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

Something to think about on Sunday...

On July 4, 1845, Henry David Thoreau moved into a one-room cabin he had built on the shores of Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts.

Thoreau wasn't seeking to live in isolation. Heck, he was only a half-mile from both the railroad and the main road into Concord. Rather, his move to Walden was a statement about who he was and what was important to him…

Prospecting Circles are one way to organize and prioritize potential partners. The circle nonprofits struggle with the most is suspects because they are cold leads (unlike prospects which is warm and supporters which is downright hot 🔥).

Nonprofits ask: "How do I get a cold prospect to talk to me?"

I thought I had a pretty good answer to this question: demonstrate overwhelming value. But I like digital marketing expert Rand Fishkin's answer better….

One of the articles I had planned to share with you this week was from Hubspot called Everything You Need to Know About Using Tie Downs in Sales.

I hadn't heard of "tie downs" before. The Hubspot writer defined them this way:

“Using sales tie downs allows you to check your assumptions around each of these points. They also get your customer engaged and saying 'yes' before the time comes for you to go for the close. Building up slowly can make things feel much more natural to your customer.”

I thought, maybe tie downs aren’t such a bad idea! But then I thought, WAIT! I should reach out to the guru of cause sales, Dan Cohen of Cause Partners, and ask him what he thinks of tie downs.

I'm so glad I did. Here's what Dan said….

We had a great Cause Docs clinic on INFLUENCER MARKETING last week with Lauren Lawson-Zilai, Senior Director of Public Relations & National Spokesperson for Goodwill Industries International.

In addition to watching the replay, you should download these two valuable resources:

• ​Goodwill's Influencer Toolkit​

• ​Sample Influencer Letter of Agreement​

Lauren also recommended these tools…

Join the Cause Docs Tomorrow, June 3rd at 2pm EDT as Lauren Lawson-Zilai, Senior Director of Public Relations & National Spokesperson for Goodwill Industries International, will be answering your questions on how to identify and work with influencers.

She'll be sharing her prescriptions on...

The Cause Docs are back! 🩺🥼

Joining us on Thursday, June 3rd at 2pm EDT is Lauren Lawson-Zilai, Senior Director of Public Relations & National Spokesperson for Goodwill Industries International.

Lauren will be answering your questions on how to identify and work with influencers.

She'll be sharing her prescriptions on...

I'm helping my 89-year-old mom settle into new home this week. I took this picture to showoff my bed-making skills! Pretty good, right? My mom didn't agree as she has a 36-step process for making a bed and I missed a few steps.

I'm also emptying out her apartment that she's been in for 30 years. Wish me luck! ☘️☘️

I'll be back next week….

I want to map out the Partnership Solicitation Process from start to finish.

Above is the map I've drafted, but, heck, what do I know? What would YOU add, edit or remove?

My goal is to map the major steps in the process! I realize the map could get super-micro, but that's not my intent at this point. So let's stick to MAJOR STEPS in the partnership solicitation process….

Two housekeeping items this week... 🧹🧹

✅ I ❤️ when you send me things to include in my newsletter! Job openings, success stories, new campaigns - keep them coming. However, here's what I'm looking to actually include in my newsletter:

First, and most importantly, I'm looking for things that will be useful to partnership professionals. I'm not just publishing news on corporate partnerships. I want to help people do their jobs better. This is the #1 goal of my newsletter.

For example…

We had a great Cause Docs clinic last week on Engaging Your Board in Selling Corporate Partnerships! You can watch the replay here.

What should we tackle next on Cause Docs??? Take my 2-question survey.

The Cause Docs 🩺 are back TOMORROW at 2pm EDT. Joining us are Nanette Fridman, President of Fridman Strategies, Inc. and Melissa Radin Goldstone, Founder of Freestyle Strategy.

They'll be answering your questions about how to finally get your board to help identify, cultivate and sell corporate partnerships.

Nanette and Melissa will be sharing their prescriptions on...

The Cause Docs are back!

Joining us on Thursday, April 22nd at 2pm EDT are Nanette Fridman, President of Fridman Strategies, Inc. and Melissa Radin Goldstone, Founder of Freestyle Strategy.

They will be answering your questions about how to finally get your board to help identify, cultivate and sell corporate partnerships.

Nanette and Melissa will be sharing their prescriptions on...

Last month, Brittany Hill from Accelerist delivered an outstanding Cause Docs "clinic" on how to prospect for corporate partnerships. You can watch the replay here. It will be well worth your time!

As part of the clinic, attendees received Prospect - Like a Boss, part one of Accelerist's new Corporate Partnership Playbook Series - and they loved it! ❤️

Now the entire playbook is available for download. In addition to Prospect - Like a Boss the playbook includes:

• Position – Like A Boss will help you to refresh and update your unique value proposition to competitively position your organization….

Two things this week...

First, the Cause Docs will be back TOMORROW at 2pm EDT. The doc joining us will be Mike Hollywood ⭐️, Vice President of Digital at Rocket Social Impact. Mike will be answering your questions on how to turn your boring web site into a lead magnet that attracts and converts prospects into partners. 🤭

Second, next week, Thursday, April 8th at 1pm EDT, Selfish Giving, TikTok and Rocket Social Impact are hosting: TikTok Best Practices for Nonprofits with Partnership Programs.

This will be a game-changing webinar on how nonprofits can use TikTok to build and cultivate a highly-engaged audience. As you know, audience engagement and growth is a key component of winning corporate partnerships.

​During this webinar, you’ll….

We had a great Cause Docs clinic last week with Russ Holmes of Sprouts Solutions on building global partnerships. Check out the replay here.

Believe it or not, the Cause Docs will be back AGAIN on Thursday, April 1st at 2pm EDT. The doc joining us next week will be Mike Hollywood ⭐️, Vice President of Digital at Rocket Social Impact. Mike will be answering your questions on how to turn your boring web site into a digital magnet that attracts and converts visitors into partners. 🤭

Mike will be sharing his prescriptions on...

The Cause Docs are back tomorrow, Thursday, March 18th at 2pm EDT with Russ Holmes, Founder of Sprouts Solutions. Russ will be answering your questions on how you can identify, cultivate and partner with global companies.

Russ will be sharing his prescriptions on:

• Identifying global companies that align with your non-profit's mission

• How to approach a global company

• How to build a win-win partnership and what elements to include

Russ originates from the UK but is a true citizen of the world….

The Cause Docs are back!

The doc joining us this month is Russ Holmes, Founder of Sprouts Solutions. Russ has over two decades of experience building win-win corporate partnerships with some of the largest brands in the world for a global non-profit. He's now branching out as a consultant to assist other non-profits to do the same by focusing on transformative growth.

Russ will be answering your questions on how YOU can identify, cultivate and partner with global companies…

Did you know that I literally have hundreds of posts on my Selfish Giving web site??? It really shouldn't surprise ME since I've been posting on my site since 2004/5. But, still, I'm so focused on creating this week's post that I often forget all the wicked awesome stuff I've written before!

Let's correct that this week with a few gems that you should definitely revisit this month!

1. How Do I Get a Corporate Partner to “Pay Up” After an Event?

2. What Tools Do Nonprofit Teams Use to Manage Sponsorship Fulfillment?

3. How Should a Business Pick a Cause Partner

4. Should Your Nonprofit Require a Minimum Revenue Commitment from Corporate Partners?

5. Charity Partnership vs. Marketing Partnership: What's the Difference?