The Engage For Good Podcast: Recent Episodes
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What’s the best way to work with your nonprofit partner? How do you build a culture of trust? And how do you lean on a nonprofit’s expertise and guidance to deliver truly impactful programs - because, almost always, they’re the subject matter experts?
In today’s episode, EFG's Alli Murphy is joined by Subaru of America’s Community Commitment Marketing Manager, Ashley Estes, and Love Promise Community Commitment Specialist Nick Saraceni to talk about Subaru Loves Learning and the automaker’s partnership with AdoptAClassroom.org.
92% of classrooms across the country have students whose families can’t afford to purchase school supplies for their children, and 96% of teachers bridge that gap by buying supplies with their own money. Through Subaru’s partnership with AdoptAClassroom.org, over 600 retailers are matched with high-need (Title 1) schools in their community. The dealers “adopt” classrooms by providing $500 in flexible funding that teachers can use to purchase school supplies and learning materials.
The partners launched their first national retail program in 2021, impacting more than 5,000 classrooms and 133,000 students. By the end of this year, they will have impacted over 300,000 students and are now AdoptAClassroom.org's largest corporate supporter.
In today’s episode, we’ll explore:
- How the automaker’s partnership with AdoptAClassroom.org began and how it’s evolved
- How Subaru relies on AdoptAClassroom.org’s expertise and how the partners developed a partnership built on flexibility, open-mindedness and trust
- How the automaker communicates the campaign to retailers and consumers
- How well-intentioned gifts were transformed into data-driven, impactful supply kits for classrooms
- Ashley & Nick's advice for building impactful partnerships
This episode is brought to you by Subaru of America.
Links & Notes
- Subaru Love Promise
- Subaru Loves Learning
Elevate Your Social Impact
- Sign up for Engage for Good's newsletter
- Check out past podcast episodes
- Access free resources
- Check out our monthly webinars
- Let Alli know what you think of the show!
In today’s episode, EFG’s Alli Murphy is joined by Teresa Hillis, Manager of Global and Community Impact at Expedia Group, Laura Ramsey, Senior Director of Corporate Partnerships at UNICEF USA and Mollye Rhea, President and Founder of For Momentum to talk about the winning initiative "Give The World A Shot."
In the summer of 2021, UNICEF USA and Expedia Group and its family of brands - Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo, Orbitz, Travelocity, Hotwire, ebookers and CheapTickets - partnered with the shared goal to accelerate the equitable rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. At the time, less than 1% of the global supply of COVID vaccines was going to those living in low-income countries.
In recognition of the scale of the world’s largest ever vaccination program, Expedia Group committed to donating at least $10 million and enlisted the support of its brands and customers. From August 5 to September 5, 2021, each booking made via one of Expedia Group’s mobile apps resulted in a $2 donation by Expedia Group to UNICEF’s COVID-19 response. This was the brand’s first cross-branded marketing campaign that spanned it’s entire family of brands.
The partners raised more than $10.5 million, enabled the delivery of 5 million vaccines and achieved more than 15 million impressions on Expedia Group’s social media platforms. The CEOs of both organizations were also featured on CNN (which has almost a million prime-time viewers), and for earned media, they saw 516 media hits, which equates to a potential reach of 651 million.
Give The World A Shot, as the campaign was aptly named, was crowned the Gold Winner in the Consumer-Activated Corporate-Donation category of our Halo Awards program. The initiative also took home the coveted title - Best of the Best.
In today's episode, we'll explore:
- What makes for a best-in-class campaign
- Why this campaign was unanimously crowned the "Best of the Best" by the judges
- How the partnership came to life and what they learned along the way
- How Expedia Group relied on UNICEF's expertise to roll out its first social impact campaign that spanned all Expedia Group brands
- How each organization's leadership teams bought in
- Laura & Teresa's top tips for successful cause partnerships
- And more!
This episode is brought to you by For Momentum.
Links & Notes
- Expedia Group Website
- Expedia Group LinkedIn
- Expedia Group Instagram
- UNICEF USA Website
- UNICEF USA Twitter
- UNICEF USA Facebook
- UNICEF USA Instagram
- For Momentum Website
- For Momentum Research - Next Level Partnerships
- For Momentum Research - Key Elements Of Best In Class Campaigns
- Halo Awards
- Give The World A Shot Halo Award Blog Post
Elevate Your Social Impact
- Sign up for Engage for Good's newsletter
- Check out past podcast episodes
- Access free resources
- Check out our monthly webinars
- Let Alli know what you think of the show!
The podcast is taking a summer vacation after today's episode and will be back in August!
In today's episode, EFG's Alli Murphy is joined by Carla Deegan, Sr. Manager of Community Marketing at The Coca-Cola Company, and Ian Wright, Global Gaming Community Manager for the USO to talk about their long history of partnership and most recent peer-to-peer gaming fundraisers.
In 1941, the USO and The Coca-Cola Company became partners during WWII. Since then, the ways in which they support service members have changed, but their goals have not. The trio dive into how their partnership started, how it's evolved over time and what's led to their recent P2P fundraisers.
Since Military Appreciation Month in May of 2021, they've partnered together on three peer-to-peer gaming fundraisers that have raised $400,000. $200,000 of that from fundraising and $200,00 through Coca-Cola's dollar-for-dollar match.
In today's episode, we'll explore:
- How their gaming platform is both a fundraiser and a mission delivery tool for USO
- How Coca-Cola's involvement grew from a simple match & logo into a true partner in this initiative
- Why the partners choose to work with smaller influencers as opposed to large creators
- 4 things to do when you work with creators
- How gaming fits into Coca-Cola's CSR and business goals
- How this is all elevating Coca-Cola's brand presence
Links & Notes
- Coca-Cola Website
- USO Website
- USO Gaming
- USO Pay It Forward
Elevate Your Social Impact
- Sign up for Engage for Good's newsletter
- Check out past podcast episodes
- Access free resources
- Check out our monthly webinars
- Let Alli know what you think of the show!
In a flip of the script, EFG's Alli Murphy is the guest today instead of the show's host.
She was recently hosted on Submittable's Impact Audio podcast to talk about the excellent work and bright ideas transforming CSR for the better.
In this episode, Alli and Submittable's Rachel Mindell explore:
- Why social impact practitioners need community (and how EFG helps)
- How conversations about social impact are different this year
- The concept of "employees as a cause" and examples of this in action
- Trust-based philanthropy and other sector-wide transformations gaining steam
- Where our sector is headed
Links & Notes
- Impact Audio
- Submittable
- Season 12, Ep3: Bold Conversations And Asking “Why?”
- Season 11, Ep12: Combatting Burnout In Social Impact With #APaidWeekOff
- Season 12, Ep4: Transformative Travel With Away & Global Glimpse
- Season 12, Ep1: How To Drive Innovation On Your Team And Foster A Culture Of Psychological Safety
- Season 12, Ep8: The 3 Pillars Of Effective Employee Engagement With WWF
Elevate Your Social Impact
- Sign up for Engage for Good's newsletter
- Check out past podcast episodes
- Access free resources
- Check out our monthly webinars
- Let Alli know what you think of the show!
In today's episode, EFG's Alli Murphy is joined by Kathleen Reidenbach, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants' Chief Commercial Officer.
In February 2022, Kimpton — which operates more than 60 hotels and 80 restaurants, bars and lounges in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and China — announced an exclusive partnership with leading online behavioral health company, Talkspace to roll out mental health services to its guests and over 4,000+ employees across the country.
The partnership is the first of its kind to bring meaningful and accessible mental health support to hospitality employees, who have been front-line workers throughout the pandemic, and travelers managing everyday stresses on the road. The initiative includes 1,000 complimentary video therapy sessions for guests and a year-long complimentary Talkspace subscription for all of Kimpton's U.S. employees.
To date, more than half of the guest therapy sessions have been distributed, and the percentage of employees opting in is above average compared to workplaces overall.
In today's episode, we'll explore:
- How the KimptonXTalkspace partnership began
- Why both employees and guests qualify for this benefit
- How they manage communications at a corporate and local level
- Kimpton's history of supporting mental health and how leaders champion the Talkspace benefit
Links & Notes
- KimptonXTalkspace Blog Post
- KimptonxTalkspace landing page
- Kimpton Instagram Reducing Travel Anxiety
- No Ordinary Agenda
Elevate Your Social Impact
- Sign up for Engage for Good's newsletter
- Check out past podcast episodes
- Access free resources
- Check out our monthly webinars
- Let Alli know what you think of the show!
In today's episode, EFG's Alli Murphy is joined by Engage for Good president and founder David Hessekiel to talk about our upcoming conference - EFG2022 - our 20th-anniversary conference taking place in just two weeks in Atlanta, GA, May 17 - 19.
In today's episode we'll explore:
- What exciting things are in store for this year's conference
- The top two reasons you should attend
- What's different about this year's conference
- Our new Boot Matching initiative
- How to make the most of your conference experience
Links & Notes
- EFG2022 Conference
- Boost Matching
- Engage for Good
Elevate Your Social Impact
- Join 500+ of your corporate social impact peers at EFG2022 in Atlanta this May
- Sign up for Engage for Good's newsletter
- Check out past podcast episodes
- Access free resources
- Check out our monthly webinars
- Let Alli know what you think of the show!
World Wildlife Fund is the world’s leading conservation organization. They work in almost 100 countries with nearly 5 million supporters globally and have a robust employee engagement program called Together@Work.
In today's episode, EFG's Alli Murphy is joined by Cheron Carlson, World Wildlife Fund's Manager for Employee Engagement to talk about the three pillars of effective employee engagement programs and what they're doing around Earth Month.
And while April is Earth Month, WWF collaborates with its partners year-round to develop and deliver innovative solutions that protect communities, wildlife and the places in which they live. World Wildlife Fund leverages this moment in time while simultaneously encouraging year-round participation from employees and consumers.
In today's episode we'll explore:
- The 3 pillars of effective employee engagement programs and examples of those pillars in action
- How WWF work with its corporate partners to achieve behavior change for millions of employees
- 4 Tips for nonprofits looking to bolster their employee engagement offerings
- 7 Tips for companies on running successful employee engagement programs
- The importance of getting an internal comms person onboard
- What's on the horizon for the WWF team
Links & Notes
- WWF Employee Engagement
- 60 Actions For The Planet
Elevate Your Social Impact
- Join 500+ of your corporate social impact peers at EFG2022 in Atlanta this May
- Sign up for Engage for Good's newsletter
- Check out past podcast episodes
- Access free resources
- Check out our monthly webinars
- Let Alli know what you think of the show!
More than 300 million women and children worldwide have received life-changing vitamins and minerals through Walgreen and Vitamin Angel's 8-year partnership.
In today's episode, EFG's Alli Murphy is joined by Lauren Stone, Director of CSR at Walgreens, and Katelyn Harbison Associate Director of Global Partnerships at Vitamin Angels.
The trio talks about their 8-year partnership, the prenatal vitamin pilot program they recently launched in 16 Walgreens stores across Chicago, and the importance of the work they're doing in the public health space.
In today's episode, we'll cover:
- How their partnership began and why it's an inspiration for those of you just getting started
- Walgreens’ commitment to DEI and their broader corporate social responsibility work
- Lauren & Katelyn's advice for building robust, multi-year partnerships
- How the duo has evolved their campaigns over time
- Their top tips for developing impactful initiatives
- Why big numbers like reaching 500 million women and children are great, but individual stories are needed too
- The importance of evolution, adaptation, communication and building internal champions
Links & Notes
- Walgreens Boots Alliance
- Walgreens Corporate Responsibility
- Vitamin Angels
- Vitamin Angels & Walgreens Halo Award
Elevate Your Social Impact
- Join 500+ of your corporate social impact peers at EFG2022 in Atlanta this May
- Sign up for Engage for Good's newsletter
- Check out past Cause Talk Radio episodes
- Access free resources
- Check out our monthly webinars
- Let Alli know what you think of the show!
In 2019, 34.2 million people in the US played golf. In 2021, thanks to the physically distanced nature of the sport, that number increased to 37.5 million. That's great news for golfers and those that fundraise through golf. And the excellent news for those of you who don't know the first thing about golf is that you don't need to know anything about the sport to start setting up a successful tournament that raises serious funds for a nonprofit.
In today's episode, EFG's Alli Murphy is joined by Brian Schenk, Chief Philanthropy Officer at Dormie Network, and Logan Foote, Education and Development Manager at GolfStatus, to talk about how to use golf for fundraising, corporate partnerships, and CSR.
Dormie Network is a national network of clubs combining the experience of destination golf with the premier hospitality of private membership. GolfStatus is the leading event management platform for golf fundraisers.
In today's episode, we'll cover:
- What Dormie Day of Giving is and how it fits into the Dormie Foundation
- How Dormie Network leverages golf to donate $4.8 million in gifts in kind and raise $3.2 million in cash in hand
- How golf events can help nonprofits open doors to corporate partnerships
- What to include in sponsorship packages
- Brian & Logan's advice for setting up your first tournament
- Lessons the duo learned along the way
- Why you don't need to know anything about golf to run a successful tournament
This episode is brought to you by GolfStatus. If your golf tournament raises money for a charity or nonprofit, you can qualify for access to GolfStatus’s event management and fundraising platform through the Golf for Good program at no cost.
Links & Notes
- Dormie Network
- GolfStatus.Org
- GolfStatus Resources
Elevate Your Social Impact
- Join 500+ of your corporate social impact peers at EFG2022 in Atlanta this May
- Sign up for Engage for Good's newsletter
- Check out past Cause Talk Radio episodes
- Access free resources
- Check out our monthly webinars
- Let Alli know what you think of the show!
If you aren’t fulfilled, aren’t inspired, aren’t focused, the best-laid goals and plans won’t be realized. So, how do we make sure that the people in this community, you, the people committed to changing the world, actually do? In this episode, EFG's Alli Murphy is joined by Accelersit's CEO and Founder, Brittany Hill, to answer that question and share a more focused, effective, and faster way to fulfill your work...and make it more fulfilling.
Accelerist is a proprietary SaaS platform that some of the industry’s most prolific brands and nonprofits rely on to prospect, measure, fundraise and inspire their partnerships. They also created the Journal for Purpose People and are creating a broader Purpose People community to support the brands and nonprofits that work in this space.
In this episode, we'll cover:
- What the Journal for Purpose People is and what it'll help you do in just 10 minutes a day
- How to connect the person within you to the work you do
- How Accelerist nearly tripled its revenue last year, doubled its monthly recurring revenue this year, and increased its teams' productivity
- The 3 trends Brittany will cover in her session at EFG2022
- How Brittany went from professional dancer to CEO and Founder of a software company
- What's on the horizon for Accelerist and the Purpose People Community
- What makes software useless
This episode is brought to you by Accelerist.
Links & Notes
- Purpose People
- The Journal For Purpose People
- Accelerist's Website
- Accelerist Trend Report
- Engage for Good 2022 Conference
- EFG2022 Agenda
Elevate Your Social Impact
- Sign up for Engage for Good's newsletter
- Check out past Cause Talk Radio episodes
- Access free resources
- Check out our monthly webinars
- Let Alli know what you think of the show!
When was the last time you traveled? Whether it was an international trip or something closer to home, I'm guessing you learned something from the experience. As Ralph Crawshaw said, "Travel has a way of stretching the mind.”
In this episode, EFG's Alli Murphy is joined by Eliza Pesuit, Founding Executive Director of Global Glimpse, and Kelsey Todd, Senior Manager of Social Impact at Away.
Away is a Global lifestyle brand on a mission to transform travel. The brand has been named one of Fast Company's "World's Most Innovative Companies" and has been recognized on TIME's list of "Best Inventions."
The nonprofit Global Glimpse empowers U.S. high school students from diverse backgrounds to think and act as responsible global citizens by providing them with transformative international travel experiences and virtual global learning programs.
The partners are working together to unlock the transformative powers of travel for the next generation by providing diverse youth with opportunities to expand their horizons and learn from communities and cultures different from their own, both at home and around the world. The campaign includes financial support, in-kind donations, consumer engagement, and various ways for employees to get involved.
Eliza and Kelsey are authentic, tell it like it is, and aren’t afraid of having honest conversations with their partners.
Listen to this episode to learn:
- How they developed a robust, multi-year partnership
- How their partnership has evolved and what they've learned along the way
- What impact this partnership has had on Away’s business
- Why experiences like these are crucial for youth
- Their advice for corporate social impact pros
- The importance of relationships and open conversations
- The importance of asking questions like “How do we support you?” and “Is this helpful to you?”
Links & Notes
- Global Glimpse
- Away
Elevate Your Social Impact
- Sign up for Engage for Good's newsletter
- Check out past Cause Talk Radio episodes
- Access free resources
- Check out our monthly webinars
- Let Alli know what you think of the show!
In today's episode, EFG's Alli Murphy is joined by incredible question asker and bold conversation champion Carley Stephens - the Community Affairs Manager at Gas South. Carley has experience on both the corporate and the nonprofit sides of social impact and uses that experience to lead Gas South's corporate citizenship which includes philanthropic giving and employee community engagement.
As you might have guessed, Carley is a firm believer in the importance of having bold conversations with your partners, building trust and credibility internally and externally, and asking a variety of questions to discern the best way to move forward. She's about to be recognized as a Top Practitioner in the Leaders in Corporate Citizenship Awards in her home city of Atlanta and she's joining us as a speaker at EFG2022 our annual conference, also in Atlanta, in May.
Listen to this episode to learn:
- How to have bold conversations with your partners
- Why the onus is on companies to champion these bold conversations
- How Carley transformed her role from "check presenter" to setting company strategy
- What she'll be talking about at EFG2022
- The importance of meeting people where they are
- Three great resources to help you rethink and approach your work with empathy and compassion
One of Alli's favorite quotes from this conversation is... "a bunch of magic waiting to happen." What is Carley referring to? Well, you'll have to listen in to find out!
This episode is brought to you by Gas South.
Links & Notes
- Brené Brown's Feedback Checklist
- Brené Brown
- Think Again by Adam Grant
- Carley Stephens on LinkedIn
- EFG2022
- Gas South
- Gas South on Facebook
- Gas South on LinkedIn
- Gas South on Twitter
- Gas South: A “Fuel for Good”
Elevate Your Social Impact
- Sign up for Engage for Good's newsletter
- Check out past Cause Talk Radio episodes
- Access free resources
- Check out our monthly webinars
- Let Alli know what you think of the show!
EFG2022 - our 20th-anniversary conference - is right around the corner. We're headed to Atlanta, GA May 17-19, and we can't wait to see you in person.
In today's episode, Alli Murphy brings back this podcast's founder, Megan Strand, who worked at Engage for Good for ten years. Megan has attended about a dozen EFG conferences over the years and has some great insights to share with you.
Listen to this episode to learn:
- What she's been up to these past few months
- Some of her favorite conference memories over the years
- The top reasons to attend EFG2022
- Four concrete ways to make the most out of your conference experience
Get ready for some humor, some banter and a whole lot of reasons to attend the best conference in the corporate social impact space!
Links & Notes
- EFG2022
- Halo Award Case Studies (bottom of the page)
- Realized Worth
Elevate Your Social Impact
- Sign up for Engage for Good's newsletter
- Check out past Engage For Good episodes
- Access free resources
- Check out our monthly webinars
- Let Alli know what you think of the show!
In order to grow, advance and stay relevant organizations have to innovate. Which begs the question, “how do we innovate and how do we create teams and cultures where innovation can thrive?”
To answer that, EFG’s Alli Murphy chats with Virginia Martinez.
Virginia and Alli worked together back in their days at UC Berkeley Executive Education where Virginia designed innovation courses for executives from around the world. She then spent five years at IDEO, a global innovation consultancy, where she advised clients on how to create more innovative cultures. Virginia is now the founder of Tenth House Consulting.
She’s helped Amazon, Salesforce, YouTube and Visa become more innovative and today, she’s here to help you drive innovation on your teams.
Listen to this episode to learn:
- The 5 questions to ask yourself and your team as you work to become more innovative
- What makes people 30% less likely to share their ideas (and how to combat this)
- What innovation and creative problem solving have in common
- How to foster a culture of psychological safety
And lots more!
Links & Notes * Tenth House Consulting * The Innovation Mindset STRIVE Magazine * UC Berkeley ExecEd * IDEO * Webinar - Successful CSR: Intentional, Purpose-Driven & Mutually Beneficial
Elevate Your Social Impact * Sign up for Engage for Good's newsletter * Check out past Cause Talk Radio episodes * Access free resources * Check out our monthly webinars * Let Alli know what you think of the show!
Happy holidays, Change Makers!
We're wrapping up season 11 and the end of the year with a short holiday episode for you.
Listen to this episode to hear:
- Some exciting podcast updates
- An announcement about our 20th anniversary conference
- 7 things to do while you unplug from work this holidays season
It’s been such a treat to host the podcast these past few months and to have you join us each week. We’ll see you in the new year for Season 12 where we're kicking things off strong with an episode about team dynamics, innovation and psychological safety!
Links & Notes * Check out the conference * Sign up for our newsletter * Make a dried orange garland * Connect with Alli on LinkedIn
Elevate Your Social Impact * Sign up for Engage for Good's newsletter * Check out past Cause Talk Radio episodes * Access free resources * Check out our monthly webinars * Let Alli know what you think of the show!
In 2016, Edward Jones became the first National Presenting Sponsor for the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s, which takes place in more than 600 communities each year.
Since then, more than 75,000 participants have walked for Edward Jones to help raise more than $25 million in the fight to end Alzheimer’s. In July of 2020, the firm announced the renewal of its five-year strategic alliance, for a total commitment of $50 million by the end of 2025.
In today’s episode, Alli Murphy is joined by Ken Cella, General Partner at Edward Jones, and Katie Evans, Vice President of Corporate Initiatives at Alzheimer’s Association.
Listen in to learn:
- Why Edward Jones and Alzheimer’s Association are a right fit for partnership
- The many facets and touchpoints of their partnership
- How Alzheimer’s Association manages expectations and delivers great employee engagement experiences
- The importance of developing a formal volunteer program
This episode is brought to you by Edward Jones.
Links & Notes * Alzheimer's Association * Alzheimer's Association Blog * Edward Jones Website * Season 11, Ep 11: JEDI, Mentorship & Corporate Partners With Artis Stevens * Season 10, Ep20: Gas South: A “Fuel for Good”
Elevate Your Social Impact * Sign up for Engage for Good's newsletter * Check out past Cause Talk Radio episodes * Access free resources * Check out our monthly webinars * Let Alli know what you think of the show!a
In May 2021, to mark the launch of Mental Health Awareness Month, On Our Sleeves, the national movement for children’s mental health, set an ambitious goal to provide free mental health resources to more than 1 million teachers and classrooms across America. Just five months later, they surpassed that ambitious goal, reaching more than 1.1 million classrooms.
Big Lots, a strong national sponsor and longtime partner of the movement joined as the Million Classroom Project’s first corporate partner, setting an ambitious goal of getting On Our Sleeves materials into 150,000 schools.
In today's episode, Engage for Good's Alli Murphy is joined by Marti Bledsoe Post, Executive Director of On Our Sleeves, and Jeremy Ball, Vice President Internal Communications, Philanthropy and Events, at Big Lots to talk about the partnership and what they've learned along the way.
Tune into today's episode to learn all about:
- Marti's advice for securing corporate partners in historically "taboo" cause areas
- Jeremy's advice on corporate advocacy and how to get started
- What the On Our Sleeves Movement and the Million Classroom Project are
- How Big Lots is involved in the partnerships
- How the team refocused the One Our Sleeves mission and strategy amid the pandemic
- What's on the horizon for the partnership
Links & Notes * On Our Sleeves Website * Big Lots Website * Big Lots Community Page
Elevate Your Social Impact * Sign up for Engage for Good's newsletter * Check out past Cause Talk Radio episodes * Access free resources * Check out our monthly webinars * Let Alli know what you think of the show!
When the pandemic first hit, small businesses took a huge blow with many being forced to shutter their doors.
In response, Engage for Good sponsor, eBay, stepped in to help tens of thousands of these small businesses get “Up and Running” online through their platform, providing tremendous support to convert brick and mortar stores to accessible, online ones.
They also developed the Up & Running Grants program which gave 50 grantees $10,000 apiece, as well as mentorship and resources in collaboration with business accelerator Hello Alice.
After a wildly successful first year of the program, the eBay team decided to run it again.
