First, I want to wish you a very happy holiday season! 🎁

Second, I'm looking for a few volunteers to speak to next week. I'm working on a 14-point checklist I'm calling the 2021 Corporate Partnership Checklist. It reviews all the things I believe you need to be doing in 2021 to be successful with corporate partnerships.

Super helpful, right? I agree! But I want to run it by a few nonprofits before I actually launch it.

Here's what I need from you….

We have over 70 people registered for the Cause Docs Zoom call tomorrow at 2pm EST with Larry Weil, The Sponsorship guy!

Will you be joining us? We've gotten some great questions so far.

If you're struggling to find a path forward with event sponsorships in the new year, you won't want to miss this meeting!

The docs are back!

No, we can't give you the covid vaccine 🤷‍♂️- but we can address your partnership woes! Remember, we're not real doctors, we're cause doctors (or Cause Docs!)👨🏻‍🩺

The doc joining David Giagrando and me this month is Larry Weil (aka The Sponsorship Guy). And what perfect timing, right? I bet you're thinking about sponsors for your 2021 events and programs. Next year could be tricky because while we will be starting the year with virtual events, we could - just maybe - be back to live events by next fall.🤞

Here are the details…

Build an audience. Engage with that audience. Monetize that audience (with corporate and other forms of support).

For those of you who have been readers for a while, I can see your eye balls rolling.🙄I know. I say this all the time! It's kind of bcome my mantra. For newbies, welcome to what I call audience-centric fundraising.

Now, when I say build an audience, many of you will think of events, which are generally excellent for building an audience. But, alas, not during a global pandemic.

Plan B is to start building an audience TODAY with…

Megan Strand and I are back with another learning club discussion on Thursday, December 3 at 4pm EST.

This time around, we'll tackle the complex topic of racial justice in corporate social impact efforts.

Hairy topic, right? That's why we've invited a pair of experts to join us.

To kick off our discussion…

I had a terrible experience last week.

I was out walking my dog, Charlie. As I headed up the street, one of the neighborhood kids was walking down the opposite side with a little dog I hadn't seen before. It was a cute little terrier just like Charlie, but a little bigger. I thought, maybe a new neighbor! That's when I saw the moving truck at the top of the street.

But no sooner had I confirmed my hunch when I heard a terrible scream. That same kid was running up the street screaming for his mother. The dog wasn't with him….

Good news. No nonprofit is too small for a corporate partnership! Yay...right?

But I would add a caveat: small nonprofits should not actively focus on corporate partnerships.

Yep, it's a waste for most small nonprofits to dedicate so much time, resources and staff chasing and cold-calling potential corporate partnerships.

Why?

Last week I gave you five great costume ideas for Halloween. I also challenged you to share your own costume idea for cause marketers.

I got a bunch of suggestions and have declared two winners!

The first is…

Well, it's October 28th and we can either talk about Halloween on Saturday or the election on Tuesday. I think you know how I feel about the latter, so let's go with the former...

Every October I get the same question. (Ok, not really, but let's pretend because it's like day 845 of 2020 and I'm ready to lose my shit):

Joe, I love cause marketing sooooo much. What's the perfect costume for a cause marketer?

I'm glad you asked. I recommend the following…

Three things this week...

1. What's in a name? A big thank you 🙏to everyone who's written back over the past week to share how they want to be addressed in the salutation of this newsletter. It's nice to be on a first name basis with more of you!

2. Access to paywalled articles. Several readers pointed out last week that this article - which turned out to be the most clicked link in last week's newsletter - was behind a paywall. I often flag these posts and offer to email you the article. But last week I forgot! Awkward, right…

I have a simple request this week. Hop over to your inbox and look at the salutation at the top of the email newsletter I send you ever week.

• Does it include your first name?

• Am I spelling your name correctly?

• Do you prefer I call you by something else? (e.g. Pete instead of Peter)

• Instead of your name, does it say "Dear, Cause Marketer"?

I want to make sure I'm getting the little things right! Hit reply to this email and tell me how I should address you every week….

We had so much fun at the Learning Club last week! We talked about personal branding and social impact career growth. 40+ people joined us.

I especially want to thank our special guest, Lisa Anastasi from the USO. She added so much to the club meeting and tackled all the tough topics around advancing your career.

Good news! You can watch the replay on the Facebook group page….

I have some exciting news to share about tomorrow's Learning Club on personal branding and social impact career growth. To bolster our expertise on the subject - especially on the social impact career growth side - we've invited a special guest to join us.

Lisa Anastasi is Chief Development & Marketing Officer at the USO. She recently delivered a well received presentation for AFP Washington DC Metro Chapter titled Who's the Next Boss. It's all about how to get that next promotion. And why - YES! - you should be thinking about that promotion during a global pandemic…

First, join Doctors Waters and Giagrando (the Cause Docs!) for a FREE clinic that will address all your complaints, issues and problems around corporate partnerships. It's all happening tomorrow, September 24, at 2pm EDT.

Second, the next Learning Club meeting is next Thursday, October 1st at 4.pm. EDT. This month's learning club is all about personal branding and social impact career growth.

Third…

The doctors is in!!

I know what you're thinking, "Joe, you may know cause marketing, but there's no way I'm letting you treat my ailments."

On your physical ailments, we are in complete agreement: I can't help you.

But I can treat your complaints, issues and problems with corporate partnerships.

Admittedly, I can't do this alone. I need a colleague - a real supahstah in the field 🤩. That's why I've asked partnership guru David Giagrando to join me in the practice.

We're not real doctors, we're cause doctors (or Cause Docs!)👨🏻‍⚕️👨🏻‍⚕️.

Here's how it will work…

"These are the times that try men's souls." 😱

Thomas Paine wrote these words during the American Revolution, but these days are equally trying - especially on the job front. Millions of people are out of work, and everyone I talk to is either looking for a job or working hard to keep and grow in the job they have.

The question is what is the best way for a person to stand out in a job search OR to distinguish themselves in their current job so they can continue to grow in their career?

👏👏👏A big thanks to everyone who attended our first Learning Club last week. As many of you already know, we switched the reading club to a learning club as the former wasn't attracting the following we had hoped for.

And, WOW, what a difference. We had 60 people for our club meeting last week on the future of retail.

And we had an excellent conversation!

The next Learning Club topic will be announced next week…

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….