes. The key is to stop talking about it and to start working with one or two influencers so you can test and learn from the experience….

I'm in Chicago at the Engage for Good Conference! Be sure to follow the conference hashtag (#EFG2019) on Twitter.

While I'm here, I'm moderating two panels at the conference, and you can learn from them whether you're in Chicago or not!

1. Today at 4:15PM CT, Karen Wu and I are presenting the 10 Commandments of Cause Marketing Law. If you are not at the conference you can still get your legal questions answered and a copy of the 10 Commandments by filling out our legal partnership survey.

2. Tomorrow at 1:30PM CT, I'll be with the National Park Foundation in a session that will explore how nonprofits can better position themselves to attract corporations from a variety of industries. The panel includes four corporate supahstahs: Coca-Cola, Union Pacific, L.L. Bean and Subaru. I'll be reporting back to you on all the nuggets of wisdom in an upcoming newsletter. Stay tuned!

If you are at the conference and want to meet up to say hi, just hit reply to this email. Or join me at one of the above sessions and we can talk afterward!