This year, the second annual small business support program marks $1 million in total investment for grant winners. In today's episode, EFG's Alli Murphy is joined by Rebecca Michals, Director of Community & Engagement at eBay.
Tune into today's episode to learn all about:
- What makes this program so successful for eBay and its sellers
- What the company learned from last year's group of grantees
- Trends Rebecca and her team are seeing from this year's applicant group
- Success stories from past recipients
- What's on the horizon for eBay and the Up & Running Grants Program
Links & Notes * Up & Running Grants Program * Season 10, Ep 4: How eBay Helps Small Businesses Stay Up and Running
Elevate Your Social Impact * Sign up for Engage for Good's newsletter * Check out past Cause Talk Radio episodes * Access free resources * Check out our monthly webinars * Let Alli know what you think of the show!
Happy Holidays! It's another episode of the "Joe Show" with Selfish Giving's Joe Waters.
In today's episode, EFG's Alli Murphy and Joe talk about all things holidays campaigns. From classic well-known campaigns that are coming back this year to what's on the holiday horizon in the social impact space.
On the show, Alli and Joe discuss:
- What campaigns Joe expects to see on the horizon this holiday season
- What it takes to develop a successful holiday campaign
- Two things to do on GivingTuesday, according to Joe
- Three trends on the horizon and predictions for each
- The duo's favorite GivingTuesday campaigns
Links & Notes * SelfishGiving Website * Joe on Twitter * Ep193: Virgin America’s ‘Operation Chihuahua’ Airlifts Dogs to Forever Homes * Macy's 2021 Believe Campaign * 2021 St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign * Season 11, Ep12: Combatting Burnout In Social Impact With #APaidWeekOff * Watching a live performance makes people more charitable * Giant Food Donates Over $1.2 Million to USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore
Elevate Your Social Impact * Sign up for Engage for Good's newsletter * Check out past Cause Talk Radio episodes * Access free resources * Check out our monthly webinars * Let Alli know what you think of the show!
The last 18 months have been exhausting. For many of us, work has gotten busier and we’re cooped up at home where it’s harder to take a break. Burnout is at a frighteningly high level.
What can we do about it and how can you best care for your social impact teams that are doing incredibly important work?
There are a variety of different things you can do and today we’re covering one of them.
Bumble recently gave nearly all its employees #APaidWeekOff to shut off, focus on themselves and combat burnout. LinkedIn did something similar in April – so did Benevity, HootSuite, The Trevor Project and today’s guest – Public Inc. Each organization gave all – or a large swath of – their employees a paid week off at the same time.
In today’s episode, Engage for Good’s Alli Murphy is joined by Phil Haid, Founder & CEO of Public Inc. to talk about how Phil and his team made it happen, what the impact was like and his advice for others who are interested in giving it a shot.
Tune into today’s episode to learn all about:
- Why Phil decided on a collective week off (instead of extra vacation whenever employees wanted to use it)
- The steps Public Inc. took to make it a reality
- What the feedback was like from employees and clients (spoiler alert – it was really good!)
- Why this is important for organizations in the social impact space
- How Phil would approach this conversation with a CEO
- Phil’s advice for getting leadership buy-in for #APaidWeekOff
Links & Notes * Public Inc. Website * Phil on LinkedIn * Public on LinkedIn * Phil on Twitter * Public on Twitter * Blog post about what Phil learned from the experience * Bumble's #APaidWeekOff
Elevate Your Social Impact
- [Sign up for Engage for Good's newsletter] (https://engageforgood.com/newsletter-signup/)
- [Check out past Cause Talk Radio episodes] (https://engageforgood.com/resources/podcasts/)
- [Access free resources] (https://engageforgood.com/)
- [Check out our monthly webinars] (https://engageforgood.com/webinars/)
- [Let Alli know what you think of the show!] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisonmurphy541/)
In today's episode, Engage for Good's Alli Murphy is joined by Artis Stevens, President & CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA). He's been on the podcast before - at the time he was the Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer for the National 4-H Council, and before that, he was the National Vice President of Marketing, Strategy & Operations at Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
An award-winning nonprofit marketing leader with a passion for building purpose-driven brands, boards and teams, Artis’ experience has led to transformational outcomes in fundraising and DEI initiatives.
Tune into today's episode to learn all about:
- Five pieces of advice for attracting corporate partners and Artis' advice to those companies themselves
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of America's JEDI programming goals and the organization's newly launched "JEDI Council"
- The power of mentorship in the social impact space and how it relates to partnerships, team development, employee engagement, employee resource groups, etc.
- Artis' experience leading BBBSA; a role he's been in for almost a year
Links & Notes * [Big Brothers Big Sisters Of America Website] (https://www.bbbs.org/) * [Artis on Twitter] (https://twitter.com/artisnstevens?lang=en) * [Artis on LinkedIn] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/artis-stevens-b386195/) * [Ep324: How Microsoft And National 4-H Council Empower And Connect Today’s Youth] (https://engageforgood.com/ep324-how-microsoft-and-national-4-h-council-empower-and-connect-todays-youth/)
Elevate Your Social Impact * Sign up for Engage for Good's newsletter * Check out past Cause Talk Radio episodes * Access free resources * Check out our monthly webinars * Let Alli know what you think of the show!
We live in a world where excess and consumption have never been higher, yet millions of people find themselves in critical need every day, which creates a massive need gap.
Good360, one of Engage for Good's sponsors, is the global leader in product philanthropy and works with some of the world’s largest brands to connect critically needed goods with 100k+ nonprofits that help people in need throughout the U.S. and around the world.
In today's episode, EFG's Alli Murphy is joined by Shari Rudolph, Good360's Chief Development Officer & Chief Marketing Officer to explore the lessons they've learned, Shari's advice for nonprofits and companies alike and ways to accurately identify and support community needs.
Tune into today's episode to learn all about:
- Shari's top tips for companies interested in product philanthropy
- Ways companies can get involved, even if they don't have a product
- What nonprofits need to know about this space
- How to mitigate a "second disaster"
- The importance of being outcome-focused instead of impact-focused
Links & Notes * [Good360 Website] (https://good360.org/)
Elevate Your Social Impact * Sign up for Engage for Good's newsletter * Check out past Cause Talk Radio episodes * Access free resources * Check out our monthly webinars * Let Alli know what you think of the show!
Giving online no longer happens just on a charity's website. It happens on Facebook, at checkout, on GoFundMe and a host of other places. One of those "places" is on PayPal. PayPal is using the power of its technology and network to grow generosity around the world.
In today's episode, EFG's Alli Murphy is joined by Oktay Dogramaci, VP of Giving at PayPal. The duo dive into what PayPal does in the Giving space, who their customers are, what their data says and how giving is built on top of the core PayPal model (instead of being a standalone program).
They also highlight PayPal's new app which includes all the things you're used to plus an exciting way to give.
Tune into today's episode to learn all about:
- One thing that makes consumers 5 - 6 times more likely to give
- What trends are on the horizon in the giving space
- The seasonality of standard giving seasons and how that went out the window in 2020
- How nonprofits can sign up to receive funds through PayPal
- What the data says about consumers who are given a choice of charity at checkout
- The importance of meeting consumers where they hang out
- The fact that when consumers give at checkout, they're more likely to give in other ways throughout the year
- Their work around disasters
- PayPal's revamped app which has centralized their giving features
Links & Notes * Check out PayPal's revamped app - they've centralized their giving * Season 11, Ep5: Proactive Crisis Response With Google.Org
Elevate Your Social Impact * Sign up for our newsletter * Check out past Cause Talk Radio episodes * Access free resources * Check out our monthly webinars * Let me know what you think of the show!
IBM recently announced a massive initiative to skill 30 million people globally by 2030. To find out what that means, how they plan to do it and what work they've already been doing in this space Engage for Good's Alli Murphy chats with Justina Nixon-Saintil, VP and Global Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at IBM, and Natasha Young, Director of Strategic Partnerships at MDR - an agency of marketing experts who've been connecting educators and brands for 50 years.
MDR and IBM's partnership started at the beginning of the pandemic when schools were closing, jobs were in jeopardy and people were wondering how they were going to teach their kids and keep or pivot their own jobs. The foundation of this partnership is IBM SkillsBuild - a platform that offers kids, teachers and adults free learning, support and resources around STEM and new collar skills.
Tune into today's episode to learn all about:
- Justina's top 3 lessons learned during her tenure at IBM
- Natasha's advice for driving social impact at scale
- What IBM SkillsBuild is and how the organizations work together
- How MDR's WeAreTeachers network of three million active teachers enables IBM to drive change in the education channel
- How IBM is developing talent pipelines across a variety of programs
- The importance of selecting the right partner - experts in that field who also have mission alignment
Links & Notes * IBM SkillsBuild * MDR Website * WeAreTeachers * MDR LinkedIn * MDR Twitter * MDR Facebook
Elevate Your Social Impact * Sign up for Engage for Good's newsletter * Check out past Cause Talk Radio episodes * Access free resources * Check out our monthly webinars * Let Alli know what you think of the show!
Point-of-sale fundraising is big business and as a retailer's frontline ambassadors, employees who engage with point-of-sale fundraising efforts can make or break a campaign.
In 2019, one of Engage for Good's sponsors, Save the Children, joined forces with Ulta Beauty to celebrate Mothers Day and support moms and kids in need. The campaign saw massive success and to this day they double their revenue year over year.
In today's episode, EFG's Alli Murphy is joined by Jessica Fiscella, Director of Community and Government Relations at Ulta Beauty, and Jenna Baker Senior Director, Corporate Partnerships at Save the Children to talk about how their partnership began, what they've learned along the way and what you can implement in your own partnerships.
Tune into today's episode to learn all about:
- How their partnership began and where they found value alignment
- The unique role store associates play in advancing point of sale campaigns
- How critical the enthusiasm and buy-in of Ulta employees have been to the YOY growth of their partnership
- The feedback they've received from employees and how it improved the program
- How they pivoted amidst Covid and were prepared for re-opening
- How they've evolved their communications over time
- Their biggest pieces of advice for organizations that are partnering together for the first time
If you're interested in developing or bolstering a POS fundraising partnership and preparing your frontline ambassadors - your employees - for success you won't want to miss this episode!
Links & Notes * Save the Children Website * Save the Children Facebook * Save the Children LinkedIn * Save the Children Twitter * Save the Children Instagram * Ulta Beauty Website * Ulta Beauty Facebook * Ulta Beauty LinkedIn * Ulta Beauty Twitter
For more than 20 years, Subaru has supported pet-focused organizations that seek to improve the health and well-being of animals. With 68% of Subaru owners owning a pet and 50% of those having at least one dog, pets are a major pillar for Subaru. Through the Subaru Loves Pets initiative, Subaru has impacted more than 250,000 pets.
In today's episode, EFG's Alli Murphy is joined by Bridget Hanrahan, Associate Director of Marketing Operations, and Liz Edelen, Subaru's Love Promise Community Commitment Manager to talk about Subaru Loves Pets Month (October) and National Make A Dog's Day (October 22).
Tune into today's episode to hear all about:
The Subaru Loves Pets initiative and how it ladders up to their larger Subaru Love Promise
- What National Make A Dog's Day is and how it began
- How they engage their employees around this pillar
- Their focus on supporting underdogs
- How their October 2020 Subaru retailer adoption events resulted in the adoptions of nearly 20,000 animals
- Their advice for creating your own awareness month or cornerstone day
Links & Notes * Subaru Website * Subaru Love Promise * Subaru Loves Pets * Subaru Facebook * Subaru Instagram * Subaru Twitter
Since 2005 Google.Org (Google's philanthropic arm) has brought the best of Google to help solve some of humanity’s biggest challenges — combining funding, innovation and technical expertise to support underserved communities and provide opportunity for everyone.
In today's episode, EFG's Alli Murphy is joined by Alex Díaz, Head of Crisis Response and Humanitarian Aid at Google.org to talk about the work he and his team do, what he's learned along the way and how companies can develop proactive crisis management strategies of their own.
Tune into today's episode to learn all about:
- How Google responds to crises (and some of the criteria they use to make the decision)
- The work that goes in before a disaster strikes (including anticipatory action)
- How they help build resilient communities long after the news has left
- How companies can bolster their own crisis or disaster response programs
- The importance of building nonprofit partnerships proactively
- The full spectrum of a crisis timeline and the need to diversify funding across the disaster cycle
- How companies can leverage their various assets (not just cash)
- The impact of coupling dollars with volunteering
One thing we didn't talk about is Google.Org's response to Covid - but they're doing a lot here too. Google.Org has committed $100 million and 50,000 hours of pro bono support to COVID-19 response including direct cash transfer which Alex mentions in this episode.
Links & Notes * Google.Org on Twitter * Google.Org Website * Google on LinkedIn * Google.Org's COVID-19 Response * Previous episode that references Google Fellows
A new generation of companies entering the marketplace are taking a different approach to CSR than their more established counterparts. The rise of these companies built with both social purpose in mind and a willingness to challenge conventional CSR wisdom and the status quo has the potential to upend the social impact landscape.
Navigating the Changing Landscape of Social Impact Emerging brands often have more progressive business strategies and a socially conscious millennial workforce and consumer base. They also seek to engage in social purpose strategies and nonprofit partnerships that differ from those of traditional corporations and often-taught best practices.
In today’s episode, EFG's Alli Murphy is joined by Meagan Dorsch, Head of Social Impact for Visible and Rich Maiore, President of Rocket Social Impact, one of EFG’s sponsors. The trio explores how these new entrants—those who have risen in profile over the past few years—are shaking up the social impact space and what it means for both nonprofits and established companies.
Tune into today's episode to hear all about: * The 3 things established companies can learn from emerging brands * What emerging brands want from potential nonprofit partners (and how to deliver) * Why nonprofits shouldn't shy away from partnering with smaller companies * How a company can go "beyond the donation" * The importance of embracing risk and "provocative" issues * How to "look in, around and through"
It's September... you've probably seen back-to-school commercials on TV, heard school updates on the radio and seen store aisles littered with colorful school supplies. Back-to-school (or, in some cases, already-in-school) is in full effect. Yet, heading "back to school" isn't just about getting kids the right notebooks and pencils. It's also about helping them get emotionally and mentally ready for the change and thinking about what their after-school activities will look like.
After the especially trying year we've had, that's no small feat.
Boys & Girls Clubs of America, a sponsor of Engage for Good, is one organization that has been working in this space for years. In today's episode, EFG's Alli Murphy is joined by Chad Royal-Pascoe, Acting Senior Vice President of Resource Development at Boys & Girls Clubs of America to talk about their Back2School campaign and how they've built it into a successful annual fundraising platform.
Tune into today's episode to hear all about:
How Back2School began as a PR event and transformed into a successful seasonal campaign BGCA's plans to pilot "local cause marketing" and what's in store on that front Chad's input for developing your own seasonal campaign How they ensure a focus on local clubs, even at the national level What keeps corporate partners coming back each year One stellar piece of advice for developing lasting corporate partnerships (and succeeding in life!)
Links & Notes
- Boys & Girls Clubs of America Website
- Back2School
- BGCA Back2School Partner Sizzle
- Retailers Continue Momentum with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to Support Kids and Teens Heading Back2School
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women worldwide. In the US, Black women are 40% more likely than white women to be diagnosed.
In today's episode, EFG's Alli Murphy is joined by two leaders working together to combat this issue - Sarah Rosales Vice President, Corporate Partnerships at Susan G. Komen and Jim Peters, Head of Partnerships and Sponsorships at Ford Motor Company.
The trio talks about how this 27-year partnership started, how it has evolved over the years and how they help each other reach their goals. Sarah and Jim also share their top tips for creating and sustaining successful cause partnerships of your own. They highlight the importance of finding the value intersection between a brand and a nonprofit, being clear about the "why" behind your partnership and the importance of staying dynamic as each side responds to the other's evolving needs over time.
Get ready to hear about an event sponsor campaign turned long-standing partnership where both sides are inspired by and excited about the work they do and the impact they make. It's time to dive in!
Links & Notes
- Komen.org Partner Page
- Komen Website
- Ford Cares
- Warriors in Pink website
- Treatment Assistance Program
- The Komen Connection
In today's episode, EFG's Alli Murphy is joined by Scott Beaudoin, Executive Vice President of Social Purpose and Sustainability at Brodeur Partners, a global strategic communications firm. Broder Partners is a sponsor of Engage for Good and has a wealth of knowledge in this space... Scott alone has more than 20 years of experience in the field and has worked with top companies across industries.
The duo talk about the changes Scott's seen in social purpose over the past two decades, the importance of being strategic and values-driven, which companies will rise above and which will fall behind when it comes to "return to work" and how wellbeing and mental health are a cause area to pay attention to internally and externally.
Tune in to hear more from Scott including tangible tips for communicating sustainability to consumers and employees, how to approach flexible workplaces and ways to attract and retain talent!
Links & Notes
- Brodeur Website
- Brodeur Social Purpose and Sustainability
For the last bonus episode of Season 10, we’ve pulled a great episode out of the archives for you in which Dan Goldenberg, Executive Director for Call of Duty Endowment and Vice President at Activision Blizzard talks all about their Halo-Award-winning effort HireHonor.
Celebrating 10 years of successful partnership, Activision and the Call of Duty Endowment started 2019 with a unified goal: raise $4.5 million in 2019, to help place 10,000 veterans into high-quality jobs in 2020. In collaboration with the Endowment, Activision leveraged its world-class marketing and creative departments to create #HireHonor, a 360-degree campaign that coincided with the launch of 2019’s biggest console game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
In this episode, Megan and Dan talk about this incredibly successful effort to raise funds and awareness for the issue of veteran employment, how the team focused their efforts to do fewer things better, why they chose to expand internationally and how partnerships with gamers, retailers and sponsors helped elevate this initiative.
So buckle up and get ready to dive in! This show was originally released in July of 2020.
Links & Notes
- [CODE on Twitter] (https://www.twitter.com/code4vets)
- [Dan Goldenberg on Twitter] (https://www.twitter.com/dan4vets)
- [CODE on Instagram] (https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/code4vets/)
- [CODE on Facebook] (https://www.facebook.com/CallofDutyEndowment/)
- [CODE Website] (https://callofdutyendowment.org/)
- [Halo Award Write-Up] (https://engageforgood.com/halo-award/hire-honor/)
Like last week, today’s episode is a re-run and we’re talking about JetBlue's corporate disaster response and initiatives with JetBlue’s VP of CSR and DEI, Icema Gibbs.
Why?
Because this episode featuring JetBlue is one of our all-time most popular episodes and because the topic is timely as we traverse through wildfire season, hurricane season and the pandemic we find ourselves in.
Tune in to today’s episode to learn all about:
- JetBlue’s top priorities after a disaster event: crew members, customers and community
- The different phases of disaster recovery and the importance of empowering a local community to get back on its feet
- Why more collaboration between companies is critical in a disaster and the steps JetBlue has taken to form tighter alliances
- What JetBlue looks for in nonprofit partners: like-minded organizations that are nimble, flexible and align with the JetBlue brand
- And much more
So buckle up and get ready to dive in! This show was originally released in October of 2018.
Links & Notes * Learn more about the jetBlue Foundation * Connect with Icema Gibbs on LinkedIn
The next three Cause Talk Radio episodes will be reruns of some fantastic interviews that are timely for one reason or another. We’ll come back on September 1 with new episodes each Wednesday.
Today’s episode is about men's mental health.
Why?
Mental health has become much more of an open topic during and post-pandemic. One of the brands that has been in this space for quite a while, tackling these issues and doing it well is Harry’s - the razor brand. Plus, the company just launched its $5M Open Minds Initiative.
A few years ago, the company decided to focus its social impact efforts specifically on men’s mental health. In today’s episode, you’ll hear Megan Strand talk with Maggie Hureau, Harry’s Head of Social Impact. The duo talk about how this cause area came to be, the tough questions they asked themselves like "how do we do with our own team’s mental health? and "as a brand that sells razors are we comfortable talking about this issue?"
You’ll also hear about how they picked this cause area, their 1% model in which they direct 1% of sales to charitable organizations, how they’ve focused efforts to serve black men, specifically and so much more. So buckle up and get ready to dive in! This show was originally released in October of 2020.
Links & Notes
- Harry's Open Minds Initiative
- Forbes interview on Open Minds with Maggie Hureau
- Harry's Social Mission Page
- Harry’s on Instagram
- Harry’s on Twitter
- Harry’s on Facebook
Hustle is the trusted leader in person-to-person text messaging. In today's episode, Hustle's VP of Client Success Shea Waldron joins EFG's Alli Murphy to talk about the power of texting at scale and how personalized text messages can amplify your social impact and CSR efforts.
Shea talks about Hustle's origin story, their giveback program - Hustle for Good, the difference between broadcast text alerts versus what they do (personalized text messages from a local number at scale) and brings to life examples of how nonprofits and brands are using one-to-one messaging to do good.
Needless to say, texting is a great option to add to your toolkit. Tune into today's episode to learn all about how easy it is to use and what you can achieve by setting up your own campaigns.
Links & Notes * Hustle Website * Hustle for Good * Email Hustle * Hustle on LinkedIn * Hustle on Twitter * Hustle on Facebook
Ten years ago EFG's Megan Strand and Selfish Giving's Joe Waters started a podcast - Cause Talk Radio, to be specific.
Today's episode is a little different. Instead of interviewing a guest, it's a transition episode. Megan is headed off to her next professional adventure and is retiring from the podcast. So today, Megan, Alli and Joe come together to relive some of their favorite podcast memories.
They talk about Megan and Joe's first-ever episode with Joe's good friend John Haydon back in 2012, more recent episodes like A "Fuel For Good" and advice Joe and Megan have for Alli as she carries on the torch.
Cause Talk Radio is going on summer vacation but don't fret, we'll be back in the fall with more great content! Until then, tune into today's episode for some great laughs, fond memories and inspiration for the road ahead.
Links & Notes * The first-ever episode of Cause Talk Radio * Gas South: A "Fuel For Good"
We all know it takes an extraordinary individual to launch and sustain a purpose-focused business but this episode's guest, Leeatt Rothschild, takes this to an entirely new level because not only is she a successful social entrepreneur, she launched her business when she was 7 months pregnant with twins.
Packed With Purpose is the company Leeatt founded in 2016 and they source high quality gifts from vendors that in some way, shape or form are making a meaningful community impact right here in the United States.
If you haven't yet experienced a Packed With Purpose gift box, you should consider ordering one for yourself and then make it your gift of choice for pretty much any occasion.
Leeatt is the perfect blend of marketer and do-gooder and you're really going to enjoy Megan's interview with her so sit back and enjoy the episode!
Links & Notes * Packed With Purpose Website * PwP on Facebook * PwP on Twitter * PwP on Insta
For Momentum is a leading cause marketing agency that helps companies and nonprofits prosper through partnership and sponsor of this year's "Best of the Best" Halo Award. In this episode, For Momentum Founder and President Mollye Rhea drops by to talk with Megan and Alli about this year's winning partnership between Google.org and The Trevor Project and what made them the unanimous choice for judges.
Mollye outlines some of For Momentum's research highlighting what it takes to create a best in class initiative (hint: it's not always sexy!) as well as the four elements that must be present, which include:
- An authentic, long-term commitment (not just to the partnership but to true mission impact)
- Equal partnership activation by participating organizations
- Multi-channel activation
- The generation of significant resources for the nonprofit organization
Tune in to hear more from Mollye, including her insights on how the social impact field has evolved over the years and the trends she's counseling her clients to pay close attention to.
Links & Notes * Free July Webinar w/ The Trevor Project and Google.org * For Momentum Resources Page
It’s Pride month so this episode is all about putting authenticity to work – and how Macy’s embeds the support and inclusion of the LGBTQ community into how they think, act and operate – from the inside out.
Megan is joined by Macy’s Michelle Hall and Bridget Thomsen as well as The Trevor’s Project’s Shira Kogan to discuss their deep history of partnership in supporting LGBTQ youth together.
Macy’s has a long history of supporting the LGBTQ community in a way that is supported both internally and externally as well as top-down and bottom up. In short, they’re checking all the right boxes when it comes to issue advocacy.
Michelle, Bridget, Shira and Megan discuss what makes this partnership unique, how Trevor supports Macy’s in internal employee education and training and how Macy’s turns their support for the LGBTQ community outward to include customers as well.
Links & Notes * Pride and Joy: Macy’s and Trevor’s Halo Award winning 2020 campaign * Macy’s * The Trevor Project * Trevor’s Pride Month Activations
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Alli and Megan speak with Susannah Schaefer, President and Chief Executive Officer at Smile Train and Scott Pansky, Co-Founder and Social Impact Lead at Allison & Partners about the value of PR for nonprofit organizations.
