Two announcements this week...

1. Two great upcoming events. I'm looking forward to seeing you at one or both of these events!

• Engage for Good's Winning with Corporate Partners in 2021 begins TODAY and continues through Friday. This is going to be a great event! Check it out and signup here!

• Looking for a global perspective on nonprofit and for-profit partnerships? Check out the full line-up of sessions and speakers for Corporate Partnerships Everywhere on February 25th….

Three things this week...

1. Dan Cohen of Cause Partners did a wicked awesome job last week laying down the knowledge on selling corporate partnerships. This is a Cause Docs clinic you don't want to miss or should listen to again! Watch the replay here. Well worth your time.

2. I'm excited to be part of the first-ever international conference dedicated to corporate-charity partnerships. It's called Corporate Partnerships Everywhere and they have a great lineup of speakers planned for Thursday, February 25th. You can signup up for just $66. I look forward to seeing you there….

Two things this week...

1. Join me and David Giagrando TODAY at 2pm EST for our Cause Docs clinic with Dan Cohen of Cause Partners. He'll be answering your questions on how to land lucrative corporate partnerships. Dan will be sharing his prescriptions on getting more meetings, asking powerful questions that advance conversations, overcoming objections and more!

2. Our friends at Accelerist are out with part-one of a two-part report that will allow you and your org to get situated, geared up, and ready to tackle corporate partnerships in 2021! Part-one is available today! It summarizes the top five standout trends that defined profit-purpose partnerships in 2020….

The docs are back!

No, we can't heal America's fractured democracy 🤷‍♂️- but we can address your partnership woes! Remember, we're not real doctors, we're cause doctors (or Cause Docs!)👨🏻‍🩺

The doc joining us this month is Dan Cohen, Founder & President of Cause Partners. Dan has used his extensive background and training in sales to land lucrative corporate partnerships for nonprofits. He'll be answering your questions on how you can do the same!

Dan will be sharing his prescriptions on…

Since Christmas I've spoken to over a dozen nonprofits about a new offering I've been working on: The 2021 Corporate Partnership Checklist.

This 9-point checklist reviews the critical things you need to act on in 2021 to be successful with corporate partnerships. After some feedback from some outstanding nonprofits, I'm ready to start sharing the checklist with all of you via a 20-30 minute conversation on Zoom.

Interested? The following dates and times are available….

Corporate partnership news was a bit slow last week, so I went through my archives and picked ten of my favorite articles from past years. This will keep you busy!

One thing I realized is I need to get back to writing more of my own stuff. I kind of miss it! Enjoy!

1. How to 10X Your Cause Marketing with Content Marketing: 3 Strategic Approaches

2. What’s Wrong With Tom Brady’s Partnership With Best Buddies? Everything. Tom Brady is the GOAT in sports, but when it comes to philanthropy he's an ass. 🍑…

Last Christmas I visited my brother and his family in Paris. Exactly one year ago today, we toured the Château de Chantilly where I snapped this picture. My favorite part was visiting the restaurant where I ate a whole bowl of Chantilly whipped cream.😋

My what a difference a year makes! Thank goodness I have a stockpile of whipped cream, albeit in the can.

But seriously, I know how lucky I've been the past year when others have suffered so much. I'm thankful and hopeful that you and yours have also been fortunate the past year. Like me, I hope you are only missing the sweet topping that makes all the difference in life….

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….