I always assume that people aren't listening to me - it protects my fragile ego.😆 But I know of at least one person who is: Katie Price, Senior Director of Philanthropy at Second Helpings in Indiana.

Last month - on Valentine's Day no less 🥰 - Katie wrote to me:

"After reading your email for several years, we were finally able to put together our own corporate e-newsletter. I’m so thankful to you for this idea….

We've gotten some great questions for our Cause Docs clinic 🩺🥼 Tomorrow, March 2nd at Noon EST.

We have three distinguished partnership experts!

🔥 Diana Hovey, Senior Vice President, Corporate Partnerships, ShareOur Strength / No Kid Hungry.

🔥 Charisse Brown Marcus, President, Good Scout.

🔥 Stefanie Mathew, Vice President, Corporate Philanthropy & Partnerships, National Geographic Society.

You won't want to miss this clinic with the Cause Docs!👨🏻‍⚕️👨🏻‍⚕️

Two things this week...

🌍 Tomorrow morning is the big day for the only international conference dedicated to corporate-charity partnerships.

It's called Corporate Partnerships Everywhere and they have a great lineup of speakers planned for tomorrow.

🩺 The Cause Docs are back! Join us on Wednesday, March 2nd at Noon EST. To kick-off our first "clinic" of 2022, we are answering all your pressing questions on corporate partnerships. Ask away because our panel of three partnership goddesses has all the answers…

I'm excited to once again be apart of the only 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 24th…

Those numbers above? Those are my Open Rate, Click Rate and total Clicks from a recent newsletter. 🔥🔥🔥

For those of you who don't know...

Did you know that people all over the world read my Selfish Giving newsletter??? 🌎🌍🌏

It's true!

While most of my readers are right here in the United States, I boast readers from the United Kingdom, Japan, Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa and just about every other country in the world!

Cool, right? 🕶🧊

But one of my favorite readers abroad truly lives on the other side of the world. That person is Tasman Cassim, Senior Manager of Partnerships at the Black Dog Institute in Randwick, New South Wales, Australia…

⭐️A programming note for tomorrow: We are RESCHEDULING the Cause Docs 🩺clinic with Good Scout. I'll be in touch soon with a new date for the clinic on The Importance of the DEI in Corporate Partnership Alignment. Thanks for your patience! 🙏

⭐️A big thanks to the 161 people who joined us last week for Brittany Hill's presentation on The Top 3 Social Impact & Partnership Trends of 2022….

The Cause Docs are back! 👨🏻‍⚕️👨🏻‍⚕️🩺

Joining us on Thursday, January 27th at 2pm ET are HilIiary Turnipseed and Charisse Brown Marcus from the social impact consultancy Good Scout.

Whether you are a one-person department or a team of ten, Hilliary and Charisse will be answering your questions on the importance of the DEI lens in determining corporate partnership alignment…

Let's kick off the New Year right with a review of the top three social impact and partnership trends you and your organization need to know for 2022. 📈🥳

On Thursday, January 20th at 2pm ET, join me and Brittany Hill of Accelerist as we...

Despite my best attempts to snatch it away from him, Charlie isn't quite ready to give up his Christmas pillow! Smahht 🐶.

And I'm not quite ready to jump into 2022. See you next week!

Happy holidays! I'm wishing you and yours a very Happy New Year! Below are ten of my most popular posts from 2021.

See you next year! 🎉🥳🎊🍾😘

Per usual, Andy Crestodina over at Orbit Media Studios has written another outstanding post, this one on Formats & The Funnel: How 17 Content Marketing Formats Align with Lead Generation.

Smahht partnership teams understand that they need specific content to move prospect from Awareness ➤ Consideration ➤ Action.

At the top of the funnel is the AWARENESS stage when it's all about getting the attention of your target prospect. Partnership teams can do this with blog posts, social media, curation and guest posting….

I put together my holiday planters last week, and I used the traditional advice that every gardener follows in container making: Thriller, Spiller, Filler.

1. Thriller. Something tall that will make people say "WOW!" In my container this is the winterberry branches. It gives the arrangement height and pop.

2. Spiller. Something that spills over the side of the container and softens the edges. In my container this is the gold-tipped cedar branches you see around the sides of the pot.

3. Filler. Something that fills in the container so you don't see any soil and enhances the thriller and spiller. The pine cones, berries, other greens are all Filler.

You might be wondering why the heck I'm sharing container arrangement advice in today's newsletter.🪴

I'm not….

Last week it was the secret formula for storytelling success according to Marvel Comics. This week it's why you should use pets in your nonprofit marketing.🤷‍♂️

I'm not sure why, but a publisher recently sent me a new book called Pet Nation: The Inside Story of How Companion Animals are Transforming Our Homes, Culture, and Economy. It's a fascinating read. The overall message is that pets are more beloved and more omnipresent in our lives than just about any other time in history.

I know this is true for me. I absolutely love my dog Charlie.❤️🐶…

I just finished an article in the New York Times on a man who wrote a book on his experience reading 27,000 Marvel Comics. According to the author, the secret formula for a successful superhero comic book is:

Monsters👹 ➕ Romance❤️ ➕ Superheroes🦸🏻‍♀️ ➕ Topicality⏰

I've been thinking that this formula also works well for nonprofit storytelling. Let me explain….

First, I want to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving. 🦃 I'm very thankful that YOU read my newsletter every week. 🙏

Second, watch this video👆from creative agency Public for Meals on Wheels America. It will definitely warm your heart ❤️ and might just encourage you to 'Give a Little Bit' over the holiday.

Finally, I want to use this week to answer some of the frequently asked questions I get from readers. Maybe you've had similar questions, but you just haven't had a chance to ask. Now you know the answers…

It's not even Thanksgiving yet, but I'm already thinking about Christmas.🎄🎅🏼

Ever since I was a kid I've been a huge fanboy of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, which was published way back in 1843. I collect Carol memorabilia and have seen EVERY version of the story. I've even held three first editions of the book in my sanitized hands. One that is housed at the Burns Library at Boston College, and two that are kept under lock and key at the British Library in London.

Every year for Christmas I ask Santa for the same thing: My own first edition of A Christmas Carol. But he's never gifted me one, and I think I know why (and it's not because of my bad behavior). First editions of this slender book in excellent condition can cost up to $40,000! But who knows, maybe this year I'll finally get a first edition in my stocking. 🧦📕🤞

While I wait and hope, your nonprofit could benefit from A Christmas Carol this holiday season….

My first interaction with Auntie Anne's Pretzels was two years ago when I wrote a case study on their outstanding partnership with Alex's Lemonade Stand.

However, my most recent exposure to them was this past weekend when I listened to their social media manager, Bari Rosenstein, discuss how she manages Auntie Anne’s social media.

Interestingly, Bari is a recent hire AND is a social team of one.🤭 Nonetheless, she's done outstanding work, and had some great tips that are very applicable for time- and staff-strapped nonprofits….