Smile Train is the world’s largest cleft-focused organization, with a sustainable and local model of supporting surgery and other forms of essential care and, like most nonprofit organizations, has had to embrace the “pivot” to keep stakeholders engaged in meaningful ways.
One way they’ve accomplished this, with the help of Allison+Partners, is by leveraging proactive communications and PR.
Tune in to learn more about the tactics Smile Train and Allison+Partners has employed, including partnerships with influencers and virtual events.
Links & Notes * Smile Train * Allison+Partners
Last week was the Engage for Good conference where the latest report on point of sale fundraising was released. You’ll find the links to that report and infographic in the show notes of today’s episode.
This week, we thought it would be fun to share Megan’s conversation with three point of sale fundraising superstars who discuss some of their best practices and lessons learned.
We hope you enjoy the conversation!
Links & Notes * Charity Checkout Champions 2021 Whitepaper * Charity Checkout Champions 2021 Infographic
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan chats with CMN Hospitals’ Clark Sweat and Maureen Carlson, both long-term veterans of the corporate partner space. Clark, Maureen and Megan discuss how they pivoted their corporate partners during the pandemic and retained fully 100% of those partners (and how they achieved this), their efforts to diversify their partner fundraising efforts moving forward and what they’re both optimistic about looking ahead.
We discuss their “Kids Can’t Wait” messaging they developed specifically during the pandemic and dive into some of the more nuanced communications challenges they faced when the pandemic first hit.
You’ll truly enjoy this deep dive with Clark and Maureen - tune in now!
Links & Notes * CMN Hospitals
Gas South is a leading provider of natural gas in the southeastern U.S. Today, Gas South's Manager of Community Affairs Carley Stephens joins Alli Murphy and Megan Strand to talk about their "Fuel for Good" approach that contributes 5% of profits to kids in need.
The trio discusses how Covid-19 shifted Gas South’s giving and a unique B2B focus for the company, what a "Kindness Bomb" is, how equity factored into the conversation with employees, how the company democratizes giving and much more!
Carley also shares her personal philosophy about companies and nonprofits partnering together and her approach to meeting actual nonprofit needs and creating impact.
Lots to learn in today's episode so be sure to tune in!
Links & Notes * Gas South Giving Back * Gas South on Facebook * Gas South on LinkedIn * Gas South on Twitter
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Alli and Megan chat with Nicole Hughey, VP Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion at SiriusXM + Pandora about a new initiative called “Stand for Sonic Diversity”. The program’s goal is to “break the sonic color line and redefine the sound of the American voice.”
Nicole explains what the “sonic color line” is and a few of the best practices they’re championing in their outreach to brands, agencies, marketers, publishers, and media companies to diversify the voices we hear on audio mediums.
The three also discuss how this effort ladders up into the larger DEI work at SiriusXM and Pandora, what smaller companies can do to embrace sonic diversity and how critical it is to start with an audit of your existing creative to identify and flag stereotypes.
Links & Notes * Stand for Sonic Diversity Website
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan chats with Wander's Fearless Leader, Aaron Weber, about best practices for social impact video.
Wander has produced Engage for Good's Halo Awards Conference videos for going on four years and has done a tremendous job helping us tell the stories of these award-winning social impact efforts.
In this episode, Aaron talks through the ingredients of a good video, how to gauge whether a video is successful, tips for getting the most bang for your video buck, achieving economies of scale for your videos, what to look for in a video vendor, how to be prepared with your objectives in creating videos and much more!
Tune in to get a quick education about leveraging video for social impact!
Mentioned Links * Wander Website * Email Aaron Weber
It’s a brave new world for corporate social impact professionals as companies adapt and pivot their programs to focus on true and lasting impact.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Alli and Megan are joined by Jeff Senne, Responsible Business Leader at PwC, to discuss a new initiative called “Access Your Potential” and the company’s $125 million commitment to support a more equitable future for 25,000 black and Latinx college students.
Jeff shares that this program is more of an evolution on social impact work the company has done over the past five years and describes his views of the business benefit to PwC in creating a more diverse workforce.
PwC is committed to “walking the talk” and will also hire 10,000 students from this program.
Tune in to hear more about where this exciting initiative is headed and the impacts it strives to create.
Links & Notes * PwC Access Your Potential Website * PwC on LinkedIn * PwC on Twitter
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio we’re doing something a little different.
Last month we had the honor of hearing from Realized Worth's Chris Jarvis in a webinar called Leveraging Employee Volunteering To Build Equity And Empathy.
And in this webinar Chris walked us through a few truly fascinating concepts as it relates to creating allies in the workplace and how volunteering can help us be true allies instead of performative ones.
But what was most interesting about this webinar and why we wanted to share a piece of it with you today is that Chris talks about neuroscience and why we behave the way we do. It’s has to do with the wiring of our brains and why the human brain resists having to learn hard things and how to overcome that phenomenon.
This short webinar excerpt also introduces something called a “Disorienting Dilemma”. Chris explains what it s and why it’s so critical for learning.
If you want to hear the full webinar, check out the link below!
Links & Notes
- Leveraging Employee Volunteering To Build Equity And Empathy
COVID unearthed some truly spectacular stories of our capacity to change and adapt to dire circumstances. One of our favorite "pivot" stories comes from the international NGO CARE.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan chats with Chris Noble, Head of Corporate Partnerships for CARE. Many of you know Chris as an agency and technology guy and after sitting in this role at CARE for just over a year now, he's got some interesting insights you're going to want to hear.
Chris shares CARE's COVID Pivot story and what's he's personally learned about the huge value that nonprofit organizations bring to their corporate and other strategic partners.
It's always a huge pleasure having Mr. Noble in the house, so enjoy this conversation!
Links & Notes * CARE Website * Chris Noble on Cause Talk Radio (Ep244) * Chris Noble on Cause Talk Radio (Ep178) * Chris Noble on Twitter * Chris Noble Email
We’re back with another episode of The Joe Show with Selfishgiving.com’s Joe Waters!
In this episode, Joe teaches Megan what the heck a non-fungible token is (and why you should care) and shares highlights from a recent episode of The Cause Docs with Mike Hollywood about turning your website into a lead magnet.
Megan and Joe also talk about the first cause marketing effort on Clubhouse (Hint: it’s for the dogs!) as well as an all-time favorite cause day of all time: Jersey Mike’s Day of Giving.
As usual, there’s plenty of fun in today’s episode so keep listening for more goodness from the amazing Joe Waters.
Links & Notes * Recording of the Cause Docs with Mike Hollywood (email Joe to request!) * First Cause Marketing on Clubhouse * Non-Fungible Tokens * Jersey Mike’s Day of Giving
Qualcomm is the world’s leading wireless technology innovator and the driving force behind the development, launch, and expansion of 5G. They have a unique social impact model you'll hear about in today's episode with Angela Baker, Senior Director, Corporate Responsibility for Qualcomm.
From transporting telemedicine to supporting remote education, addressing environmental sustainability and more efficiently powering mobile devices, Qualcomm's social impact reach is both wide and deep.
They have a focus on STEM education and aligned with other businesses to launch a small business accelerator program in response to Covid-19. They're working to make the patent process more accessible to women, people of color and lower-income individuals … and that's just the beginning!
Links & Notes
- Qualcomm’s 2020 CSR Report
- Wireless Reach Program
- Invent Together
- Qualcomm’s Thinkabit STEM Program
- FIRST
- Small Business Accelerator
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among Americans, with Black Americans having a 40% higher death rate compared to White Americans.
To help address this racial disparity and help destigmatize the issue of colorectal cancer, Cottonelle and BLKHLTH have partnered in a campaign called "GoodDownThere".
In this episode Megan chats with Cottonelle's Cassie Begalle, Brand Manager for Cottonelle and Matthew McCurdy, Co-Founder of BLKHLTH - a nonprofit focused on the impact of racism on Black health.
They discuss how, specifically, the partnership is trying to tackle a tough issue through the use of humor and a celebrity partnership with actor and comedian Deon Cole, how they're working to spread broad awareness about this issue but also meet people where they are with the tools they need to conduct at-home screenings and much, much more.
Links & Notes
- Cottonelle Good Down There Site
- Cottonelle on Facebook
- BLKHLTH website
- BLKHLTH on Instagram
- BLKHLTH on Facebook
- BLKHLTH on Twitter
One of the biggest challenges in the social impact space is putting metrics and measurements around purpose-focused initiatives and getting a handle on WHY consumers do the things that they do.
Luckily for us, Porter Novelli's Senior Vice President, Marketing, Research & Insights Whitney Dailey is on the case! In this episode, Whitney and Megan chat about two absolutely fascinating studies that have recently been released by Whitney and her team.
The first is about the prevalence of cancel culture (and what brands can do if they ARE cancelled). The second is a deep dive into consumer behavior and how emotional or "gut" reactions to brands can drive action and where purpose fits in that complex equation.
These are two studies you're going to want to read if you haven't already so buckle your seatbelts for some social impact data goodness with Whitney Dailey.
Links & Notes * Business of Cancel Culture Study * Purpose Perception Study
Given the year we've all had, none of us are strangers to virtual events but we've probably ALL been on some that we wish we hadn't bothered with.
Megan’s guest today is Jon Conelias, CEO of ReElivate, a new company that offers unique, customizable virtual engagements.
Jon and Megan discuss WHY he started ReElivate and what he's learned in designing unique, virtual experiences that you can learn from. They talk about the future of events and how hybrid models will likely replace traditional in-person events and how to capitalize on that trend, plus so much more!
Links & Notes * ReElivate|Virtual Events
Ido Leffler is a serial social entrepreneur and has been co-founder of companies including Brandless, Yes To Inc. and most, recently...Yoobi - a school supplies company that gives back.
In this episode, Megan chats with Ido about an innovative partnership with Verizon that is helping provide both connectivity access as well as school supplies to kids that need them most right now, especially since so many kids are still learning from home due to the pandemic.
Ido shares the silver linings about the pandemic for him personally and professionally and even gives us a sneak peak into what's coming up for Yoobi in 2021.
Links & Notes * Yoobi Website * Yoobi and Verizon Partnership
We're BACK with another episode of The Joe Show!
Today Megan is once again joined by SelfishGiving.com's Joe Waters (Junior) to talk about all the purpose-focused advertising that DIDN'T HAPPEN at the Super Bowl this year, some social impact happenings that DID happen around the Super Bowl, St. Jude's Space Flight and why Joe and Megan may SOON be chatting on Clubhouse.
Links & Notes
- Budweiser Didn't Advertise At Super Bowl
- Lowe's and Rebuilding Together
- Mr. Peanut/Planters Giving Away $5 Million
- Jeep Pulls Bruce Springsteen Super Bowl Ad Following DWI Revelation
- NFL works to keep charitable Super Bowl events in Tampa
- St. Jude joins world’s first all-civilian mission to space
- Clubhouse
Since 1992, the Taco Bell Foundation has reached more than 4 million young people across the country and has awarded more than $95 million in grants and scholarships, focused on education and career readiness. Much of this money comes from guest donations by way of a robust point-of-sale fundraising effort.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Alli chat with Jennifer Bradbury, Executive Director of the Taco Bell Foundation about their 2020 pivots, both to their round-up program as well as the programmatic aspects of the Live Más Scholarship initiative, as well as what some of the silver linings have been for the Foundation.
The discussion goes into some of the nitty gritty details about the point-of-sale fundraising efforts, how employees responded to Covid-19 pivots and what's in store for 2021 for their social impact efforts.
Links & Notes * Taco Bell Foundation Website * 2020 Halo Award Winning Video
The Bosch Community Fund has found an innovative way involve community in its charitable giving, primarily focused on STEM education. 45 Community Advisory Committees in 45 Bosch North America sites help the Fund form the local relationships it needs to keep a finger on the pulse of what’s needed and most impactful in any given community.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Alli talk to Kat Owsley, President of the Bosch Community Fund, about these Committees and how they work.
The conversation ranges from impact metrics and how the Community Fund has worked to standardize them to their “by invitation only” model to incorporate new community members into the fold.
Links & Notes
- Bosch Community Fund
- Kathleen Owsley on LinkedIn
One of the challenges of corporate giving is limited philanthropic budgets. Once money has been donated, it's gone until the next budget cycle.
In today’s episode, Alli and Megan chat with Kyle Lukianuk, President of Good Returns, a social enterprise with a different giving solution for this particular constraint.
The Good Returns model is very unique in that they ask corporations to provide loans to worthy causes instead of donations. Kyle shares how Good Returns got started, why they embrace this model and how it’s going so far.
Links & Notes * Good Returns Website
In today’s episode Megan chats with Kirsty Dunn, Seller Social Marketing and Communications Manager for eBay.
When the pandemic hit last spring, small businesses took a huge hit around the country with many, many stores being forced to shutter their doors due to State mandates.
In response, eBay stepped in to help tens of thousands of these small businesses get “Up and Running” online through their platform, providing tremendous support to convert brick and mortar stores to accessible, online ones.
For existing eBay sellers who were also struggling, a $500,000 grants program in partnership with business accelerator Hello Alice helped infuse those small businesses with cash and resources they needed to stay relevant.
Links & Notes * Ebay Small Business
It's a situation in which many companies and nonprofit partners have found themselves during the Covid-19 pandemic: the need to pivot a robust, in-person volunteer engagement to a virtual one.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Alli chat with Team4Tech's Julie Clugage and NetApp's Michelle Mann about how they were able to transform what would typically have been an in-person volunteer experience in Ghana focused on reading to a virtual one - and receive rave reviews from participants!
It turns out the secret lies in program design, which the partners discovered was transferrable to a virtual channel.
Tune in to hear their lessons learned from this excellent corporate social impact partnership and what they plan to keep about these virtual engagements - even after Covid fades away.
Links & Notes * Team4Tech website * Team4Tech and NetApp Partner Write-Ups * NetApp website
RE/MAX recently announced that it crossed $160 million in lifetime donations to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. A foundational part of their partnership is ‘Miracle Homes’ through which RE/MAX agents are able to donate a portion of their commissions to the network of children’s hospitals.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Alli chat with Theresa Scheller with CMN Hospitals and Mike Reagan with RE/MAX about their long-standing partnership, how it began and what’s happening currently.
Against the backdrop of a global pandemic and the associated decreases in hospital fundraising, the partners have teamed up to create ‘Miracle Masks’ - face masks designed by CMN Hospital patients - to raise much-needed money for sick kids. The effort kicked off on GivingTuesday in 2020 and continues going strong into the new year.
Links & Notes
- RE/MAX Miracle Masks
- CMN Hospitals
Dave Stangis has a long history in the CSR and ESG space, having led CSR at both Campbell and Intel. He's out on his own now as a consultant and joins this episode of Cause Talk Radio to talk about his predictions for 2021 and the social impact trends he’s been seeing in clients large and small.
Megan and Dave discuss how purpose is becoming mainstream (and what it’ll take to stay there), why the C-suite is suddenly sitting up and paying attention to this space (and how to keep that momentum going) and what Dave expects to see more of in 2021.
Tune in to hear much, much more from one of the smartest minds in the CSR/ESG space!
Mentioned Links
- Dave Stangis on LinkedIn
- Dave Stangis on Twitter
Unsurprisingly, 66% percent of U.S. nonprofit organizations said they've accelerated their move to digital programs or events since the pandemic struck, according to the latest Nonprofit Trends Report from Salesforce.org.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Alli and Megan talk to Devi Thomas, Global Head, Communications, Research and Insight at Salesforce.org about trends she's seeing in the nonprofit space and her predictions for 2021.
They discuss "Purposeful Pivots", helping employees go virtual, amplifying community voices...just to name a few topics of conversation. Devi shares her predictions for 2021, why she feels that the open source model has a place in social impact, why unrestricted corporate contributions are the future and how measurement is taking center stage.
Links & Notes
- "Purposeful Pivots" white paper (EFG + Salesforce.org)
- Nonprofit Trends Report
- Higher Education Trends Report
SelfishGiving.com’s Joe Waters is back for a special Holiday episode of The Joe Show!
In this episode, Megan, Alli and Joe go round robin sharing the holiday cause campaigns they’re each loving this year and some themes emerge.
This year, large businesses are embracing the small business community as a cause, QR codes are BACK (Joe told you they were awesome several years ago), nonprofit organizations aren’t always featured in cause campaigns anymore and Joe wants to see more lighthearted fun from cause campaigns in 2021.
Be sure to check out ALL the links below because there are some truly awesome campaigns!
Links & Notes
- Cottonelle’s Refreshingly Clean Slate with United Way Worldwide
- PUBLIC Inc.’s EFF2020 pro-bono video UNCENSORED
- Domino’s Commits More Than $9.6mm To Worker Bonuses
- The 2020 Aflac Holiday Duck Is Adorable This Year
- Stacy’s Pita Chips Helps Female Founders Get Found
- Campbell’s Wants To Save The Snow Day
- Petco Holiday Wishes Grant Campaign
- Starbucks Is Giving Free Coffee To Frontline Workers All Month
- Cousins Go Viral on TikTok for Humanizing Homeless Customers
- Pine-Sol Launches Online Store To Support Women Entrepreneurs of Color
- PepsiCo Pours It On For Bodegas
- Subscribe to Joe’s Newsletter
ALSAC/St. Jude’s annual holiday giving effort called Thanks and Giving is an iconic campaign featuring nearly 60 brands that last year raised $122 million for the children’s hospital in partnership with major retailers including Best Buy, Domino’s, Home Goods and AutoZone…just to name a few.
This year, retail looks much different, thanks to Covid-19. In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan speaks with Rick Shadyac, President and CEO of ALSAC/St. Jude about some of the innovative ways they’ve adapted this year’sThanks and Giving program to accommodate things like social distancing in-stores, curbside pickup and eCommerce with their corporate partners.
Rick shares how St. Jude prioritizes emerging technologies like augmented and virtual reality as well as digital content and platforms like TikTok and Twitch.
If you’re a fan of point of sale fundraising like Megan is, you’re not going to want to miss this episode because Rick is a significant leader in this space that will inspire you with his approach and perspectives.
Mentioned Links
- St. Jude Website
- Thanks and Giving Corporate Partners
Actor Paul Newman created his eponymous salad dressing in 1982 and pledged to donate all profits to charity - far before most brands had ever heard the term "cause marketing". Today the Newman's Own brand boasts a full line of products ranging from salad dressings to fig newtons (Alli's favorite!) and, to date, has donated more than $550 million to thousands of charities in a variety of cause areas.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Alli chat with Miriam Nelson, Acting President and CEO of Newman's Own Foundation about her new role at the Foundation, their focus areas, how Covid-19 has impacted their work and her vision for the future of the Foundation.
Links & Notes
- Newman’s Own Foundation
- Newman’s Own
- Newman’s Own Foundation on Twitter
- Newman’s Own Foundation on Facebook
- Newman’s Own Foundation on Instagram
One of the major implications from this global pandemic is the fact that most schools are operating at least partially online. How are working parents supposed to wear two hats simultaneously to become homeschool Zoom teachers and continue on their jobs?
Well, MGM Resorts has at least a partial solution. They have partnered with the UNLV College of Education to provide virtual tutoring for their employees kids. In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan chats with Laura Lee, Chief Human Resources Officer at MGM Resorts about this fascinating program, how it came about and how it's going so far.
Links & Notes
[MGM Resorts Social Impact Page}(https://www.mgmresorts.com/en/company/csr.html)
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Megan starts today’s show by sharing how very grateful she is for you, dear listener. Megan is always so thrilled to get the privilege of meeting a listener, even just over email or Twitter so please continue to reach out!
Today’s episode is a special Thanksgiving edition of The Joe Show with Joe Waters of Selfishgiving.com.
In this episode, the duo not only talk about what there is to be grateful for this year (and let’s face it…2020 has been a doozy!), they share examples of ‘purposeful pivots’ that have inspired them, trends they’re seeing, predictions about the impact of the national election on purpose in 2021 and of course, just a healthy dose of banter.
Wherever you’re tuning in from this week, we hope you have a lovely and safe Thanksgiving.
Hello, Cause Talk Radio listeners, we have an exciting announcement to share! Engage for Good’s Marketing and Engagement Manager Alli Murphy will be joining Megan as a co-host on the podcast when she can steal away from other projects and today marks her very first appearance on the show!
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Alli and Megan have the great pleasure of chatting with Maddy Rotman, Head of Sustainability for Imperfect Foods.
Food waste is a major issue in our country (and let’s be honest, sometimes it’s been a major issue in our own kitchens) but you may not realize just HOW big of an issue it is, including from a climate perspective.
Thankfully, Maddy walks Alli and Megan through not only the scope of the food waste issue but what Imperfect Foods is doing to ensure our food system becomes more holistic and more sustainable for everyone - from growers to consumers and beyond.
Mentioned Links
- ImperfectFoods website
- Imperfect Foods on Instagram
- Imperfect Foods on Facebook
- Imperfect Foods on Twitter
In 2019, U.S. Bank donated $60 million to charitable organizations and employees volunteered 334,000 hours to good causes.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan speaks to Sophie Rich Senior Vice President and Foundation Managing Director for US Bank about how their charitable giving has evolved over the years and gotten much more focused on strengthening communities at work, home and play.
They talk about their long-standing partnership with Habitat for Humanity International and how that relationship has also evolved alongside the Bank’s social impact strategy. They also discuss the pivots US Bank has had to make due to the Covid-19 pandemic and how the company is becoming more comfortable elevating stories of impact more publicly.
Mentioned Links
- US Bank Community Possible Page
Roughly 300 million children have been without school meals and are at risk of hunger since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
And even before COVID, an estimated 73 million vulnerable children were not being reached with food at school. We know that number has risen in recent months. and will continue to rise without urgent action by government, the private sector, and civil society.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan speaks with Stephanie Slingerland, Kellogg Company Senior Director of Philanthropy and Social Impact and Lisa Moon, President and CEO, The Global FoodBanking Network about the state of childhood hunger around the globe and their collaborative efforts to pivot their critical school feeding programs during the global pandemic.
Links & Notes
- Kellogg Company Philanthropy Page
- Global Food Banking Website
- Healthy Nations Start With Healthy Children Report
Men die by suicide 3.5 times more often than women, and, as a country, we lose 22 veterans a day to suicide. However, talking about mental health — particularly for men — can still be challenging and is surrounded by stigma.
Several years ago, razor brand Harry's decided to focus their social impact efforts specifically on men's mental health. In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan speaks to Harry's head of social impact, Maggie Hureau, about that journey.
The two talk about Harry's 1% model (in which they direct 1% of sales to charitable organizations), the soul-searching they had to do around adopting men's mental health as their signature cause, how they've focused efforts to serve black men specifically, and the complexities that COVID has brought to this initiative.
Links & Notes
- Harry's Social Mission Page
- Harry’s on Instagram
- Harry’s on Twitter
- Harry’s on Facebook
In the past four decades, only half of eligible voters participated in elections overall in the U.S.
Armed with that knowledge, Pernod Ricard's Absolut vodka brand launched a #VoteResponsibly campaign prior to the first Presidential Debate. It encouraged people to "Vote First. Drink Second", and featured the brand's first television commercial in 3 years to support the message.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan speaks with Regan Clarke, VP of Marketing for Millennial Connector Brands for Pernod Ricard about this campaign, how it ladders into their larger "Human Responsibility" pillar, and some of the other provocative campaigns they've embraced this year.
Links & Notes
- Absolut Vodka
- Pernod Ricard
- Vote First. Drink Second. TV Spot
This national election year during a global pandemic is more important than ever before and brands are standing up in a variety of ways to ensure consumers are well-informed about the how, when, where and why around voting this November.
One of those brands is Coca-Cola’s Peace Tea, which has done a variety of things to ensure its young consumers have the information they need this election season.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan speaks with Danielle Fisher, director, refreshment tea brands for Coca-Cola North America about Peace Tea’s limited run of fun, commemorative “VOTE” cans. Danielle also discusses Peace Tea’s special ‘Sip and Scan’ icon that is being leveraged to direct their community to a wide variety of voting resources in partnership with Vote.org.
There’s never been a more critical time to support Gen Z in getting out to vote and Peace Tea is doing its part to make sure that happens this year.
Links & Notes
- Peace Tea Website
- Peace Tea on Twitter
According to The Brookings Institution, food insecurity has increased 460% since the pandemic began.
With this concerning statistic in mind, rideshare company Lyft made some critical pivots to leverage their network of drivers, strategic partnerships, and impact focus to help serve the most vulnerable communities.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan talks to Lisa Boyd, Director of Social Impact for Lyft about what they're doing to increase access to transportation to those who need it.
For several years, Lyft has conducted a program called Lyft Grocery Access to help those who were food insecure to get to grocery stores so they could get the healthy food they needed.
When the pandemic hit, Lyft quickly realized that the needs of those who were hungry looked very different than they had in the past. Instead of focusing on getting people to grocery stores, now Lyft's efforts are focused on getting food directly to people's homes.
Through a strategic partnership with Mastercard which committed to fund these grocery deliveries, Lyft has leveraged their Community Drivers who are willing to deliver groceries and supplies to those in need instead of transporting people.
That's not all Lyft is doing to make an impact in their communities during this uncertain time - Lisa and Megan discuss their Jobs Access program helping people get safely to interviews and the first few weeks of employment in partnership with United Way and Goodwill as well as hyperlocal nonprofit partners.
They talk about how Lyft measures outcomes - and not just outputs - as well as how the company approaches the need for short-term versus continuous transportation.
Of course, they also touch on how Lyft is supporting communities of color including their voting access program with partners like the Urban League and Black Women's Roundtable, and others.
Links & Notes
- LyftUp Program
- Lyft Ride to Vote
- Lyft Grocery Access Program
Dunkin' Joy in Childhood Foundation has a mission to bring joy to kids battling hunger or illness.
When COVID hit, they quickly realized they needed to make grants available to local organizations to ensure those who needed food could get it.
But that's not all they did!
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan’s guest is Kari McHugh, Executive Director of the Joy in Childhood Foundation.
Kari outlines many of the ways the organization is spreading joy, from simply delivering cups of coffee to first responders to helping them recharge and heal from the trauma of a global pandemic through their new 'Hero Recharge' program. ‘Hero Recharge’ is an innovative partnership with First Descents that takes healthcare workers through an outdoor adventure program that has a goal of nurturing supportive peer relationships for healthcare professionals.
We also learn about the Foundation's work with incredible therapy dogs in hospital settings and how consumers are invited to support this program through a partnership with Bark Box via the sale of adorable plush dog toys.
There are a lot of impressive efforts happening right now to help vulnerable populations and the Joy in Childhood Foundation is a prime example of some of the good being done in the world.
Links & Notes
- Dunkin' Joy in Childhood Foundation
When COVID struck last Spring, the KIND Foundation wanted to get KIND bars to frontline workers and quickly put a system in place to do so.
It didn’t take long for them to realize that other companies might be in the same boat so they created the Frontline Impact Project to help companies get needed products and resources directly to frontline workers in need via one central clearinghouse.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan speaks with Michael Johnston, President of the Lubetzky Family Foundation and The KIND Foundation about Frontline Impact Project and how they’re working with over 60 companies to get resources where they’re needed most right now.
Megan and Michael discuss some of the things that have surprised the team through this effort, what kind of products and services they still need and what the future of this initiative might entail.
Links & Notes
- Frontline Impact Project
- Got donations? Email jlalek@lubetzky.org
September 16th is World PLAY-DOH Day and we can’t think of a better time than a global pandemic to celebrate a product that brings joy to kids and is truly timeless.
PLAY-DOH and their partner Save The Children have launched a back to school effort called Cans of Kindness that involves a corporate donation of 1 million cans of PLAY-DOH to Save the Children to help kids, parents, and teachers around the globe. The campaign is also rewarding a lucky teacher with a year’s supply of PLAY-DOH based on nominations from social media.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio Megan talks to Jennifer Kendra, Head of Cause Marketing & Partnership Development at Save the Children, and Aditi Raturi, Senior Global Brand Manager for PLAY-DOH about their partnership and how it had to adapt once COVID hit.
Links & Notes
- PLAY-DOH on Instagram
- PLAY-DOH on Facebook
- Play-Doh Website
- Save the Children Website
- Save on Instagram
- Save on Facebook
With all of us wearing masks and gloves nearly every time we leave our homes due to the COVID pandemic, what's the environmental impact of all this PPE?
As you can imagine, it's NOT GOOD - particularly given these items are now considered contaminants and not recyclable through local recyclers.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan talks to Kyle Riggs, North American Account Director, Zero Waste for TerraCycle, and Amy Strawbridge, Brand Partnerships & Experiential Marketing Manager for Subaru about their partnership that's working to help Subaru and its customers recycle this PPE.
You'll be amazed at how TerraCycle takes items like gloves and disposable masks and converts them into useful materials in a way that keeps these items OUT of landfills.
Amy also catches us up on the other incredible social impact programs Subaru has rolled out since COVID hit and Kyle gives us an update on how TerraCycle is keeping busy helping companies and schools keep recycling - even if they're stuck at home.
Links & Notes
- Subaru’s Love Promise
- TerraCycle
A recent Harris Poll commissioned by National 4-H Council and Microsoft found that 21% of teens don’t have internet access at home but instead rely on schools, libraries, and other public places to get access. Teens without reliable access to broadband said they felt less confident in their skills and in their long-term social and economic prospects. Over half said they’ve struggled to complete their homework because of slow internet connections—and this was all BEORE COVID-19 struck!
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio Megan talks to Artis Stevens, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for the National 4-H Council and Kate Behncken, Vice President, Lead of Microsoft Philanthropies about their incredible partnership that is helping young people around the country get plugged in and well-connected.
They discuss the issues of connectivity in rural America as well as the incredible programs this partnership has put into place to help not only bridge the gap but also empower youth to leverage technology to support their own communities during this time of Covid.
Links & Notes
- Trevor Noah Talks To Microsoft and 4-H
- National 4-H Council
- Microsoft’s CSR Page
It’s been a minute, but Megan is back with Joe Waters of SelfishGiving.com for The Joe Show!
Joe and Megan spend this episode sharing our thoughts about which COVID pivots have struck them as particularly clever or creative from companies that are creating new opportunities because of COVID - like what Major League Baseball is doing with cardboard fans in the stands - to initiatives that are bound and determined to stay the course, even given the pandemic like Dutch Bros’ fundraising effort for MDA.
We also give a little sneak peak into Engage for Good’s Member Meet-Up for September about point of sale fundraising (you have to be an EFG Member to join!) and our new “Learning Club” about the Future of Retail on August 27th, which is free for anyone to join.
Joe says there are only a few types of businesses that are still viable point of sale fundraising partners. Tune in to hear which ones!
Joe and Megan chat about the coin shortage and how companies like Murphy USA and Taco Bell used point of sale fundraising round-up campaigns with their nonprofit partners as a way to address this unique, COVID-caused business challenge.
Joe shared a recent example about how a brewing company teamed up with an ice cream shop to give away thousands of free root beer floats in an attempt to break a world record and raise money for a good cause and Megan shared CARE’s clever CARE package campaign that is reimagining their iconic aid tool.
Links & Notes
- SelfishGiving.com
- Joe Waters on Twitter
- Sprecher, Cedar Crest Ice Cream partner for root beer float giveaway, attempt to break world record
- Checkout Charity Helps Companies Deal With Coin Shortage
- Engage for Good Membership
- Learning Club
One in 5 children is living with significant mental illness and half of all lifetime mental health challenges start by the age of 14. To address this issue of pediatric mental health, Big Lots and Nationwide Children’s Hospital have partnered to create an initiative called ‘On Our Sleeves’ since kids don’t wear their emotions on their sleeves but still need our support.
Given the additional stresses created by COVID, the issue of pediatric mental health is even more critical now. In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan speaks with Jeremy Ball, VP of Internal Communications, Philanthropy and Events and Donna Teach, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Nationwide Children’s Hospital about their partnership and how they’ve pivoted during COVID to create an incredible, gratitude-focused platform. They discuss the resources the team has developed for kids and families and what their plans are to keep their foot on the gas when it comes to providing resources for pediatric mental health.
Links & Notes
- Big Lots Website
- Big Lots Foundation
- On Our Sleeves Website
Megan’s guest today is Jeff Meade, founder of an agency for agencies called Meade.
Jeff recently wrote an article on LinkedIn called, “How Agency Leaders Can Support Black Employees”, with 6 practical tips for agencies....or really any organization.
Jeff and Megan talk through these tips, ranging from education to the Rooney Rule.
More than anything, Jeff and Megan both agree that one thing we can all do to continue this important conversation on racial justice is to “keep your foot on the gas”. This conversation is one small way to do exactly that.
Links & Notes
- How Agency Leaders Can Support Black Employees
- MEADE Website
Sweetgreen restaurants are on a mission to inspire healthier communities by connecting people to real food. When the COVID pandemic hit, they realized they could fill a need by providing healthy food to healthcare workers. So they teamed up with Chef Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen to create the sweetgreen impact outpost fund that would get much-needed nutrition to hospitals around the country.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan has the pleasure of chatting with Kirby Bumpus, Head of Social Impact and Inclusion for sweetgreen.
In addition to learning more about this partnership with World Central Kitchen and how it got started, we also learn more about some of the incredible social impact work sweetgreen is committed to around food education, access and much, much more. Links & Notes
- sweetgreen’s Impact Outpost Work
- sweetgreen’s Social Impact Work
- sweetgreen on Twitter
- sweetgreen on Facebook
We're back with another special edition of Cause Talk Radio in which we feature a deep dive conversation with one of this year's Halo Award winners.
This episode features the Silver winner for the Consumer Donation category the No Kid Hungry campaign with Denny’s and Share Our Strength.
Megan chats with Share Our Strength Senior Manager Victoria Garcia about their award-winning partnership.
This is a long-term partnership that has really worked over the years to improve upon it’s in-restaurant consumer fundraising effort. Victoria and Megan talk about how No Kid Hungry has a big presence at Denny’s Franchise Convention, how executives got involved to increase motivation among their teams, incentives that were part of this effort and how all of this resulted in some impressive fundraising gains.
Links & Notes
- No Kid Hungry Corporate Partner Site
- Halo Award Write-Up Page
- Episode Sponsor: Submittable
We're back with another special edition of Cause Talk Radio in which we feature a deep dive conversation with one of this year's Halo Award winners.
This episode features the Gold Winner in the Education category, an initiative called “Drive Bigger”, a partnership between VW and DonorsChoose.
Megan is joined by Vashti Barron, Senior Partnerships Manager for DonorsChoose. They talk about how this partnership was activated during a busy summer sales season to give VW a way to help consumers support local classrooms and teachers via donation cards.
The two chat about why the partners decided to give dealers the choice of how they used these donation cards, what the business and impact objectives were and what the most successful dealerships did to bring this partnership to life.
Links & Notes
- DonorsChoose Website
- VW's Drive Bigger Website
- Halo Award Write-Up
- Episode Sponsor: Submittable
We’re back with another special edition of Cause Talk Radio in which we feature a deep dive conversation with one of this year’s Halo Award winners.
This episode features the Silver winner for the Sustainability category, an initiative called Don't Feed the Landfills with partners Subaru and the National Parks Conservation Association.
Megan is joined today by Denise Coogan, Environmental Partnership Manager for Subaru and Karen Hevel-Mingo, Senior Manager of Sustainability and Climate Change for the National Parks Conservation Association.
Our national parks are our country's crown jewels but their 330 million annual visitors leave behind more than 70 million pounds of waste. In this episode, they discuss how Subaru and NPCA teamed up to run this pilot program in 3 national parks to help develop, test, monitor and refine approaches to waste reduction tailored to each park’s unique circumstance.
Denise, Karen and Megan discuss how this partnership began, how Subaru's deep expertise in waste reduction informed activities of this partnership, how they communicated these steps to parks-goers and employees and what the results were from this incredible effort.
Links & Notes
- Subaru Sustainability Website
- Grand Teton National Park
- Yosemite National Park
- Denali National Park
- National Parks Conservation Association
- NPCA on Instagram
- NPCA on Twitter
- NPCA on Facebook
We're back with another special edition of Cause Talk Radio in which we feature a deep dive conversation with one of this year's Halo Award winners.
This episode features the Silver winner for the Group Volunteerism category, The CarMax Foundation Supports Play with KABOOM!
Megan speaks with Leslie Parpart, Director of Community Relations at CarMax and James Siegal, CEO of KABOOM! about their long-term relationship.
The trio chats about how the partnership started with one CarMax employee and has grown into a multi-year, multi-phased relationship, how the partners found alignment around each organization's purpose and a focus on children and healthy living.
They also dig into the three components of this partnership engaging over 11,000 CarMax associates in their work, giving over 225,000 kids the opportunity to play and how the partnership helps to build community among CarMax employees.
Mentioned Links
- CarMax Website
- KABOOM! Website
We’re back with another special edition of Cause Talk Radio in which we feature a deep dive conversation with one of this year’s Halo Award winners.
This episode features a double Halo Award winner: winning Gold for the Disaster Prevention/Relief category AND winning Silver in the Employee Engagement category is an effort called ‘Creating Grief Ambassadors’: a partnership between New York Life and First Book.
Megan is joined by Maria Collins, VP of the New York Life Foundation and Kisha Dimbo, Senior VP of Strategic Alliances for First Book to talk about their award winning effort that focuses on childhood bereavement and how they’re working together to support children and families when tragedy strikes.
Links & Notes
- First Book Website
- New York Life Foundation
We're back with another special edition of Cause Talk Radio in which we feature a deep dive conversation with one of this year's Halo Award winners.
This episode features the Gold Winner in the Health category, an initiative called “The Truth About Opioids”, a partnership between Leidos and The Truth Initiative.
Megan is joined by Melissa Dueñas, SVP and Director of Communications and Marketing for Leidos and Eric Asche, CMO for The Truth Initiative. They talk about how their partnership focused on widening the conversation about opioid abuse, both among Leidos employees as well as other companies via a CEO pledge and critical metrics and how both partners consider this a marathon, not a sprint.
In addition, the conversation covers the incredible brand expansion that the Truth Initiative made when they decided to tackle the opioid crisis and how corporate partners like Leidos have helped make their vision a reality.
Links & Notes
- The Truth Website
- The Truth Initiative Website
- Leidos Social Responsibility Website
- Rebekah’s Story Emmy-Award Winning Film
- Halo Award Write-up
We're back with another special edition of Cause Talk Radio in which we feature a deep dive conversation with one of this year’s Halo Award winners.
This episode features the Silver winner for the Consumer Activated Corporate Donation category, a PopSockets initiative called “Poptivism”
Megan is joined by Jennifer Forman, Director of Poptivism & Corporate Citizenship with PopSockets. They discuss what this program is all about, how it began, why PopSockets decided to entrust its community to create their own custom designs for good and where this program is headed in the future.
Links & Notes
- Poptivism Website
- Halo Award Write-Up on Poptivism
We’re back with another special edition of Cause Talk Radio in which we feature a deep dive conversation with one of this year’s Halo Award winners.
This episode features the Silver winner in the Social Service category, an effort called HireHonor: a collaboration between Activision Blizzard and the Call of Duty Endowment.
Megan is joined by Dan Goldenberg who serves as Executive Director for the Call of Duty Endowment and VP at Activision Blizzard.
We talk about this incredibly successful effort to raise funds and awareness for the issue of veteran employment, how the team focused their efforts to do fewer things better, why they chose to expand internationally and how partnerships with gamers, retailers and sponsors helped elevate this initiative.
Links & Notes
- CODE on Twitter
- Dan Goldenberg on Twitter
- CODE on Instagram
- CODE on Facebook
- CODE Website
- Halo Award Write-Up
We're back with another special edition of Cause Talk Radio in which we feature a deep dive conversation with one of this year's Halo Award winners.
This episode features the Silver winner for the Disaster Prevention/Relief category, an initiative called Hydrating Our Nation’s Heroes: a partnership between Anheuser-Busch and the National Volunteer Fire Council.
Megan is joined by Adam Warrington, VP of CSR for Anheuser Busch, as well as Heather Schafer, Chief Executive Officer of the National Volunteer Fire Council.
The trio discusses how this award-winning partnership got started, how the partners decided to be proactive instead of reactive when it came to supplying canned fresh water to wildfire sites, how they got the word out to volunteer firefighters and the impact of the program.
They also talk about how the COVID pandemic is impacting this partnership and what future plans entail.
Mentioned Links
- Anheuser-Busch Website
- Purpose Beyond Brewing
- Halo Award Write-Up
- Become A Volunteer Fire Fighter
- NVFC website
We’re back with another special edition of Cause Talk Radio in which we feature a deep dive conversation w/ one of this year’s Halo Award winners.
This episode features the Gold winner for the Group Volunteerism category, an effort called The Power of One from Vivint Smart Home.
Megan is joined by Holly Mero Bench, Director of Vivint Gives Back. They dig into why Vivint focuses on helping families with children who have autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities after recognizing the profound impact of smart home technology for these families.
Holly and Megan discuss the many moving pieces that Vivint activates when it comes to engaging their employees, from international service trips in which employees pay part of their way to providing holiday gifts for families in need. We talk about the role of employee choice in engagement efforts as well as the lessons Holly has learned along the way and the advice she'd give to others who are working to ramp up an employee volunteerism program.
Links & Notes
- Vivint Gives Back
We’re back with another special edition of Cause Talk Radio in which we feature a deep dive conversation with one of this year’s Halo Award winners.
This episode features the Gold winner for the Employee Engagement category, an initiative from rail company CSX called Pride in Service.
Megan is joined today by Bryan Tucker, CSX VP of Corporate Communications, as well as a LIVE audience who weigh in with their own questions.
They discuss the genesis of "pride in service", how CSX determined that one in five of their employees served in the military and the incredibly robust partnerships they activated to engage CSX employees in a cause dedicated to "serving those who serve".
We learn what CSX is doing to pivot in response to the COVID pandemic and where Bryan hopes to take this initiative in the future.
This episode is sponsored by Harbor Compliance. Download their free, online fundraising compliance guide here.
Links & Notes
- CSX Pride in Service Page
- Halo Write-Up
We’re back with another special edition of Cause Talk Radio in which we feature a deep dive conversation w/ one of this year’s Halo Award winners.
This episode features the Silver winner for the Education category, an effort called WE Teachers a partnership between Walgreens and WE.
Megan is joined by Dana Glim, Director of Brand Marketing for Walgreens and Erin Barton, Chief Development Officer for WE. They talk about their longstanding partnership and why the partners decided to focus on supporting teachers in this first year of WE Teachers.
The trio dives into the KPIs behind this campaign and the lessons learned including simplicity, employee involvement and supplier engagement. Of course, they also discuss how the COVID crisis will change the partners’ Year 2 plans for back to school and how they're strategizing around the unknown. One thing's for sure: teachers are a critical part of our community and if anything, that's only become more clear in the past months.
Links & Notes
- Me to We on Walgreens Website
- Walgreens Boots Alliance Website
- We Website
This episode is sponsored by Harbor Compliance. Download their free, online fundraising compliance guide here.
We're back with another special edition of Cause Talk Radio in which we feature a deep dive conversation with one of this year's Halo Award winners.
This episode features the Silver Winner in the Inclusion category, an initiative called 'Face Your Fierce', a partnership between Abercrombie & Fitch and The Trevor Project.
Megan is joined by Carey Krug, SVP and Head of Marketing for Abercrombie & Fitch and Shira Kogan, Senior Corporate Development Manger for The Trevor Project. They discuss how this 2019 effort went all-in to activate around one of Abercrombie's best-selling SKUs, its 'Fierce' fragrance for men, in a year-round campaign that authentically highlighted stories of real people with diverse identities within the LGBTQ community.
The conversation digs into the round-up at point of sale, why the partners decided to make this a year-round effort, the metrics both partners were following as well as the impact of this campaign on the youth that Trevor serves.
The COVID crisis has made Trevor's mission even more critical so we also talk about how this partnership is evolving and changing due to the current circumstances and what's to come for this incredible partnership.
This episode is sponsored by Harbor Compliance. Download their free, online fundraising compliance guide here: https://bit.ly/30Jdlnc
Links & Notes
- The Trevor Project
- Abercrombie Website
- Abercrombie on Instagram
- Halo Award Write-Up
We're back with another special edition of Cause Talk Radio in which we feature a deep dive conversation with one of this year's Halo Award winners.
This episode features the Gold Winner in the Consumer-Activated Corporate Donation category, a partnership between DSW & Soles4Souls.
Megan is joined by Amy Stevenson, Chief Marketing Officer for DSW and Buddy Teaster, CEO of Soles4Souls. They discuss this 10-year partnership and how the partners really doubled down in 2019 to solve a unique business challenge for DSW: how to provide consumers with a way to donate their gently-used shoes so they could make room for new ones in their closet in a way that supported micro-entrepreneurs in developing countries.
They cover how DSW incentivized consumers to donate by providing bonus loyalty points, why it was critical for DSW employees (up to and including the President) to be "all-in" and what actually happens after shoes are donated through this award-winning effort.
Of course, the conversation also includes a deep dive into lessons learned and what's happening with the partnership now, given the pandemic. One thing's for sure: people still want to give back and this initiative provides a simple way to do so that truly comes full circle.
This episode is sponsored by Harbor Compliance. Download their free, online fundraising compliance guide here.
Links & Notes
- DSW Gives Website
- Soles4Souls
- Halo Award Write-Up
Eighty percent of jobs in next decade need some combination of STEM skills. Yet only 30% of the STEM workforce is comprised of women. To address this shortage of women in STEM careers, in 2014 Mastercard created an employee engagement effort called Girls4Tech, designed to showcase the in-house expertise of the global payments processor.
Girls4Tech won the Gold Halo Award in 2020 for the Skilled Volunteerism Category and in this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan speaks talk with Susan Warner, VP of Talent and Community Engagement for Mastercard who founded this incredible program.
Megan and Susan discuss the genesis of Girls4Tech, how they achieved massive scale with this program and what Susan considers the "triple crown" of employee engagement as well as the advice Susan has for other businesses considering skilled volunteerism initiatives.
Links & Notes
*Girls4Tech Website
We’re back with another special edition of Cause Talk Radio in which we feature a deep dive conversation w/ one of this year’s Halo Award winners.
This episode features the Gold winner for the Inclusion category, an effort called Day of Inclusion with partners Tim Hortons and Special Olympics Canada.
Megan is joined by Chris Wakefield who leads the Regional Marketing and Sponsorships Team for Tim Hortons and Angela Reid, Manager of Partnerships and Business Development for Special Olympics Canada
They talk about their second year of Day of Inclusion, which is both a social media movement as well as an in-store celebration of inclusion where a yummy donut created by a Special Olympics athlete is sold on a single day. The funds help support athletes with intellectual disabilities and helps promote messages of inclusion.
Chris, Angela and Megan talk about how their partnership originally began, all the moving pieces behind their significant activations for this campaign, their respective lessons learned and what's in store for the future of their partnership.
Mentioned Links
- Special Olympics Canada
- SOC on Facebook
- SOC on Twitter
- Tim Hortons Community
- Halo Award case study write-up
When the Covid-19 pandemic struck, H&R Block was one of the first companies that sprung into action, sharing valuable resources with small business and individuals about navigating the federal government CARES Act as well as providing low- and no-cost tax services to a variety of individuals. In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan speaks to Vinoo Vijay, CMO of H&R Block, about their Covid-19 response as well as their overall purpose focus called ‘Make Every Block Better’ which focuses on increasing human connection, combatting loneliness and supporting entrepreneurs.
Links & Notes
- H&R Block Coronavirus Tax Resource Center
- H&R Block Make Every Block Better Release
When COVID-19 struck and all fitness centers had to close their doors, Planet Fitness quickly pivoted and started offering free work-INs to everyone on their Facebook page.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan talks to McCall Gosselin, Senior Vice President of Communications & Corporate Social Responsibility for Planet Fitness about how they're leveraging these work-ins to feed healthcare workers in a new social responsibility initiative.
You'll learn about how (and why) Pizza Mondays have become an important foundation of the company's giving-back strategy during this uncertain time and what the future holds for Planet Fitness and their "judgement free zone".
Links & Notes
- Planet Fitness WorkIns
- Forbes Post on Pizza vs. Pandemic
When the World Health Organization needed to share key messages to contain the spread of COVID-19, it turned to the gaming industry for assistance.
Originally started with 18 game industry leaders, the #PlayApartTogether initiative now includes nearly 60 gaming companies that encourages their vast network of users to follow the WHO’s health guidelines—including physical distancing, hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette and other powerful preventive actions people can take to fight COVID-19.
In this episode of CTRadio, Megan chats with Dan Goldenberg a VP at Activision Blizard and Jeff Burrell, Head of Social Impact for Riot Games about their company’s activations to help gamers #PlayApartTogether.
Mentioned Links
- Dan Goldenberg on Twitter
- Call of Duty Endowment
- Activision/Blizzard
- Riot Games Social Impact
- League of Legends Subreddit
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan chats with Engage for Good President David Hessekiel.
In addition to being a COVID-19 survivor himself, David….like all of us….has had to make a few changes in the way he works.
Megan and David discuss switching an in-person event to a virtual one, the most impactful corporate social impact campaigns right now and what nonprofits are saying about their partnerships amidst the crisis as well as what the future of corporate social impact looks like once the dust has settled.
Links & Notes
- Engage for Good’s Virtual Event
- Wassup Bud Commercial Remake
- Longmire on Netflxi
When all live sporting and entertainment events were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Anheuser-Busch made the decision to redirect sponsorship dollars to nonprofit partners including the American Red Cross.
One of the greatest needs in the country right now is blood donations, which have fallen off sharply in recent weeks due to stay-at-home orders and the difficulty of social distancing while donating blood.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan speaks with Adam Warrington, Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility for Anheuser-Busch who shares the story of how the company leveraged its available assets to help mitigate the blood donation crisis in partnership with the American Red Cross and what else they're doing both corporately and at the brand level to support their employees and communities around the globe. Links & Notes
- Anheuser-Busch COVID-19 Response Page
- Budweiser ‘One Team’ Video
The COVID-19 pandemic has closed schools and sent 55 million children home, leaving a huge education gap as well as creating hunger issues for a significant number of them.
In response, celebrities Jennifer Garner and Amy Adams decided on a Friday evening they wanted to do something to support children out of school, Save the Children sprung into action and partnered with No Kid Hungry to create a campaign called "SaveWithStories" which now features 150 celebrities reading books to children online.
Perry Yeatman is Save the Children's Head of Corporate Partnerships and Megan’s guest in this episode of Cause Talk Radio.
Perry and Megan talk about this incredible campaign, as well as what's happening with Save's corporate partnerships and how the organization has ramped up to respond to COVID-19 both in the US and abroad.
Links & Notes
-
SaveWithStories
- SC Johnson and Save The Children New Partner Release
- Save the Children’s LinkedIn Page
Rosabeth Moss Kanter holds the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professorship at Harvard Business School, specializing in strategy, innovation, and leadership for change and is Megan’s guest in this episode of Cause Talk Radio. Professor Kanter co-founded the Harvard University-wide Advanced Leadership Initiative, guiding its planning from 2005 to its launch in 2008 and serving as Founding Chair and Director from 2008-2018.
Author or co-author of 20 books, her latest book is Think Outside the Building: How Advanced Leaders Can Change the World One Smart Innovation at a Time which is the subject of the conversation in this episode.
Megan and Professor Kanter discuss how individuals can break through the status quo of established organizations to create bold and innovative systems change that make a meaningful impact in the world, how to influence without authority and where people most frequently get stuck in their efforts to make meaningful change.
This episode is sponsored by Audible. Get your free audiobook and start your 30-day trial today!
Links & Notes
- Think Outside the Building on Amazon (affiliate link)
- Think Outside the Building on Audible — Get it for FREE with an Audible trial
- Follow Rosabeth Kanter on Twitter
- About Rosabeth Moss Kanter — Harvard Business School
In this episode, Megan talks to regular guest Joe Waters (SelfishGiving.com) about all things related to the COVID-19 pandemic: how Joe is counseling nonprofit organizations to up their game when it comes to creating a digital following, helpful resources they’ve seen in the social impact space and last but definitely not least the things that are keeping them both sane during this challenging time.
Habitat for Humanity International is Engage for Good’s Golden Halo Award Winner for Nonprofits this year, honored for their excellent work with corporate partners, particularly through their ‘Home Is the Key” signature cause initiative started 4 years ago.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan interviews Habitat’s CEO Jonathan Reckford first about how they’re responding to and impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and then about their corporate partner journey, how Habitat measures meaningful outcomes and the evolution in corporate partners Jonathan has personally witnessed from CSR 1.0 to ESG.
Links & Notes
- Habitat for Humanity International Website
- Habitat for Humanity on Twitter
The COVID-19 Global Pandemic has taken us all by surprise and left many of us feeling helpless and uncertain. Those of us with events have to make particularly hard decisions.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan chats with Chris Baylis of The Sponsorship Collective who has some tips for you to consider when it comes to event sponsorship and a decision-making framework as you contemplate whether to cancel, postpone or continue with your events.
Links & Notes
- Chris Baylis Blog Post And Video on COVID-19 Events
- Chris Baylis on LinkedIn
- Chris Baylis on Twitter
Did you know that most toothpaste tubes are made from plastic and aluminum, making them impossible to recycle? It took five years of development but Colgate thinks it's finally come up with a solution in the form of its Smile for Good toothpaste tube made from high density polyethylene (HDPE) -the same plastic used for making milk jugs.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan talks to Ann Tracy, VP of Safety, Sustainability and Supply Chain Strategy at Colgate about their new recyclable tube, how Colgate is open to sharing their new technology with the industry and how consumer behavior is a big part of this equation. Megan and Ann also discuss some of Colgate's other sustainability initiatives including their efforts around water conservation.
Links & Notes
- Colgate’s Sustainability Page
- Colgate on LinkedIn
Millions of kids in the United States do not have fundamental school supplies to learn and be successful. This affects not only their school work — it affects their confidence. So teachers step in and spend their own money to make sure students can learn. On average, teachers spend $560 out of their own pockets to support their students each year.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio Megan talks to Ido Leffler, Founder of Yoobi, a social enterprise company that makes beautiful school supplies sold in retailers like Target, Walmart and Costco and also gives back. For every Yoobi item purchased, the company donates a school supply item to a child in need in the U.S. in partnership with the Kids In Need Foundation.
Ido and Megan chat about their incredible success as a social enterprise in a competitive and constantly changing retail environment, how they've successfully scaled the company, why design is so critical and how they measure impact.
Links & Notes
- Yoobi Website
- Yoobi on Instagram
- Ido Leffler on LinkedIn
Launched in November, Zappos’ Goods for Good is a one-stop shopping platform that aims to provide conscious consumers with a place they can shop their values.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan talks with Anna Copilevitz, Charity Buyer & Project Manager at Zappos about this new platform that curates a wide variety of purpose-focused products, from vegan items to those that give back.
Megan and Anna discuss whether there was internal infighting between the cause areas (there wasn’t) and why Zappos decided to go wide instead of deep on making purpose-products accessible to as many customers as possible. While it’s still early days, we learn that the sustainability-focused brands seem to have hit a particular positive nerve among customers and employees.
The two also talk about why Zappos made the decision to incorporate purpose into their bread and butter (their products!) through Goods for Good, how they’re integrating storytelling into the platform and Anna’s vision for the future of purpose at Zappos.
Links & Notes
- Zappos Goods for Good
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan chats with monthly guest Joe Waters of SelfishGiving.com for The Joe Show!
The duo discusses this year’s Halo Finalists (just announced!), the new social impact book club (there’s still time to join us), Carol Cone’s new B2B purpose research and Jeff Bezos’s whopping $10 billion donation to combat global warming and more!
Links & Notes
- Halo Award Finalists
- Carol Cone B2B Research
- From Generosity To Justice (Social Impact Book Club Book)
- Jeff Bezos’ $10 Billion Donation (WIRED)
The use of single-use plastics has become a very visible target for sustainability advocates in the U.S. and the low-hanging fruit in the war against their usage are plastic straws. In July of 2018, Seattle was the largest city to ban its use and several large companies including Starbucks and McDonald’s followed suit.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan chats with Emma Rose, founder of FinalStraw to hear the story about why she decided to start a company that creates products to replace single-use plastic starting with a reusable, collapsible metal straw and how it all started with a mermaid beach clean-up and a Kickstarter campaign.
We talk about non-consensual plastic and making it easy for people to adopt environmentally conscious behaviors and how massive corporations paved the way for her company by banning the use of plastic straws starting in 2017.
According to Emma, waste is just a design flaw and she’s committed to making it fun and sexy to adopt reusables. We chat about what’s in store for reusable products like FinalStraw and where the company is headed in 2020 and beyond.
Links & Notes
- FinalStraw website
- FinalStraw on Instagram
- FinalStraw on Facebook
- Emma Rose on Instagram
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan chats with Rhea Wong, a nonprofit consultant who runs the podcast the Nonprofit Lowdown for small to medium-sized nonprofits.
Rhea and Megan chat about her work with nonprofit organizations, her observations about how corporate partnerships have evolved and whether smaller nonprofits should even entertain the potential of partnering with companies.
Links & Notes
- Rhea Wong Consulting
- The Nonprofit Lowdown Podcast
Across the United States, 37 million Americans struggle with hunger. At the same time, it would take the landmass of Canada and India combined to grow all the food we throw away each year. In 2017 The Kroger Co. announced a new, national effort aimed at ending hunger in the communities it serves and eliminating waste across the company by 2025 in an initiative called Zero Hunger | Zero Waste.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan talks to Kari Armbruster, Project Manager for Zero Hunger Zero Waste about how this ambitious initiative began, what they've been able to accomplish to date and the work still to be done.
Links & Notes
- Zero Hunger | Zero Waste site
- The Kroger Company Sustainability Report
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Mega is joined by regular Joe Waters of SelfishGiving.com for The Joe Show!
The duo discusses popular posts from 2019 including several interesting research studies on guaranteed minimums and corporate development salaries as well as ‘social impact stats you should know’.
They review Larry Fink’s CEO letter focused on sustainability and Robert Reich’s claim that ‘Corporate Responsibility is a Sham’ and wrap up with some resolutions for corporate development professionals.
And a new bonus idea! Who’s in for a social impact book club? Drop us a line at ms@engageforgood.com and let us know if you’re interested in joining in the fun.
It’s always a great episode when Joe drops by, so be sure to listen in for a fun and hopefully somewhat educational conversation!
Links & Notes
- Infographic: How much corporate partnership pros make
- Study: Should nonprofits require guaranteed minimum commitments?
- Social Impact Stats You Should Know (Updated!)
- Larry Fink’s Letter to CEOs on Sustainability
- Robert Reich: Corporate Responsibility Is A Sham
- New Year’s Resolutions for Corporate Partnership Managers
In November 2019 JetBlue celebrated a major milestone in having crew members volunteer more than one million hours in their local communities, an incredible accomplishment, especially considering the size of the JetBlue employee community. They celebrated with a unique initiative called "Share Your Good" in which they encouraged employees AND consumers to share how they make the world a better place.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan welcomes Icema Gibbs, JetBlue’s Director of CSR back to the program to talk about their amazing commitment to employee engagement, why the CSR department is housed within the airline ‘People’ department and their unique approach to combining consumer and employee engagement.
Links & Notes
- Icema on Cause Talk Radio discussing disaster giving
- JetBlue for Good
- JetBlue on Facebook
- JetBlue on Twitter
- JetBlue on Instagram
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio Megan chats with Kevin McAndrew, Senior Director of Social Innovation Partnerships at the nonprofit Save the Children. Kevin and Megan discuss how corporate partnerships have evolved over the years and how his organization has worked to scale and adapt in new and sophisticated ways.
The two discuss skills based volunteering, cause marketing, employee engagement and social innovation and the distinction Kevin makes between ‘shared value’ and transformational partnerships.
Kevin shares his thoughts on common mistakes nonprofits tend to make, his unique view on the value the corporate partner team brings to the table as well as some examples about how they’re co-creating some very cool new, innovative technologies with corporate partners and finish up with Kevin’s predictions for the election year.
Links & Notes
- Save The Children’s LinkedIn Page
- Save The Children Website
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, we head north of the border to chat with some of our Canadian social impact colleagues from two incredibly prominent Canadian organizations: RBC and WE.
RBC's Senior Director, Youth Strategy and Innovation, Mark Beckles and WE's Chief Development Officer for Partnerships, Erin Barton joins Megan to talk about a new initiative for their long-standing partnership called WE Are Social Entrepreneurs, focused on empowering young people to succeed in the evolving world of work and nurture an entrepreneurial spirit in young people.
We discuss how the partners are bringing youth together in real life as well as virtually to teach them valuable skills, including coaching and mentorship, to help bring their ideas to life. RBC feels entrepreneurship is, and will continue to be, a critical part of Canada's economic prosperity and want to be at the forefront of helping nurture budding entrepreneurs.
You won't believe some of the incredible ideas that 13-year-olds have come up with as part of the WE Are Social Entrepreneurs program! Tune in to hear about the partnership as well as the inspiring ideas it's helping support.
Links & Notes
- WE Are Social Entrepreneurs Home Page
- RBC Future Launch
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan chats with regular monthly guest Joe Waters of SelfishGiving.com. They kick off the conversation of GivingTuesday highlights and what company efforts rose to the top this year and then transition to reviewing the top purpose trends of 2019 including climate change, CEO activism, plastics, youth and employee activism and more. And Megan crowns 2019 the "year of the round up". Tune in to hear why!
Links & Notes
- Here's What Companies Are Doing This GivingTuesday
- A Year in Purpose: The Top 10 Trends of 2019
It’s the holidays and in this episode of Cause Talk Radio Megan talks with Chad Royal Pascoe, National Vice President of Corporate and Cause Partnerships for The Boys and Girls Clubs of America about what their corporate partners are up to this holiday season.
They discuss Giving Tuesday, how the holidays fits into their larger partnership picture and how BGCA can be a fit for a wide variety of companies.
Chad even teases an exciting new initiative coming in early 2020 (you heard it here first, folks!).
Links & Notes
- BGCA’s Corporate Partners
- Chad’s Webinar On Corporate Partnerships
Transgender and non-binary individuals often report being harassed, denied services or even being attacked when they show IDs with a name or gender that doesn’t match their presentation. And many forego the cost, complexity and anxiety associated with legal name and gender changes.
When Mastercard learned about these challenges, they decided to do something about it.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan speaks with Mastercard’s Executive Vice President for Marketing and Communications, Cheryl Guerin about their True Name feature that allows transgender and non-binary individuals to allow their true names to appear on their Mastercard without the requirement of a legal name change.
The first True Name cards are just rolling out this month and Cheryl and Megan talk about everything from how this initiative began to the responsibility brands have to the LGBTQIA community year-round, and not just during pride month.
Links & Notes
- Mastercard’s Acceptance Matters Page
It’s Giving Tuesday and in this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan talks to Oktay Dogramaci, Global Head of Cause-Related Solutions for PayPal about their GivingTuesday activations and how PayPal powers giving on this day and beyond.
Last year on GivingTuesday PayPal customers in 180 countries donated nearly $98 million to charitable causes!
Oktay and Megan chat about the growth of GivingTuesday since its inception 8 years ago, geek out over PayPal’s vast data and giving trends and even get some predictions from Oktay about where he thinks giving is headed in 2020.
Links & Notes
- PayPal’s GivingTuesday efforts
- Oktay on Twitter
TeamTrees is an influencer-driven fundraising initiative that started when the community of a 21-year-old YouTuber named MrBeast challenged him to plant 20 million trees to commemorate hitting 20 million subscribers. In partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation MrBeast, along with 600 other YouTubers as well as CEOs like Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey and Marc Benioff started the #TeamTrees campaign that has raised enough money to plant 16 million trees (and still counting!).
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan talks to Dan Lambe, President of The Arbor Day Foundation about this incredible initiative and how they plan to capitalize on it moving forward.
Links & Notes
- TeamTrees
- Arbor Day Foundation
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan chats with regular monthly guest Joe Waters of SelfishGiving.com.
This episode spans all sorts of social impact topics, from Joe’s recent webinar on influencers in social impact and what he learned to #TeamTrees with YouTuber MrBeast and how The Arbor Day Foundation ran with what started out as an internet challenge.
Megan and Joe debrief on Veterans Day cause campaigns that caught their attention and why, including Call of Duty Endowment’s #HireHonor campaign, Macy’s Salutes Those Who Serve, KIND Heroes Bars, Dunkin’ Donuts and A Million Thanks and The Royal Canadian Legion’s special challenge to gamers that play war-related games.
Megan issues a special challenge to Joe to come up with a cause marketing promotion around the “Ok, Boomer” meme and Joe delivers!
Last, but not least, Megan and Joe start what will become a larger discussion of sustainable practices in cause marketing and social impact and discuss a few current practices that may not be as “green” as they could be.
Point of sale fundraising is one of the most effective ways for charities to raise money from consumers in a retail environment and one of the leaders in this space is Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, which has raised $6.9 BILLION for its 170 partner children’s hospitals around the country since 1983.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, I talk with Clark Sweat, Chief Revenue Officer and Julie Breckenkamp, Managing Director of Corporate Partnerships with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and hear how round-up campaigns are gaining traction with their corporate partners like Casey’s General Stores and ACE Hardware, how partners like Panda Express are engaging their employees in donation efforts, how their corporate partners are starting to integrate charitable asks into their apps and what trends they’re watching in 2020 and beyond.
Links & Notes
- CMN Corporate Partner Webpage
- Clark on LinkedIn
- Julie on LinkedIn
For 43 years, Macy’s has hosted the nation’s largest Fourth of July celebration in New York City. This year, they launched more than 70,000 shells over the Brooklyn Bridge. But Macy’s support of military families, veterans and active duty military extends far beyond fireworks.
This past July, Macy’s launched the second year of a cause marketing campaign called “Macy’s Salutes Those Who Serve” in which they partnered with Bunker Labs and Blue Star Families and invited consumers to round up to the nearest dollar upon checkout as a donation to support those charities. The campaign raised $1.2 million for military veterans and their families - not bad for collecting spare change!
One thing I find fascinating about this partnership is the charities Macy’s has chosen to support: Bunker Labs helps veteran entrepreneurs start their own business and Blue Star Families builds communities that support military families with career development tools, local community events for families, and caregiver support.
In this episode of CauseTalk Radio leading up to Veterans Day, I chat with Macy’s Senior Director of Corporate Communications, Giving & Volunteerism Sam Di Scipio as well as Bunker Labs’ Chief Development Officer Becca Keaty and Blue Star Families’ CEO Kathy Roth-Douquet about this second year effort and what they’ve learned along the way.
We explore employee engagement, a new activation using Waze, and how the partners really brought the campaign to life this year by featuring real vets and their personal stories and why that’s so meaningful to this community.
Links & Notes
- Visit Macy’s Gives Back
- Visit Blue Star Family
- Visit Bunker Labs
- Follow Bunker Labs on Facebook
- Follow Bunker Labs on Instagram
In March, The Walt Disney Company announced an initiative that will dedicate more than $100 million over a 5-year period in company resources, including cash, products and services, to reinvent the patient and family experience in children’s hospitals across the globe as part of their 'Team of Heroes' social impact program.
In this episode of CauseTalk Radio, Megan has a conversation with Elissa Margolis, SVP, Enterprise Social Responsibility for The Walt Disney Company about this massive initiative, how and why they decided to focus their resources in this way and some of the cool technologies they're bringing to Children's Hospitals that includes interactive murals (some are 40 feet long!), RFID technology that allows patients to choose the characters they experience in their hospital journey and special windows that provide a view into Disney content.
Links & Notes
- Disney Team of Heroes Release
- Disney Team of Heroes Home
In this episode of CauseTalk Radio, Megan and Joe discuss all sorts of social impact, top-of-mind happenings including:
- A cautionary tale of how Carson King inadvertently turned Venmo into a massive fundraising platform for a children’s hospital and grabbed brand love (then hate) along the way from Busch Lite.
- How charities have a love/hate relationship with GoFundMe and how some have even turned the platform into a springboard into the creation of a brand new charity (albeit one that’s building a wall along the U.S./Mexico border).
- How consumers are turning to activism in the face of government inaction and mistrust and how brands like Levi’s and DICK’s Sporting Goods want a piece of that pie.
- A new study that debates whether it’s best to share facts or stories to convey an important message
- Much more!
Links & Notes
- How Busch Lite’s Donation To Children’s Hospital Took The Wrong Turn
- When GoFundMe Gets Ugly (The Atlantic)
- Kellogg Research: Facts vs. Storytelling
- CEO Letter On Gun Control
One in five children lives with a significantly impairing mental illness and suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15-25 year olds. Because kids don’t wear their thoughts on their sleeves, we don’t know what they might be going through.
Almost a year ago on World Mental Health day, Nationwide Children’s Hospital launched a movement called ‘On Our Sleeves’ with a promise of advocacy, education and fundraising for this critical pediatric mental health crisis. One important supporter of this movement is the corporate community including partners like Justice, 31 Gifts Big Lots and Nationwide.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan talks with Karri Schildmeyer, Senior Director of Corporate Alliance Marketing for Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Niki Shafer, Senior VP of Outreach for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Foundation about this important issue of children’s mental health and what they’ve learned in year one of the ‘On Our Sleeves’ initiative.
Links & Notes
- On Our Sleeves Website
- Support the show with our partner: Audible.com
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe chat with Tony Hollingsworth, legendary producer behind some of the most historic global issue campaigns like "Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute' and 'The Wall - Live in Berlin'.
Tony is back with plans to launch a massive, global campaign in 2020 called The Listen Campaign to bring attention, awareness and funds to the one billion vulnerable and disadvantaged children around the globe.
Tony tells us the story behind this campaign, where did this idea came from and why he's so passionate about it. We learn why Tony decided to go global with this initiative, why this campaign is different than what we see in market today from development agencies and how brands and companies will be involved.
We dig into the concept of the "white savior complex" and how, even though this initiative does include well-known celebrities, the focus remains on the children themselves.
Links & Notes
- The Listen Campaign
Today Joe and Megan chat with Kris Bahner, Senior Vice President of Global Corporate Affairs with Kellogg about their new Rice Krispies Treats Sensory Love Notes campaign in partnership with nonprofit Autism Speaks*.
Several years ago, Rice Krispies Treats first developed writable wrappers on 2017 where parents could write encouraging notes directly on the packages of Rice Krispies Treats to put in kids’ lunchboxes. In 2018, Kellogg partnered with the National Federation of the Blind to create braille stickers for Rice Krispies Treats as well as recordable audioboxes to convey messages to those that were low- or no vision.
Those braille love notes were so well received, the brand opted to expand the campaign to make it even more inclusive. This year they established a partnership with Autism Speaks to create sensory love notes, which are stickers made of different materials like fleece, satin or velour and provide a tactile experience to kids with sensory issues.
As a mom of a child with autism, Kris has a professional and a personal interest in the work of Autism Speaks and understands firsthand the special considerations that are sometimes needed for children with autism. The nonprofit helped Kellogg develop the sensory stickers to ensure they were creating an experience that would be meaningful to children with autism.
Kris’s son thought the sensory love notes were very cool - which is saying something for a 15-year-old teen!
Kellogg also collaborated with their employee group Kapable (an employee resource group focused on supporting individuals with disabilities and is the fastest-growing employee group at Kellogg) on the sensory love notes effort. The group was very involved and brought a lot of passion and enthusiasm to the campaign.
People intuitively respond to the concept that kids need encouragement but that they each do it in different ways. People really “get” that Kellogg is trying to be more inclusive in this effort and it has resonated well with parents from all walks of life.
Kris shares how this sensory love notes campaign fits into Kellogg’s ‘Better Days’ initiative, how their purpose-driven legacy evolved over the 113+ years that Kellogg has been in business and how their brands incorporate purpose into their campaigns where it’s a strong equity fit and how they’re focused on making an impact all around the globe.
We did confirm after the podcast that Kellogg did make a monetary donation to Autism Speaks as part of this effort.
Tune in now!
Links & Notes
- Kellogg’s Sensory Love Notes Video — YouTube
- Kellogg’s Braille Love Notes — YouTube
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe chat with Icema Gibbs, JetBlue’s VP of CSR about the airline’s robust corporate disaster giving history and ongoing initiatives. We also dive into lessons learned from the catastrophic 2017 hurricane season (one of the worst on record) in which JetBlue played a special role. On the show Joe, Megan and Icema discuss:
- JetBlue’s top priorities after a disaster event: crew members, customers and community.
- The many activations JetBlue had in the wake of the 2017 hurricane season with a special focus on Puerto Rico
- Why it’s critical for companies to contribute in ways that leverage their internal assets
- The importance of assessing local need and how hard it can be to balance a quick and appropriate response
- The different phases of disaster recovery and the importance of empowering a local community to get back on its feet
- Why more collaboration between companies is critical in a disaster and the steps JetBlue has taken to form tighter alliances
- What JetBlue looks for in nonprofit partners: like-minded organizations that are nimble, flexible and align with the JetBlue brand
- The balance between providing information and being boastful
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and I talk to ... each other! We share our plans for Cause Talk Radio. (Don't worry! We'll be back.) In other news, Megan and I also share our favorite shows of 2018.
What's our big news? Which shows did we choose? Well, you'll just have to listen to find out!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Ryan Baillargeon, CEO of Toronto-based Grassriots about the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and why nonprofits should be paying attention to it.
Links & Notes
- Grassriots
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Chris Jarvis, Partner at Realized Worth and Executive Director of the RW Institute about a recent episode of the Freakonomics podcast entitled “Does Doing Good Give You License to be Bad?” The show makes some pretty serious claims about CSR programs that we examine and debunk!
Links & Notes
- RealizedWorth
- RW Institute
- RW Institute on Twitter
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Kate Hayes, Director of Direct Impact for Echoing Green about their unique efforts to spot emerging mid-career business leaders and invest deeply in their success to accelerate their impact in the social sector.
On the show, Megan, Kate, and Joe discuss:
- What is Echoing Green and the Direct Impact program?
- What’s the profile of a typical participant?
- Is the focus exclusively on nonprofit boards?
- How do you work with nonprofits to help them better utilize corporate board members?
- How can an individual who works at a corporation make a social impact while staying at their job?
- From the nonprofit perspective, why is it so important to have corporate leaders engaged in their work?
- How can an individual in the corporate sector prepare to engage meaningfully in the nonprofit sector?
- Where does a corporate professional go to find an opportunity to become a volunteer?
- What are actionable steps anyone listening can take right now to understand how to make a social impact?
Links & Notes
- Echoing Green
- Kate Hayes on Twitter
- The Echoing Green by William Blake
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Mike Esposito, Director of U.S. Marketing at household cleaning tools brand O-Cedar about their involvement in Habitat for Humanity's Home is the Key cause marketing initiative that's now in its second year.
Links & Notes
- O-Cedar's Community Page
- Habitat's Home is the Key
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Adrienne Weil, Vice President of Partnerships at Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) about how they approach corporate partnerships, cause marketing, and measuring the impact of both.
Links & Notes
- Partnership for a Healthier America
- Adrienne on Twitter
Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Pam Avesian, Vice-President at women's retailer Chico’s FAS, about their involvement in Habitat for Humanity's Home is the Key cause marketing initiative that's now in its second year.
Links & Notes
- Chico's FAS Cares
- Habitat for Humanity’s Home is the Key
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Allison Robinson, Founder, The Mom Project and Brian Zellner, Recruiting Manager at BP, about the BP Returnship Program.
This initiative supports professional development among mid-to-upper level working professionals. The program targets women and men who have stepped out of the workforce for family or personal reasons and are now ready to return and reignite their career — an often-difficult transition for even the most qualified working professionals.
Links & Notes
- The Mom Project
- BP Careers
- The Mom Project on Twitter
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Shawn Askinosie, Founder & CEO of Askinosie Chocolate and author of the new book, Meaningful Work: A Quest to Do Great Business, Find Your Calling, and Feed Your Soul.
Sponsor: This week's show is brought to you by Audible! Get a free audiobook to spice up your commute and get. Sign up for your free book at AudibleTrial.com/causetalkradio. You can even use your free book credit to download Shawn’s book today — just search for Meaningful Work: A Quest to Do Great Business, Find Your Calling, and Feed Your Soul after you set up your 30-day trial account!
Links & Notes
- Askinosie Chocolate
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Chris Baylis, President & CEO of The Sponsorship Collective, about all things sponsorship! Chris is a leading consultant to nonprofits and businesses on sponsorship and how to build win-win partnerships.
Links & Notes
- The Sponsorship Collective
- Follow Chris Baylis on Twitter
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Bjorn Erland, Vice President of People & Experience at Taco Bell and Jennifer Walker, Director of Strategic Development at Taco Bell Foundation, about the award of $3 million in scholarships through its Live Más Scholarship program. This includes $500k in scholarships for Taco Bell employees!
Links & Notes
- Live Más Scholarship
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Perry Yeatman, CEO, Perry Yeatman Global Partners, External Director, Mission Measurement about how companies and nonprofits can measure the success of social impact programs.
Links & Notes
- Mission Measurement
- Using Social Impact to Drive Your Business (with Perry Yeatman Premium Webinar via Engage for Good)
- Social Impact Measurement - Moving from Necessary Evil to Competitive Advantage (with Perry Yeatman Premium Webinar via Engage for Good)
- Perry Yeatman on Twitter
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Marty Posch, President, Finish Line Youth Foundation, which is the nonprofit arm of athletic apparel and shoe retailer Finish Line about their work with Special Olympics. This includes a very successful checkout charity program that raised $825,000 over the holidays.
Links & Notes
- Finish Line Foundation
- Marty Posch on Twitter
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Dashel Schueler, Associate Director of Development & External Relations, at Seattle public radio station KEXP, about International Clash Day. The day celebrates the music of the English punk rock band The Clash and others as enablers of social consciousness.
Links & Notes
- KEXP
- International Clash Day
- Dashel Schueler on Twitter
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Chris Mann, National Vice President of Corporate Partnerships for City Year, about their corporate partnership program and its growth during Chris' tenure.
Links & Notes
- https://cityyear.org/support-us
- Chris Mann on Twitter
Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Josh Abramson, Founder & Chief Solutionist at ALLBRiGHT 1-800-PAINTING, about Paint It Forward, a charity paint program that gives back to the local community.
Since completing the first Paint It Forward event in 2005, the effort has produced over $1 million worth of free painting services and materials delivered to deserving families and nonprofit organizations across the United States and Canada.
Links & Notes
- ALLBRiGHT 1-800-PAINTING
- Join the Paint It Forward movement
- 156: This Nonprofit Cleans Up with Turnkey Cause Marketing Program for Maid Services
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Jennifer Lindenauer, Chief Marketing Officer at Good Media Group about the 2017 merger between viral news and video site Upworthy with media and consulting company GOOD Worldwide. We get an update on the merger and their plans for 2018.
Links & Notes
- Good Media Group
- GOOD
- Upworthy
- Jennifer Lindenauer on Twitter
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Rahama Wright, Founder & CEO of Shea Yeleen, about her efforts to innovate the shea butter supply chain in West Africa.
Her social enterprise, Shea Yeleen, markets and distributes high-quality skincare products while providing living wages to cooperative members in Northern Ghana. The line of shea butter products is being distributed through retailers such as Whole Foods, MGM Resorts, and Amazon.
Links & Notes
- Shea Yeleen
- Rahama Wright on Twitter
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Andrei Cherny, CEO and Co-Founder of Aspiration, a financial firm that helps investors make money and make a difference. The firm has also launched an app — Aspiration Impact Measurement (AIM) — that lets investors see the impact they're making on people and the planet based on where they are shopping and spending every day.
Today on Cause Talk Radio Megan and Joe talk to Jennifer Herskind, Chief Marketing Officer for Smoothie King, about a new partnership with Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF), a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people with physical challenges lead active, healthy lifestyles.
The 900-store chain will be donating $150,000 through a 25 cent donation to CAF with the sale of every newly-branded Hydrate and Help bottle of spring water. The new bottles just became available at stores the day after Christmas!
Links & Notes
Smoothie King
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Kathleen Janus, social entrepreneur, author and lecturer at Stanford University, about a great, new book: Social Startup Success: How the Best Nonprofits Launch, Scale Up, and Make a Difference.
Links & Notes
- KathleenJanus.com
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Dana Stalker and Rachel Frederick, associate creative directors at Droga5, an advertising agency that has developed the Emoji Reaction Project. It's a clever Chrome extension that transforms your negative Facebook emoji reactions into tangible ways to support good causes and fight injustice.
Every time you react with an angry or sad emoji on a post about a particular social or environmental issue, the browser extension prompts you with three options: "Donate," "Do," and "Dial."
Links & Notes
- Emoji Reaction Project
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Anne Kalmer Cainion, Director of Philanthropy and Community Relations BelAir Cantina, a chain of six restaurants in Wisconsin that are giving back to great causes via their Powered by Tacos (PBT) fundraiser.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Donnica Hawes Saunders, Manager of Alcohol Policy & Government Affairs, Heineken USA about its Drink OR Drive campaign to change consumer behavior and promote responsible decision-making over the holidays.
Through January 3rd, Heineken is using the Evite digital invitation platform to encourage consumers to decide early on — at the point of RSVP — whether they will be drinking or driving at holiday events and celebrations. As part of the campaign, Evite users in 11 cities will also receive discounted Uber rides from Heineken.
Links & Notes
- Heineken & Evite Drink OR Drive
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Carol Cone, CEO of Carol Cone on Purpose and The Purpose Collaborative, and Chris Noble, CEO of Matchfire (and Purpose Collaborative member!). They give us an update on the Collaborative and share news on an exciting new platform from electronics giant LG.
Links & Notes
- Carol Cone on Purpose
- The Purpose Collaborative
- Matchfire
- Carol Cone on Twitter
- Chris Noble on Twitter
- Cause Talk Radio 144: Carol Cone on What's Next for Her, Cause Marketing & Purpose
-
ExperienceHappiness: LG USA Brings ‘Life’s Good’ Tagline to Life for Youths
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Brock Weatherup, Executive Vice President Strategic Innovation & Digital Experience at Petco, about the launch of Heads & Tails, the first iOS app where pet parents can both receive a gift card and donate to help animals in need by simply having fun taking cute pet selfies.
Links & Notes
- Heads & Tails
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Mike Richardson, Vice President of Marketing, Casey’s General Stores, a 2000-store convenience store chain in 15 states, about their recent charity pinup fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The $1.35 million raised will be used to help send kids with muscular dystrophy to MDA Summer Camp.
Links & Notes
- Casey's General Store
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Melanie Zachar Kaloski, Nesquik Marketing Manager at Nestle, about QuikStache, a fun campaign with the Movember Foundation to raise awareness of men's health. The campaign included a pledge from Nesquik to match every $10 donation made to the foundation on Movember's 10th birthday.
On the show, Megan, Melanie, and Joe discuss:
- How was Nesquick introduced to Movember? What was the genesis of this partnership?
- Tell us about the “QuickStache” campaign this year: who are you targeting with your fun chocolate milk ‘staches?
- You pledged to donate $10 for every donation made on Movember's birthday, how did that go?
- Are cause-related marketing campaigns new to Nequick?
- What have you learned from your involvement with Movember this year?
- Movember traditionally has done a good job activating corporate teams. Was this an element of your campaign this year? Or was it more consumer-facing?
- What kind of response did you get from consumers?
- Do you anticipate continuing this partnership with Movember? If so, how will next year be different?
Links & Notes
- Nesquik Quikstache
- Follow the hashtag #Quikstache on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Racquel Russell, Senior Director, Government Relations and Public Affairs of Zillow Group, about a $5 million pledge in cash and in-kind contributions over the next five years to address housing insecurity as part of the company's first social impact program, The Home Project.
On the show, Megan, Racquel, and Joe discuss:
- Can you give us a brief overview of The Home Project and what the program is all about?
- Zillow is partnering with non-profits whose mission aligns with The Home Project. What do these partnerships hope to accomplish?
- How do you plan to reach people who are having challenges with housing?
- How can employees get engaged with this program?
- Another pillar of The Home Project is product development to help people find secure housing. What types of product developments do you anticipate rolling out in 2018?
- Can you explain what "Hack Weeks” and "Innovation Weeks” are and how they fold into this initiative
- What business objectives are attached to this program? How will you measure success?
- Will you involve Zillow customers who are NOT housing insecure in this effort in any way?
Links & Notes
- The Home Project
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Karen Davis, Senior Vice President of Global Philanthropy and Social Impact at Hasbro, about “Be Fearless Be Kind,” a philanthropic initiative designed to empower kids to have the compassion and courage to stand up for others and make a difference. To help nurture empathy and compassion, parents and adults can access proven tools and resources through the Be Fearless Be Kind online hub.
On the show, Megan, Karen, and Joe discuss:
- How did you land on ‘standing up for others’ as your signature cause focus?
- Was this a new cause area for Hasbro or familiar territory?
- Who are your nonprofit partners in this endeavor and what role do they play in activating it?
- Explain to us how you expanded the program in 2017?
- How are you engaging employees? Consumers?
- What are your hopes and expectations for the program in the coming year?
- How does this effort help Hasbro generate business so it can sustain this valuable effort?
- What would you say to others who are considering launching a signature cause program?
Links & Notes
- Be Fearless Be Kind
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to George Khalaf, Executive Director, Empatico. Empatico is a $20 million initiative from The KIND Foundation, started by KIND Snacks, to broaden kids' world views through meaningful interactions with peers across the globe. The free online learning tool will enable students to practice communication and leadership skills needed to succeed in a divided country and interdependent world.
On the show, Megan, George, and Joe discuss:
- The backstory on how Empatico got started.
- Why are you focusing on 3rd and 4th grade students?
- Is Empatico a nonprofit organization?
- Why did KIND choose to start an entirely new organization to connect kids across the globe? Is that a risky venture in your eyes?
- How did you come to be involved in Empatico?
- How involved is KIND with your day-to-day activities? Where does the KIND brand start and leave off when it comes to your mission?
- Are you already matching kids in classrooms around the globe?
- Will there be a time where non-english-speakers will be able to connect?
- How long do you have funding from KIND? What happens after that runs out? Is there a business model here?
- What have you learned so far that you can share with our listeners?
- What challenges have you encountered as you’re trying to roll out this new platform?
- What is your vision for the future of Empatico?
Links & Notes
- Empatico
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Michal Alter, Co-Founder and CEO of Visit.org, about how this B-Corp is curating different local travel experiences, ranging from free to several thousand dollars per person, all in the name of social good! The traveler gets an authentic travel experience and 100% of host revenue is invested back into the local community.
On the show, Megan, Michal, and Joe discuss:
- Michal explains the Visit.org model and what prompted her to start the business.
- How Visit.org selects their nonprofit partners.
- Michal's favorite local travel experience.
- Which tours are most popular on the site.
- Why Visit.org is a B-corp and not a nonprofit.
- The long-term vision of the company.
- The challenging of explaining Visit.org to new website visitors.
- The challenges of building a business that is both good for the world and profitable.
Links & Notes
- Visit.org
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Laura Swapp, Director of Public Affairs & Next Gen Marketing at REI, about an ambitious new campaign called Force of Nature.
The goal of Force of Nature is a total disruption of the dominance of male imagery, heroes, and stories as "masters of the outdoors." Force of Nature seeks to reclaim the outdoors for women of all ages, races, sizes, and gender expressions.
On the show, Megan, Laura, and Joe discuss:
- The background of the Force of Nature. How it got started.
- The four components of Force of Nature.
- Why REI decided not only to focus on gender but age, race, and size as well.
- The key role that storytelling and content are playing in Force of Nature.
- How 1,000+ events are engaging consumers in Force of Nature.
- How REI plans to close the "gear gap" between men and women's gear.
- REI has committed a million dollars to support community organizations that help women and girls, what's the end goal of REI's investments?
- What kind of challenges and bumps has REI faced in developing and executing Force of Nature.
Links & Notes
- Force of Nature
- Follow the #ForceofNature hashtag on Twitter and Instragram
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Annie Ford Danielson, Global Beauty Authority at Benefit Cosmetics about the Bold is Beautiful Project, which has raised $11 million waxing women's (and men's) brows in 17 countries.
The Bold is Beautiful Project is the company's annual global philanthropy program dedicated to providing resources and opportunities to help empower women and girls around the world.
On the show, Megan, Annie, and Joe discuss:
- How the Bold is Beautiful Project got started in 2015 in four countries.
- How the program works in Benefit's boutiques and in retail partner stores like Sephora.
- This is a worldwide effort! How do you choose the benefiting charities?
- How nonprofit partners support the fundraiser.
- The business benefits of the Bold is Beautiful Project.
- How the fundraiser is promoted in stores.
- Lessons learned over the past two years.
- New ideas and plans for 2018!
Links & Notes
- Benefit Cosmetics
- Annie Ford Danielson on Instagram
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Ed Riegert, retail marketing manager for Brooks, and Kristin Finton, footwear merchandising manager for REI, about the National Parks Collection, an exclusive line of shoes and tees being sold at REI that celebrates five iconic national parks and benefits the National Park Foundation.
On the show, Megan, Ed, Kristin, and Joe discuss:
- How the National Park Collection got started by Brooks.
- Other cause programs REI and Brooks have worked on.
- How the program works. How many shoes are involved? How many parks? How much money is being raised?
- Why Brooks decided to create a custom line of shoes for the National Park Foundation.
- Is branded footwear the future of footwear marketing.
- Why REI got involved as the exclusive sales partner in the program.
- The response so far from consumers and employees.
- How the collection highlights Brooks' commitment to trail shoes.
- The business benefits of the campaign.
- Is there a special place for the collection in REI stores?
Links & Notes
- The National Park Collection at REI
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Anne Candido, Fabric Care Communications, Procter & Gamble about bringing relief to residents affected by Hurricane Harvey and Irma with P&G product kits and Tide Loads of Hope laundry services.
On the show, Megan, Anne, and Joe discuss:
- How Tide Loads of Hope got started and how it has evolved.
- What's in the "care kits" that P&G distributes.
- P&G's partnership with Matthew 25 Ministries and Whirlpool.
- How they communicate with victims on access to the truck when disaster areas don't have power.
- How P&G employees can get involved in Tide Loads of Hope.
- How are Tide Loads of Hope trucks used when they aren't needed for a disaster scene.
- How the program is funded.
- How Tide Loads of Hope helps P&G sell more detergent.
- How P&G shares the Tide Loads of Hope mission with consumers.
- How P&G is growing the program.
Links & Notes
- Matthew 25 Ministries
- 216: How Whirlpool is Cleaning Up a Major Attendance Problem in Schools
- Tide Loads of Hope
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Matt Smith, Director of PepsiCo’s Food for Good program a purpose-driven business initiative within PepsiCo that tackles child hunger by making healthy food more physically and financially accessible for low-income families.
On the show, Megan, Matt, and Joe discuss:
- Background on the Food for Good and whom the program serves.
- Which PepsiCo products are used in the program.
- In which states is the Food for Good active and how long has it been around.
- How PepsiCo plans to expand and deepen the program with its 150-person staff.
- What innovations have come out of the program, both within the program and for PepsiCo.
- Which nonprofits does PepsiCo work with and how do those organizations help with the program.
- How PepsiCo educates its employees about the program.
- How Food for Good measures success.
- Some of the challenges Matt has faced running the Food for Good program.
Links & Notes
- PepsiCo's Food for Good
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and I talk to Ann Krcik, Senior Director of Outdoor Exploration for The North Face, and Adrian Benepe, Senior Vice President for The Trust For Public Land (TPL), about Walls Are Meant For Climbing, a campaign that aims to spark conversation about building trust and community around — and beyond — climbing walls. The partnership also includes a one million dollar donation to TPL!
On the show, Megan, Ann, Adrian, and I discuss:
The goal of Walls Are Meant for Climbing.
- How the partnership between North Face and TPL got started.
- TPL's focus on corporate partnerships and why North Face is an important partner.
- Why this campaign is perfect for millennials!
- The political riskiness of the campaign and how stakeholders have responded to it.
- How TPL plans to invest the money from the North Face.
- How this campaign is different from other cause-efforts the North Face has participated in.
- How TPL is focused on building a large, engaged online audience.
- Why a big company like North Face would work with a smallish nonprofit like TPL.
Links & Notes
- The North Face
- Trust for Public Land
- Adrian Benepe on Twitter
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to James Frison, Director, Community Relations for Lowe's, about Renovation Across the Nation, an annual $2.5 million initiative where Lowe’s gives a $50,000 grant and hands-on support from employee volunteers to one Boys & Girls Club in each of the 50 states to refurbish the facility. This year, customers joined in on the effort by donating at any Lowe’s store nationwide.
On the show, Megan, James, and Joe discuss:
- James updates us on how Lowe's is aiding victims of Hurricane Harvey.
- How Lowe's got started with Renovation Across the Nation.
- The in-store checkout charity program Lowe's has launched in its stores to involve Lowe's customers.
- Why Lowe's decided to expand its relationship with Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
- How Lowe's is picking the club it plans to support in each state.
- How much Lowe's has raised with its in-store fundraiser in the first three weeks of the program.
- How employees are engaged in the program.
- Where Lowe's partnership with BGCA fits in its larger CSR goals.
- What lessons Lowe's has learned during the course of the program.
- How Lowe’s is educating employees to talk about the partnership at the register.
- The ideal amount of time for a checkout fundraiser. Is four weeks best?
- How Lowe's is measuring the success of the program.
Links & Notes
- Lowe's Community Page
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Steven Bautista, Karma Kommando at Zappos, about Friends on Us Fridays, a new initiative furthering the brand's commitment to animal advocacy and pet adoption.
Beginning this month, Zappos for Good, in partnership with the North Shore Animal League of America, will sponsor adoptions at select shelters across 15 states and 36 cities every Friday leading up to the launch of the annual Home for the Pawlidayz campaign on Nov. 24th. This means that Zappos will cover all qualifying adoption fees for select shelters each Friday, for both dogs and cats!
On the show, Megan, Steven and I will discuss:
- The background of Zappos for Good and how it got started.
- Why Zappos originally decided to focus on shelter animals and expand the program with Friends on Us Fridays.
- How Zappos got involved with North Shore Animal League of America and what makes for a good nonprofit partner.
- How cause campaigns help Zappos connect with their customers and employees in a unique and positive way.
- How employees are getting involved in the campaign.
- How consumers have responded to the program.
- How Zappos has included merchandise to Friends on Us Fridays and what it's added to the campaign.
- What other cause-related initiatives Zappos is involved in.
- How Zappos narrowed its cause-focus to two signature programs.
- What lessons Zappos has learned in building a strong purpose brand.
- Will Zappos be selling doggie and kitty shoes any time soon?
Links & Notes
- Zappos Friends on Us Fridays
- Zappos for Good
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Stephen Garten, CEO of Charity Charge, a socially conscious credit card. Unlike most credit cards which earn you bonus points or miles, a Charity Charge credit card allows cardholders to earn 1% cash back to ANY nonprofit of their choice.
On the show, Megan, Stephen, and Joe discuss:
- How Charity Charge got started.
- How Charity Charge is able to give cardholders the opportunity to donate to 1.5 million nonprofits.
- How Charity Charge started its card with help from Mastercard and built a following based on its unique mission.
- How Charity Charge is growing and the challenges of getting consumers to add a new card to their wallet.
- How Charity Charge is launching a co-branded card with nonprofits.
- How the Charity Charge card works and how cardholders can choose up to three nonprofits to donate to.
Links & Notes
- Charity Charge
- Follow Charity Charge on Twitter
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Scott Pansky, co-founder, and Katie Malark, Senior Director, Research, of Allison + Partners, about a new study on how digital Influencers can drive donations and engagement with causes.
On the show, Megan, Scott, Katie, and Joe discuss:
- How Scott and Katie define an "influencer."
- Why Allison + Partners decided to do a study on the connection between influencers and cause marketing.
- How important influencers can be and driving donations and engagement for causes.
- Why people who follow influencers are more inclined to support causes.
- What factors make an influencer credible with consumers when it comes to causes.
- Examples of how brands leverage brands for causes and some of the challenges.
- How brands identify the influencers for the right causes. And the pitfalls of paying for influencers, especially for brands.
Links & Notes
- Allison + Partners
- What’s Wrong With Tom Brady’s Partnership With Best Buddies? Everything
- How Columbia Sportswear is Using Cause Marketing to Blaze a New Trail
- Upcoming Free Webinar: Harnessing the Power of Influencer Marketing
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Luconda Dager, President of Velvet Ice Cream, about their long-term partnership with Pelotonia, a grassroots bike tour that funds cancer research at The Ohio State University. On the eve of this year's ride, Pelotonia is working with partners like Velvet Ice Cream to exceed last year's total of over $24 million raised.
On the show, Megan, Luconda and Joe discuss:
- The history of Velvet Ice Cream, its long history of giving and how they got involved with Pelotonia.
- The individuals and companies that power Pelotonia.
- How Velvet's support for Pelotonia has grown since they got involved in 2008.
- Velvet's decision to release a new package featuring the Pelotonia logo and to donate 25 cents from the sale of every carton to the nonprofit.
- How consumers and employees have responded to the promotion.
- The need for brands to pivot on their cause promotions.
- How involved was Pelotonia involved in the decision process?
- Future plans for the partnership.
Show Notes
- Velvet Ice Cream
- Pelotonia
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Mollye Rhea, President of Atlanta-based For Momentum, on what's needed for a national partnership to succeed both for the national headquarters and the field offices.
A recent study from For Momentum gathered data on important aspects of the most successful nationwide partnership collaboration across the nonprofit landscape. The findings give nonprofit professionals actionable insights based on data and best practices shared by 50+ leading nonprofits.
On the show, Megan, Mollye, and Joe discuss:
- Why For Momentum decided to focus on the relationship between national offices and its chapter or field offices.
- The problem of "National Localitis."
- The "Four C's" that characterize the collaboration between HQ and field offices with regard to corporate partnerships.
- How national offices generally share revenue with local chapters and the need for clarity and a policy.
- The research results that surprised Mollye and her team.
- How national nonprofits and field offices can work together to retain corporate partners.
Links & Notes
- Managing National Corporate Partnerships (Download Research)
- For Momentum Cause Marketing Resources
More Interviews with Mollye:
- 115: How Nonprofits Can Identify, Sell & Close New Corporate Partnerships
- 126: What Companies Want from a Nonprofit Partner
- 169: New Research Rates Factors That Drive Cause Partnership Sales
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Clark Sweat, Chief Revenue Officer at Children's Miracle Network (CMN) about CMN's incredible success with checkout charity.
On the show, Megan, Clark and Joe discuss:
- CMN's continued success with checkout charity. The average tenure of a CMN partner is 20 years!
- How CMN keeps its checkout charity programs fresh and raising lots and lots of money.
- The future of checkout charity and fundraising for CMN.
- The struggles of big box retailers and how that will impact fundraising.
- The challenge of working with businesses with many different kinds of POS systems.
- Will beacon technology ever play a major role in retail checkout charity.
- New technology and messaging CMN is testing.
- The challenge of checkout charity with etailers.
- How CMN is cross-promoting charity checkout partners at events, like at its dance marathon program.
Links & Notes
- Children's Miracle Network
- Clark Sweat on Twitter
- Ep107: How One Nonprofit Raises Millions with Charity Pinups (Our last interview with Clark that included some great resources)
- 2017 America's Charity Checkout Champions
- What Will Replace 'Checkout Charity' After Big Retailers are Gone?
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Jon Olinto, co-founder of b.good, a Boston-based chain of farm-to-table burgers and fries joints with 54 locations up and down the east coast, about how his b.good leverages every aspect of its business to support the local community.
On the show, Megan, Jon, and Joe discuss:
- How b.good got started and how social good was mixed in right from the beginning.
- How b.good is sharing its mission of health and sustainability with its customers.
- How b.good invested in a farm off the coast of Boston to feed its mission and expand their work with at-risk youths.
- What b.good has learned through the years about involving customers in their social good experiments. Mobile has played a key role!
- How b.good balances talking about its food with sharing its philanthropic message when customers are in the restaurants.
- The work of the b.good foundation and the challenge of making money and giving it away.
Links & Notes
- b.good
- b.good on Facebook
- b.good on Instagram
- b.good Got a Farm!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Alison DaSilva, Executive Vice President, Cone Communications, about their latest study, the Cone Communications 2017 CSR Study. This year’s research shows that consumers care about CSR more than ever, with 89% of Americans saying they would switch brands to one associated with a good cause.
In addition, the tumultuous past year has only convinced consumers more that businesses need to be a force for change in society. The question is no longer What do you stand for? but What do you stand up for?
On the show, Megan, Alison, and Joe discuss:
- The background of the study and why Cone asked respondents to share what issues they wanted companies to stand up for.
- The universal expectation among consumers that companies balance profit with purpose.
- What were the hottest issues that consumers want companies to stand up for?
- The business imperative of being engaged in social good. No longer an option.
- How consumers - especially Millennials - are researching companies to confirm they are following through on social commitments.
- Consumer willingness to boycott a product or company is growing as a way to show dissatisfaction with a company's irresponsibility.
- How Starbucks is a model of a company that is taking on challenging issues.
- Why Cone calls the study the "CSR Study" instead of using other names like "Purpose" or "Social Good." There are many words and terms that describe our field!
Links & Notes
- 2017 Cone Communications CSR Study
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe speak to Cia Tucci, Vice President of CVS Health’s Store Brands and Quality Assurance Department, about the brand's recent decision to remove potentially dangerous ingredients from their line of personal care products.
On the show, Megan, Cia, and Joe discuss:
- What brought about the decision to address ingredients in personal care products.
- The important role customers played in the decision.
- Why these chemicals are being removed from personal care products.
- Consumer reaction to the decision and the nonprofit partners CVS is working with.
- CVS' plans to educate consumers on safe chemicals.
- Other brands that are planning to remove these chemicals from personal care products.
- What challenges CVS has encountered in eliminating the ingredients from 600 products.
- How CVS is making changes to position healthy foods closer to the front of the store.
- How CVS is communicating changes to customers.
Links & Notes
- CVS Health
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Pete Brace, Vice President of Pet Parent Relations & Communications for Merrick Pet Care, a leader in natural and organic pet food, about their 3-year partnership with K9s for Warriors. Merrick Pet Care is making a difference in the lives of vets with PTSD!
On the show, Megan, Pete and Joe discuss:
- How Merrick got involved with K9s for Warriors.
- How Merrick quickly grew the partnership to branded products.
- How K9s for Warriors helps veterans adjust to civilian life.
- Why private support is so critical to K9s for Warriors.
- How service dogs are chosen and paired with veterans.
- Merrick's release of Hero's Banquet and the success of the product since it went on sale in March.
- The importance of having a long-term commitment to the cause.
- The business benefit to Merrick of working with K9s for Warriors.
Links & Notes
- Merrick Pet Care
- Pete Brace on Twitter
- K9s for Warriors
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to A. J. Petitti, President of Petitti's Garden Centers, a 8-store chain based in Ohio, about their partnership and support for Cleveland Clinic's Children's Hospital.
The program has consistently raised over $100,000 thanks to an enthusiastic fundraiser at Petitti's stores and matching gift support from Scotts Miracle-Gro.
On the show, Megan, A. J., and Joe discuss:
- How Petitti's got involved with Cleveland Clinic.
- The challenges of launching their first cause marketing fundraiser and growing it from a modest start of $8,000.
- How Petitti's measures the impact of their cause marketing, both for the hospital and their business.
- How Petitti's got Scotts Miracle-Gro involved in the fundraiser as a matching gift partner, which doubled the campaign's success!
- How employees have responded to the program.
- How the hospital works with Petitti's to educate employees and show the impact of their hard work.
- The two other fundraisers Petitti's hosts during the year.
- A. J.'s advice to other businesses that want to help their favorite causes.
- How Petitti's tracks donations at the register.
Links & Notes
- Petitti's Garden Centers
- 108: How a Hospital Grew Its Cause Marketing from Zero to $750,000
- 10 Best Cause Marketing Promotions of 2015 (SLIDESHARE)
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Sarah Delea, President of the Mondelez International Foundation (MIF) on the impact and results from its school and community-based gardening programs on five continents.
MIF is the giving arm of Mondelez International, a world leader in biscuits, chocolate, gum, candy and powdered beverages, featuring global Power Brands such as Oreo and Trident gum.
On the show, Megan, Joe, and Sarah discuss:
- The background of Mondelez International and how the foundation got started with its Call for Well Being.
- MIF's global work and the success they've had with "aquaponics."
- How MIF is tracking the success of its work, and how they cross-pollinate good ideas around the world, including here in the United States.
- Success stories from China, Mexico and some of the cultural challenges MIF has had.
- How Joe can eat a sleeve of Oreos and still keep his sexy shape.
- The size of MIF and the important role partnerships play in achieving their goals.
Links & Notes
- Mondelez International
- Mondelez on Twitter
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Kari Hayden Pendoley, head of the Rodan + Fields Prescription for Change Foundation, the giving arm of skincare brand Rodan + Fields, about their charitable work with empowerment organizations and upcoming #RFGoNaked fundraiser.
- On the show, Megan, Kari and Joe discuss:
- The background of Rodan + Fields and their business model of Independent Consultants.
- How Rodan + Fields built cause into the business right from the beginning.
- The company’s work with buildOn, an organization breaking the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations through service and education.
- How Rodan + Fields involves encourages its Independent Consultants to Support, Serve & Share with partners.
- Rodan + Fields’ upcoming campaign #RFGoNaked that encourages customers to post a public make-up free selfie to trigger a donation up to $500,000 to their global partners.
- How Rodan + Fields is using offline strategies to promote its online campaign.
Links & Notes
- Prescription for Change Foundation
- Rodan + Fields
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Alison McArthur, Community Achieves Coordinator for Metro Nashville Public Schools about the The Whirlpool Care Counts laundry program.
Whirlpool is fighting against education inequality by installing washers and dryers in schools to remove this barrier to attendance, and give students the confidence they need and deserve to get through class each day.
On the show, Megan and Joe discuss:
- How the Whirlpool Care Counts laundry program got started in Nashville schools.
- The little-known problem of children missing school because they don't have clean clothes.
- How the program works in three Nashville schools.
- How the schools create a welcoming atmosphere for families so that they use the laundry center.
- The emphasis on collecting data so that Whirlpool and the schools know the program is working.
- How the program might expand in Nashville and across the country.
- How the program supports Whirlpool's business objectives.
Links & Notes
- Whirlpool Care Counts
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Jeremy McGilvrey, an entrepreneur, author, and trainer who's amassed a massive audience on Instagram. Jeremy is here to share his advice on how causes can use the Internet's hottest property to recruit and engage supporters and to raise money.
On the show, Megan, Jeremy, and Joe discuss:
- The business case for being on Instagram. Jeremy's own journey.
- What exactly is an "influencer" on Instagram, and why you should tap into them.
- The positive vibe on Instagram that aligns well with causes.
- Instagram best practices for brands.
- How to use Instagram hashtags effectively.
- How to collect email addresses with Instagram.
- Top causes to follow on Instagram.
- How underutilized Instagram is by causes.
Links & Notes
- @jeremymcgilvrey on Instagram
- @iamjoewaters on Instagram
- @meganstrand on Instagram
- Elevate Your Mindset
- Instagram Secrets
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan Joe talk to....each other! Don't worry. We're sure you'll enjoy it because we're belatedly celebrating the show's 200th episode with a look back at our favorite episodes of Cause Talk Radio.
Here are the must-listen shows that Megan and Joe picked.
- 104: Content Marketing and the Future of Nonprofit Fundraising
- 132: White Castle's In-Store Fundraising Spikes 48%. What's On The Menu?
- 134: How an Ex-Con's Bread Company Gave Rise to Second Chances for Others
- 136: How Columbia Sportswear is Using Cause Marketing to Blaze a New Trail
- 151: Organic Valley Boosts Sales with Spoof on Cause Marketing
- 155: How One Sub Sandwich Chain Raised $8M for 180 Charities
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Peter Zandee, U. S. Sales Manager, Tony's Chocolonely, about their efforts to fight child slavery in the chocolate industry in West Africa.
On the show, Megan, Peter and Joe discuss:
- How Tony's got started by a Dutch journalist who was appalled by the slavery in West Africa.
- The founders had no experience making chocolate or working in West Africa. But they had a powerful commitment to the cause.
- The problem of childhood slavery in West Africa and why it's getting worse.
- How Tony's is trying to address the problem of child slavery by paying cocoa growers a living wage and adding traceability to the supply chain. Tony's want to be a model for the industry.
- Other companies Tony's is working with to eradicate child slavery.
- How Tony's communicates its mission with stakeholders.
- The importance of leading with great tasting chocolate and then the social impact.
Links & Notes
- The Story of Tony Chocolonely
- Tony's Chocolonely
- Tony's Chocolonely on Facebook
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe are talking to Erich Marx, Director of Marketing, Nissan North America, about their participation in Habitat for Humanity's new cause marketing platform Home is the Key.
This month, Nissan is aiming to raise $250,000 for Habitat by donating $1 for each time the hashtag #HomeistheKey is used online.
On the show, Megan, Erich and Joe discuss:
- How Nissan got started with Habitat for Humanity back in 2005.
- Nissan's first impression of Habitat's new cause marketing platform, Home is the Key.
- How Nissan is supporting Habitat in April with a hashtag fundraiser to raise $250,000. They are also doing a special build in Atlanta with Heisman Trophy winners.
- How Nissan is partnering with iHeartRadio to promote Home is the Key.
- How employees have participated in the partnership with Habitat.
- Key facts everyone should know about Habitat houses.
- How Nissan is the number one car among Millennials!
Links & Notes
- Nissan's #HomeIsTheKey
- 209: Habitat Launches First Cause Marketing Platform, 'Home is the Key'
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Icema Gibbs, Director, Corporate Social Responsibility, for JetBlue Airways, about JetBlue for Good.
The goal of JetBlue for Good is to inspire humanity – both in the air and on the ground. It's focused on giving back in meaningful ways in the communities the airline serves and to inspire others to do the same.
On the show, Megan, Icema and Joe discuss:
- How JetBlue for Good got started.
- JetBlue's signature program, Soar with Reading, that was created six years ago. It's goal is to bring books and reading to poor communities.
- The innovative approach JetBlue took to delivering books via vending machines.
- Why JetBlue chose to focus on youth and education.
- How JetBlue communicates with its employees about their cause initiatives, and rewards them for their efforts.
- The importance of cause initiatives to younger employees and how it keeps them engaged with the company.
- How JetBlue engages consumers inflight with their different cause-related programs.
- Why it's important for businesses to be involved in public/private partnerships.
- Learn how you can win two roundtrip JetBlue tickets!
Show Notes
- JetBlue for Good
- JetBlue Corporate Social Responsibility
- Win two roundtrip tickets!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Scott Goldberg, President of Bankers Life, a national life and health insurance brand, about their work with the Alzheimer's Association. In their 14 years of support, the company has raised more than $4.5 million to support the Alzheimer care, education and research. And they've done it by asking their agents to hit the streets and collect donations from passersby.
On the show, Megan, Scott and Joe discuss:
- How Bankers Life got involved with the Alzheimer's Association.
- Why they decided to take to the streets to raise money and "Can for Change."
- How Bankers Life designed the program to make it easy for employees to ask people for money.
- What surprised Scott on who donates the most to their street campaigns.
- How the program has evolved through the years. It's expanded across the country.
- How Bankers Life and Alzheimer's Association communicates the impact of the program.
Links & Notes
- Bankers Life
- Forget Me Not Days
Today on Cause Talk Radio Megan and Joe talk to Colleen Ridenhour, Senior Vice President Resource Development for Habitat for Humanity International, and Tracy Cioffi, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Sur La Table, about Habitat's new cause marketing platform, Home is the Key.
On the show, Megan, Colleen, Tracy and Joe discuss:
- After 40 years, Habitat for Humanity is launching its first signature campaign, Home is the Key. Why now?
- What can stakeholders expect to see when the platform launches in April?
- How Sur La Table got involved with Habitat.
- What are the biggest myths surrounding Habitat? Do they really give away homes? Habitat is so successful, do they really need the money?
- What's happening in Sur La Table stores in April to support Home is the Key?
- How Sur La Table educated their employees on Habitat and prepared them for their first national cause marketing program. They've got Habitatitis!
- How Habitat engages volunteers beyond building homes. Habitat is very active after disasters.
- How Sur La Table is rebranding itself with its support of Habitat and communicating that new brand to customers.
- What Sur La Table looks for in a charity partner, and what it hopes to gain from cause marketing.
- What have Sur La Table and Habitat learned in their rollout of Home is the Key?
Links & Notes
- Sur La Table Supports Habitat for Humanity
- Home is the Key
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Jeff Terry, Global Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Amway Corporation, about Power of 5. This campaign is designed to build awareness of childhood malnutrition and address the critical need for proper nutrition during the first 5 years of life and offer a way that everyone can help.
On the show, Megan, Jeff and Joe discuss:
- The background of Power of 5 and its tie to Amway's nutrition brand, Nutrilite.
- How Amway's One-by-One program evolved into Power of 5 as Amway realized it could do more than give money. They could apply their expertise to address the problem of malnutrition in the world.
- How Amway works with its business owners around the world to involve them in Power of 5.
- How Amway uses its internal website to raise money directly from business owners. They've raised $11 million just in the past year.
- How Amway works with 20 NGO's, especially with CARE, which is its global partner.
- Joe tests Jeff knowledge of Amway with trivia! Megan was thrilled!
- What's Jeff's biggest challenge in rolling out a global program like Power of 5?
Links & Notes
- The Power of 5
- Jeff Terry on Twitter
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Buffy Swinehart, Senior Manager, Cause Marketing for Aflac, on the company's Duckprints campaign to fight childhood cancer. One of the components of the campaign included rallying people across America to create or share posts related to childhood cancer using the hashtag #Duckprints on social media. For each social media activity, Aflac pledged to contribute $2, up to $1.5 million. All told, there were more than 900,000 social media engagements across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, making this the first time that the program, which began in 2013, has reached its goal of $1.5 million in contributions.
On the show, Megan, Buffy and Joe discuss:
- How did Duckprints get started? A fundraiser's cold call on Aflac's foundation led to a $3 million gift, a corporate commitment to fighting childhood cancer and Duckprints!
- How Duckprints evolved to a social media fundraiser with the hashtag #duckprints.
- How Aflac is a great model of how traditional corporate giving can evolve to something much greater when companies involve employees and customers.
- How Aflac raised money through social media, peer-to-peer fundraising and selling duck-related products.
- The business benefits of the Duckprints campaign. Really aids recruitment of employees, and one of the reasons Buffy joined Aflac.
- What Buffy would recommend to other companies that are interested in creating and growing a cause marketing program.
- Aflac's plans for Duckprints in 2017.
Links & Notes
- Aflac Duckprints Website
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Jenny Davis-Peccoud, a partner with Bain & Company who leads their sustainability and corporate responsibility practice, about a new report that finds that only 2 percent of corporate sustainability programs achieve or exceed their aims. To get sustainability efforts back on track, the report offers four guidelines to deliver lasting gains.
On the show Megan, Jenny and Joe discuss:
- How Jenny defines "sustainability."
- How data was collected for the report. 300 companies from around the world completed a survey and Jenny's team followed up with interviews.
- Was Jenny surprised that the success rate was so low?
- Employee reaction to sustainability. Employees weren't convinced that sustainability wasn't a real priority for their company.
-
Four things companies can do to make their sustainability efforts more successful.
-
Make a bold, public commitment to sustainability.
- CEO's need to lead by example.
- Highlight the business case.
- Use process and incentive changes to reshape behaviors.
Links & Notes
- Achieving Breakthrough Results in Sustainability
- Bain Alerts on Twitter
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to James Mitchener, Marketing Manager at Waste Industries, about the Full Circle Project, a customer-driven fundraiser that to-date has donated nearly $1 million to charities.
On show, Megan, James and Joe discuss:
- How the Full Circle Project works. Customers get to choose which charities Waste Industries supports.
- How did Waste Industries educate customers about the program? It took some time to engage customers and convince them that Waste Industries was adding the donation to their bills!
- Focus of the program is on local charities and Waste Industries identifies charities within nine "need" areas (e. g. cancer, animal rescue, veterans, etc.).
- Waste Industries works with local nonprofits to communicate the success of the program. They'll even prepare media releases for the nonprofit.
- How the waste industry is learning from James and his team on how to create win-win cause marketing programs.
- What has surprised James and his team most about the Full Circle Project?
- How does Waste Industries choose the charities? What's their criteria?
- The impact of the program has been intergenerational. Millennials, Baby Boomers and everyone in between love the program.
Links & Notes
- Full Circle Project
- Waste Industries on Twitter
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to co-founders Kevin Finn and Mark Edelson of Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, a privately owned restaurant known for their handcrafted beers and New American cuisine. Iron Hill is also known for its cause marketing, having raised $200,000 for children's pediatric cancer.
On the show, Megan, Kevin, Mark and Joe discuss:
- How Iron Hill got involved with CureSearch and fighting children's pediatric cancer.
- How Iron Hill decided on a dessert to benefit CureSearch.
- To Joe's delight, Kevin and Mark describes the Triple Chocolate Hill, a double fudge brownie topped with vanilla ice cream, peanut butter-caramel sauce, chocolate sauce and whipped cream.
- Since 2004, Iron Hill has raised $200k by selling the dessert at 12 locations.
- Kevin and Mark discuss their partnership with CureSearch and what a great partner they've been.
- This fundraiser is unique in that it's promoted year-round. How does Iron Hill sustain the enthusiasm for the fundraiser, especially with employees.
- What's the business benefit to Iron Hill of working with causes like CureSearch?
- People have high expectations of restaurants when it comes to giving back. How does Iron Hill deal with this challenge?
- What advice would Mark and Kevin give a restaurant about supporting a charity.
Links & Notes
- Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant
- CureSearch
- Kevin Hill on Twitter
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan, and Joe talk to Sloane Lucas, Manager, Corporate Citizenship, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, about their cause marketing efforts on behalf of Operation Homefront whose mission is to build strong, stable and secure military families so that they can thrive in the communities they've given so much to protect.
One creative fundraiser launched last summer was Operation Rocker. With the purchase of a rocker on Cracker Barrel’s website, the company donated an adult rocker to Operation Homefront. Cracker Barrel also offered this same opportunity for each eligible rocker cushion set purchased online during this time.
On the show, Megan, Sloane, and Joe discuss:
- What is Operation Homefront and how did Cracker Barrel begin working with them?
- Operation Rocker is a new, major initiative for Cracker Barrel. They promoted both online and in stores.
- The first year they sold/donated 700 rockers.
- Why Cracker Barrel chose rockers instead of food for its cause marketing promotion. Rockers are an iconic part of their brand.
- What was Operation Homefront's process for distributing the rockers?
- How Cracker Barrel promoted the program. Lots of social media, including paid media.
- How Rockefeller Plaza was transformed into ROCKER-feller plaza with the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store rocking chairs on FOX & Friends.
- How important it is for nonprofits to be social media savvy and have a client-centered mentality.
- Joe tests Sloane's knowledge of Cracker Barrel with trivia!
Links & Notes
- Cracker Barrel
- Sloane Lucas on Twitter
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to co-founders Matt Sharp and John Rougeux at Causely, a service that helps businesses use cause marketing to grow and build community.
With Causely, the business benefits from a big increase in word-of-mouth (typically a 4-6x increase in social media impressions!). Businesses also earn a charitable reputation in the process. Customers benefit because it gives them an easy (and free) way to support great causes. And, of course, non-profits benefit as Causely has donated over $2 million since it launched.
On the show, Megan, John and Joe discuss:
- How Causely works (Facebook check-ins) and who they work with (Today, 3,200 businesses!).
- What type of businesses benefit most from Causely?
- How does Causely work with the business to coordinate Facebook check-ins and donations? Why couldn't businesses do this themselves?
- How are donations funded? Do they come from the customer? The business? Causely?
- What are "social goods"?
- What causes have been most popular with businesses and customers?
- How Causely works on Instagram with "location tags."
- How Causely gives people a socially acceptable reason to post a selfie of themselves at the gym.
- How Causely can work with Facebook ads.
- What makes a great nonprofit partner for Causely? Storytelling is key!
Links & Notes
- Causely
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Patrick Adams, Managing Director, Secret Weapon Marketing, the creative minds behind the Helpful Bowl, a bigger, better Super Bowl that has SoCal Honda donating money to Boys & Girls Clubs in Southern California for every Big Game ad that has an advertising cliche.
On the show, Megan, Patrick and Joe discuss:
- How the Helpful Bowl got started by Southern California Honda dealers. Ultimately, people wanted to be helped!
- How the Helpful Bowl works. They're not advertising during the Super Bowl, but they will be donating money based on the commercials.
- Why Megan and Joe will be looking for puppies and aliens in Super Bowl ads.
- Megan asks: "Is the Helpful Bowl an example of 'causejacking?'" Yes!
- Other ways SoCal Honda are being "helpful" and serving the community.
- What are the business objectives of the campaign?
- Patrick's thoughts on how cause marketing has evolved over the past decade.
- The power of a brand having a year-long cause platform as opposed to a transactional cause promotion.
Links & Notes
- Helpful Bowl
- SoCal Honda Dealers
- Secret Weapon Marketing
- 36 Examples of Causejacking on Pinterest
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Jessica Li, Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Kansas, about a new article that explores how corporate social responsibility efforts are perceived by different cultures. These efforts may not be effective for all consumers or in all countries.
On the show, Megan, Jessica and I discuss:
- Why Jessica and her team decided to do this research. The team focused on two "individualistic" cultures and two "collectivistic" cultures.
- How people had different feelings toward CSR programs executed by domestic and foreign companies.
- How marketing messages need to differ for individualistic and collectivistic cultures.
- Tips for U.S. companies that want to engage in CSR activities in foreign markets.
- The importance of companies having a long-term commitment to a cause regardless of the country or culture.
- The need for more research on consumer behavior, especially in collectivistic cultures.
- Megan and Joe suggest two companies that may be excelling in foreign markets.
Links & Notes
- Jessica Li at KU School of Business
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Allison Weinhagen, Director of Community Engagement at City Market, a 16,000 sq. ft. community-owned food cooperative in downtown Burlington, Vermont.
Anytime you check-out at City Market, you can choose to "round up" your total to the nearest dollar. Each month, the spare change collected during Rally for Change is split between three great non-profits that align with the co-op's mission. Since the program's inception, City Market has raised over $300,000 for charities.
On the show, Megan, Allison and Joe discuss:
- How Rally for Change got started with a conversation with a local food bank.
- Why did City Market choose a round-up instead of donation boxes or charity pinups?
- How does the round-up work with the store's POS system?
- How City Market distributes the money it raises to charities.
- The initial customer response to the fundraiser was mixed.
- What advice would City Market give to other businesses that want to replicate their round-up program?
- How City Market communicates the impact they're having in the community.
- The Rally for Change program includes a volunteer program.
- Other ways City Market gives back to the community, and their plans to expand involvement with new stores.
Links & Notes
- Unilever Consumer Study Shows A Third Of Consumers Prefer Brands Doing Social or Environmental Good
- Rally for Change
- City Market Donations
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Dan Goldenberg, Executive Director of the Call of Duty Endowment, which was founded by Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick. Dan was last on the show in November 2015. Since then, the endowment has expanded on its cause marketing and the Endowment's impact.
On the show, Megan, Dan and Joe discuss:
- A recap on the mission of the Call of Duty Endowment.
- The Endowment's long term partnership with GameStop and the results of their latest and newest joint fundraiser.
- How the Endowment secured its first point-of-sale fundraiser with GameStop.
- The Endowment was joined by another charity, Snowball Express, in their fundraiser with GameStop. How did that partnership work? What was the ask at the register?
- How the Endowment is raising money with in-game "vanity items," and the key role these items play in educating gamers about the cause.
- The fourth year of the Race to Prestige exposed over two million viewers to the Endowment.
- Since gaming is such a growing industry, how can other nonprofits learn about the industry and possibly land their own partners.
Links & Notes
- 143: Call of Duty Endowment Enlists Gamers, Retailers for Mission to Help Vets
- Call of Duty Endowment
- Call of Duty Endowment on Twitter
- Dan Goldenberg on Twitter
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Alex Meysman, national event director at Love Your Melon (LYM). The online retailer donates 50% of the profits from each sale made to find a cure for pediatric cancer and to support families impacted by cancer.
From LYM’s Cyber Monday sales alone, they donated over $400,000 to Pinky Swear Foundation and CureSearch. The sales for LYM were the highest the company has seen since it’s inception in 2013.
But the truly amazing thing about LYM is its success motivating millennials to purchase cause-related products. LYM merchandise often sells out at soon as it hits the website, an accomplishment that must leave many national brands green with envy!
On the show, Megan, Zach and Joe discuss:
- How LYM got started by two college students.
- LYM raised $2.5 million in 2016.
- Why the co-founders decided to focus on hats and pediatric cancer.
- The success LYM had on Cyber Monday. They didn't even discount their products!
- How LYM has activated "Campus Crews" as brand ambassadors.
- How LYM uses social media to spread its message. Facebook and Instagram are key channels.
- What challenges has LYM faced as its grown? What have they learned?
Links & Notes
- Love Your Melon
- LYM on Instagram
- LYM on Facebook
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Sarah Durham, CEO of Big Duck, a communications firm that is a leader in Brandraising — a proven approach to fundraising that puts the focus on marketing, branding, and communications.
On the show, Megan, Sarah, and Joe discuss:
- Speaking of brands: Where did Big Duck come from?
- Why branding is important for nonprofits.
- Sarah's definition of "Branding".
- What do you need in place before you go through a rebrand?
- How Big Duck tracks the ROI of a rebrand with its clients.
- How communications isn't decorative for a nonprofit - it's a workhorse!
- How to get the key people on board within your organization for a rebrand. And the main difference between a nonprofit and a for-profit rebrand.
- Where does social media fit into a nonprofit's communications strategy?
- What stands in the way of a successful nonprofit rebrand?
- In 2017, will we see more nonprofit content brands (i.e. nonprofits that prioritize communications)?
Links & Notes
- Big Duck
- The Rebrand Effect
- Sarah Durham on Twitter
- Brandraising
- Cleveland Clinic's Health Essentials
- Check out the podcast This Old Marketing (last ten minutes of the show) for the story on UK National Trust Magazine
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to David Hessekiel, the founder and president of Cause Marketing Forum Inc., which recently changed its name to Engage for Good! This wide-ranging conversation includes the rebranding of the organization, the evolution of cause marketing and what we can look forward to in 2017.
On the Show, Megan, David and Joe discuss:
- Joe muses on a new illustrious title for David: "The Commodore of Cause Marketing."
- David's backstory: why did he start the Cause Marketing Forum?
- Why CMF is rebranding to Engage for Good.
- How cause marketing has evolved since the forum launched in 2003.
- How companies are becoming more cause-oriented instead of nonprofit-focused.
- Why companies will always need nonprofits.
- The history of the Halo Awards and how organizations can apply for a 2017 award.
- The future of cause. What will be the expectation of businesses when it comes to cause? How will the election impact cause marketing?
- When is the Engage for Good conference?
Links & Notes
- Engage for Good
- David Hessekiel on Twitter
- Engage For Good on Twitter
- Good Works! Marketing and Corporate Initiatives that Build a Better World...and the Bottom Line
- Engage for Good Conference
- Apply for a 2017 Halo Award
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan, and Joe talk to Beth Bellanti, Program Manager of Vodka For Dog People, one of the philanthropic arms of Tito's Handmade Vodka, about their vision to help better the lives of pets and their families far and wide. They see a future in which dogs won’t need rescuing at all!
On the show, Megan, Beth and Joe discuss:
- The background of Tito's Handmade Vodka and the birth of Vodka for Dog People.
- How Tito's sales people were eager to promote the program to clients and saw the potential of Vodka for Dog People as a sales driver and a great cause.
- The importance of businesses starting with a cause about which they are passionate.
- How the program progressed beginning in 2012 and their focus on third-party events - "Yappy Hours" - all over the world.
- What lessons Tito's has learned in developing and growing the program.
- Other philanthropic activities Tito's is involved in.
- The importance of developing community around Tito's philanthropic work.
Links & Notes
- Vodka for Dog People
- Vodka for Dog People on Instagram
- Tito's Handmade Vodka
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Abby Lunardini, Vice President of Brand Marketing and Communications at Virgin America, about #TinyDogsTinyFares. With every booking at VirginAmerica.com on Cyber Monday, the airline donated ten dollars to its animal shelter partners: The San Francisco Animal Care and Control, The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Animal Haven.
Also this week, the airline is hosted its seventh “Operation Chihuahua” airlift – flying Chihuahuas in style from San Francisco to New York so they can be adopted into loving homes – just in time for the holidays.
On the show, Megan, Abby and Joe discuss:
- How Virgin American went to the dogs!
- How "Operation Chihuahua" has evolved since 2010.
- How Virgin America promoted #TinyDogsTinyFares to its customers.
- Why Virgin America launched the effort on Cyber Monday instead Giving Tuesday.
- How "Operation Chihuahua" and #TinyDogsTinyFares fits into Virgin America's social responsibility strategy.
- Joe's early experience with Virgin America in an online charity contest and his bitter loss to Rabbi Chaim!
- The challenge of airlifting Chihuahuas across the country.
- Joe tests Abby's knowledge of Chihuahuas! Are they really the smallest dog breed?
Links & Notes
- Great pictures and videos from this year's 'Operation Chihuahua'
- Virgin America on Facebook
- How Boston's Top Nonprofits Got Their Butts Kicked & What We Can Learn From Rabbi Chaim
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Alison DaSilva, Executive Vice President, Cone Communications, about their latest study, the 2016 Cone Communications Millennial Employee Engagement Study.
On the show, Megan, Alison, and Joe discuss:
- Why Millennials are so important to companies. 50 percent of the workforce by 2020!
- Why Cone decided to do this research. "90 percent of our clients are coming to us and asking about Millennials. How do we keep them happy."
- How Cone keeps employees happy. The Cone Olympics???
- How Cone defines a socially responsible company.
- Are employers playing catch up with employees since the priority is usually targeting Millennial consumers?
- How do Millennials want companies to support causes?
- The importance of social media to Millennials.
- What were the biggest surprises from the study? The importance and depth of interest in volunteerism.
- As a Millennial expert, how well does Alison know Millennial lingo?
- What Cone is planning for future research studies.
Links & Notes
- Cone Communications
- 2016 Cone Communications Millennial Employee Engagement Study
- Cone Research
- Sign Up for the Cone Newsletter
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Ryan Harmon, CEO & Co-founder of Press Cleaners. Press is a weekly, subscription-based dry cleaning and laundry delivery service in Texas that is helping the homeless and growing its business with its Socks for Souls program.
On the show, Megan, Ryan and Joe discuss:
- The backstory on Press Cleaners and Ryan Harmon.
- How Socks for Souls got started. Press will even pick up donations from non-customers!
- The impact of Socks for Souls on Press' business. "It's frictionless."
- How Ryan's entrepreneurial journey included lots of cause ventures that made Socks for Souls a natural fit when he co-founded Press.
- What challenges have Press encountered with Socks for Souls.
- Ryan's recommendations for entrepreneurs who want to add cause to their business.
- Joe challenges Ryan's to come up with cause ideas for new startups. A cause marketing idea for a lingerie store FOR MEN???
Links & Notes
- Press Cleaners
- Press Cleaners on Facebook
- Ryan Harmon on LinkedIn
- Socks for Souls
- Support David Neff's Movember Fundraiser
- Cause Talk Radio 183: Uber Makes Donating Clothes to Goodwill Easy
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to David Wolfe, Co-Founder and CEO of Leesa Sleep, a certified B-Corp that donates one mattress to a shelter for every 10 it sells. To date, they've donated 9,000 mattresses and are proudly pioneering a way for people to give back while they sleep!
On the show, Megan, David and Joe discuss:
- How Leesa got started by a serial entrepreneur with a generous spirit.
- How Leesa approaches the intersection of profit and purpose. Which comes first?
- How Leesa has made mattresses "cool," which may explain why so many Millennials are consumers and employees!
- How Leesa tracks the social impact of the mattresses it donates. One way is through an "Impact Tour" of shelters they've helped.
- How Leesa chooses the shelters it donates to.
- How Leesa balances its donation with new and returned mattresses. More than half of their donations are new mattresses.
- The real problem of homelessness: no place to sleep. Watch This!
Links & Notes
- Leesa Sleep
- Sapira Sleep
- One Company Tackles Homelessness: One Mattress at a Time
- Mark Horvath & InvisiblePeople.tv
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Christine Riley Miller, Senior Director of Corporate Social Responsibility & Corporate Foundation for Dunkin' Brands, about the company's new, re-branded foundation, the Joy in Childhood Foundation. The goal of the foundation is right in the name: to provide the simple joys of childhood to sick and hungry kids.
On the show, Megan, Christine and Joe discuss:
- Why Dunkin' decided to rebrand its foundation.
- Dunkin's partnership with Feeding America and their effectiveness working with brands like Dunkin'.
- Is the rebranding more than a name change? Yes! Focus moving forward are food banks and children's hospitals.
- How Dunkin' Brands works with its franchisees to balance local initiatives with national programs.
- How Dunkin' works with children's hospitals - and other organizations that bring "joy" to children.
- How Dunkin' raises money for its philanthropic initiatives. There is a point-of-sale fundraiser happening right now at Dunkin' stores!
- Joe and Christine discuss Joe's favorite Dunkin' fundraiser: Cops on the Rooftop. They've raised $2.3 million since the event's inception!
- How Dunkin' communicates its social impact to consumers, franchisees and employees.
- Will more companies follow Dunkin's lead and create foundations to raise and distribute money?
Links & Notes
- Joy in Childhood Foundation
- Dunkin' Donuts Cops on the Rooftop
- Christine Riley Miller on Twitter
Today on Cause Talk Radio Megan and Joe talk to Lori Davison, Vice President of Brand Strategy & Communications, at SickKids Foundation about the foundation's new brand platform.
Titled SickKids VS The Greatest Challenges in Child Health, the platform shows the strength, the fierceness, the fight that’s very real at SickKids and shares it with those who have never stepped foot into the hospital. This isn't your typical hospital ad campaign!
On the show, Megan, Lori and Joe discuss:
- The background of SickKids. They've been around for over 140 years in Toronto and they see over 100,000 children every year.
- How the SickKids VS campaign got started and the goal to shift perceptions to reach new donors. "We needed to jolt the community."
- How corporate and individual donors have responded to the campaign.
- The "massive" lift in donations, especially from male Millennials, that the Foundation has seen since the ad's launch.
- How nonprofits can do a better job standing out in a cluttered, apathetic world.
- How SickKids plans to use the new platform with its corporate partners.
- Who developed the campaign? How long did it take to plan and execute?
Links & Notes
- SickKids Foundation
- Cause Talk Radio 151: Organic Valley Boosts Sales with Spoof on Cause Marketing
Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan, and Joe talk to James Citron, CEO, of Pledgeling and Victor Cho, CEO of Evite about Evite Donations, which has raised over $1M in donations for 20,000 nonprofit organizations across the United States.
Evite Donations is a free tool that turns every Evite event into an opportunity to give back. Hosts can select their favorite nonprofit from the 10,000+ members of the Pledgeling network, or recommend a new nonprofit. Guests donate without leaving Evite.com, and Evite never charges a fee to make donations.
The backend integration for donation processing is powered by Pledgeling, which includes instant tax receipts to donors for their donations.
On the show, Megan, James, Victor, and Joe discuss:
- How the partnership between Pledgeling and Evite got started and how they developed Evite Donations.
- Like all good ideas, Evite Donations came from Evite's customers!
- How Evite and Pledgeling integrated their platforms to createEvite Donations and a seamless donation process.
- Why Pledgeling decided to not charge a standard fee and instead encourage users to leave them a "tip" for using the service.
- What the donation program taught Evite about their customers.
- How Evite users are using the platform for other events.
- What's next for the Pledgeling/Evite partnership.
- How companies could use Evite Donations.
- How Evite Donations expands a nonprofit's audience beyond its typical donor base.
Links & Notes
- Pledgeling
- Evite
- How to Use Evite Donations in 5 Easy Steps Infographic
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Christy Phillips-Brown, Director, External Communications & Community Relations, for Food Lion, a grocery store chain with 1,000 stores in 10 states, about their efforts to fight childhood hunger.
On the show, Megan, Christy and Joe discuss:
- Christy updates us on how Food Lion, a North Carolina based company, is working to help victims of the flooding from Hurricane Matthew.
- How Food Lion has changed course on point-of-sale programs over the years. They've gone from eight fundraisers to just one.
- How Food Lion has had success with giving shoppers a choice between making a flat donation OR rounding-up at the register.
- How Food Lion has developed other programs to raise money and give back to the community, particularly Feeding America and the 30 food banks in their service area.
- How Food Lion works with its vendors to donate 3 million meals.
- How Food Lion's Summer Without Hunger program is feeding needy kids over summer vacation.
- Food Lion's overhaul of its CSR program included creating new charitable platform, Food Lion Feeds.
- The one POS program Food Lion does over the holidays includes a special five-dollar gift box that shoppers can buy for themselves, give as a present or donate to a needy family.
- Food Lion has an annual awards program, The Feedy's, that honors those who are fighting hunger.
- For the second year, Food Lion employees are supporting local food banks with the Great Pantry Makeover! They fix, pain and restock local food banks so they can better serve the community.
- How Food Lion communicates with employees and customers about their cause-related efforts.
Notes & Links
- Food Lion Feeds
- Food Lion News on Twitter
- Pop-Up Register Programs Support Boston Bombing Victims
- Food Lion on Facebook
- Food Lion Newsroom
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Jeremy Ball, who leads the Big Lots Foundation and is director of philanthropy and events for the parent company Big Lots, about the retailers impressive cause marketing efforts on behalf of Nationwide Children's Hospital.
Last fall, Big Lots mobilized its nearly 1,500 stores and raised $2.2 million! But this was just the tip of the iceberg.
In August, the Foundation announced a $50 million transformational gift to Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Big Lots will support Nationwide Children’s new behavioral health expansion, including the construction of a treatment and research center on the hospital's main campus.
On the show, Megan, Jeremy, and Joe discuss:
- How Big Lots got involved with Nationwide Children's Hospital and their decision to fund children's mental health in a big way!
- How Big Lots support for Nationwide Children's went from a few pallets of food to a $50 million donation.
- Why it was important for Big Lots to include its customers and employees in its fundraising efforts.
- Big Lots' goal to hit $3 million this year and how they plan to reach it.
- How Big Lots overcomes the #1 obstacle that retailers face with register fundraisers.
- How Big Lots engages employees in other parts of the country to support a children's hospital in Ohio.
- What Big Lots learned from last year's program and what changes they made for this year. Training is key, as is goal-setting.
- How Big Lots used incentives to motivate and reward employees.
Links & Notes
- Give Big & Help Kids Everywhere
- Big Lots All Associates Meeting Announcing Gift to Nationwide Children's
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Kim Van Syoc, Executive Director at the Banfield Foundation. about the organization's successes and challenges in the first year of operation.
The Banfield Foundation was founded in 2015 by Banfield Pet Hospital (BPH), which operates more than 950 pet clinics, mostly located in PetSmart stores across the country.
On the show, Megan, Kim and Joe discuss:
- Joe introduces Megan and Kim to the elusive "cockerdoodle"! (See below)
- How the Banfield Foundation got started in 2015 and its close alignment with BPH's CSR mission.
- How the Foundation is funded. Primary funder are customers who give at the register. They gave $2.5 million over the past year!
- What the Foundation learned from its partner, PetSmart, and its charitable giving program.
- The Foundation's funding of 150 nonprofits over the past year, and which types of pet issues they focus on.
- How the Foundation's pinpad program works at BPH, and the key role employees have played in the success of the program.
- Some of the challenges the Foundation faced the first year.
- How the Foundation is telling its story for maximum impact with Stories of Impact.
- Other corporate partnerships the Foundation is considering.
- The Foundation's goals for 2017.
Links & Notes
- Banfield Foundation
- Stories of Impact
- Kim Van Syoc on LinkedIn
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Ryan Kuhn Senior Director of Marketing for Goodwill Industries International about a national collection drive they launched with the help of Uber.
Megan, Ryan and Joe discuss:
- Goodwill was the recent winner of PUBLIC's Cause Marketing Innovation Award.
- Goodwill's national program with Uber began with a local relationship in New York. Collection drives included clothing and e-waste drives.
- How Uber promoted the campaign to customers
- How Goodwill helped local Uber drivers connect with local stores in their community.
- How Goodwill's work with Uber required flexility and a commitment to innovation.
- The logistics behind the campaign. Uber collected 250,000 pounds of clothes for Goodwill!
- The power of tapping into the strengths of your partner.
- The target demographic for Goodwill is women between the ages of 35 and 45. The Uber campaign helped them reach this audience and a younger demographic.
- The business benefits of the program to Uber.
- The future of Goodwill's partnership with Uber.
Links & Notes
- Uber and Goodwill Make Spring Cleaning Easy
- Ryan Kuhn on LinkedIn
Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Russell Sparkman, CEO of FusionSpark Media, about Upstanders, a new purpose-driven web series from Starbucks. The goal of the initiative is to tell real stories of humanity as a reminder that ordinary citizens can create extraordinary impact by refusing to be bystanders
Russ is the perfect person to speak to on this content initiative! He and his firm are leaders in purpose-focused non-fiction storytelling.
On the show, Megan, Russell and Joe discuss:
- The work of FusionSpark Media. How long have they been at the intersection of purpose and content marketing?
- Russell's thoughts on Content Marketing World this year where he delivered a presentation on purpose-driven content marketing. The force of purpose was strong at this year's conference!
- What were the key takeaways from CMW? How will these lessons influence the creation of cause-content?
- Is Upstanders cause marketing? Is it better than Race Together?
- Russell: "The path to engagement is paved with purpose."
- What can small businesses and nonprofits learn fromUpstanders? What's the takeaway for an organization that has the desire but not the unlimited budget and resources?
- How could nonprofits "Causejack" Upstanders?
- How Starbucks is determined to create a movement around Upstanders. Movement-building campaigns are critical to brands.
Links & Notes
- Upstanders
- FusionSpark Media
- Russell Sparkman on LinkedIn
- Purpose-focused Content Marketing: Content Marketing World 2016
- Cause Talk Radio 104: Content Marketing and the Future of Nonprofit Fundraising
- Content Marketing Strategy for Cause Marketers
- Cause Talk Radio 110: How Causes Can Inject Themselves Into Breaking News and Get Noticed
- The Starbucks Guide to Cutting Edge Cause Marketing
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Peter Strebel, Chief Marketing Officer at Omni Hotels & Resorts, about Say Goodnight to Hunger (#SayGoodnightToHunger). This action-triggered donation program feeds a family of four dinner for an entire week whenever guests book a stay directly at OmniHotels.com.
Since the programs launched in June, Omni Hotels has donated 3 million meals. Donations support Feeding America and local food banks in the 42 communities where Omni's 60 hotels are located.
On the show, Megan, Peter and Joe discuss:
- Joe's love of Boston Cream Pie and its connection to the Omni Parker House in Boston.
- How Omni Hotels got involved with Feeding America and the kick-off ofSay Goodnight to Hunger in June.
- How Omni Hotel employees have supported the program in their communities. Feeding America's local footprint made it a perfect nonprofit match for Omni!
- How the program is geared toward Millennial customers and employees. 45% of Omni employees and 25% of Omni customers are Millennials.
- How being the father of a Millennial (who works at TOMS!) inspired Peter to take the next step in Omni's social responsibility efforts.
- How support for this program began at the very top of the Omni organization.
- What has surprised Peter the most since the launch of the program.
- What Feeding America brings to the table as a partner of Omni Hotels.
- How Omni Hotels is communicating with employees about the program to show the impact of their efforts.
Links & Notes
- Omni Hotels Say Goodnight to Hunger
- Omni Hotels on Facebook
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Leslie Engle Young, Director of Impact at Pencils of Promise (PoP), about how the how organization has become a top philanthropic brand by smashing its goal of increasing access to quality education for children in the developing world.
On the show, Megan, Leslie and Joe discuss:
- How Leslie got involved with PoP - and she owes it all to Bob Dylan!
- Why PoP created a position specifically focused on impact. Should other nonprofits have this role?
- What metrics does Leslie measure to determine PoP's effectiveness? Focus is on outcomes not outputs.
- How important is data to PoP?
- How PoP moves a new program from Pilot to Beta toIntegration.
- PoP's quarterly transparency report and why an annual reports wasn't enough. "We want people to see where we are succeeding and where we are struggling."
- How PoP communicates with its stakeholders.
- PoP's WASH program that teaches kids about WATER, SANITATION and HYGIENE. "If you're not healthy you can't/won't go to school!"
- The challenges of being a metric-focused and data-driven organaztion that works in the Third World.
- What are PoP's 2017 goals?
Links & Notes
- Pencils of Promise
- Cause Talk Radio 88: Pencils of Promise Founder Talks About Building Schools, Cause Marketing
- Care Counts School Laundry Program Exposes Link Between Clean Clothes and Attendance
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Chris Fuller, Executive Director at the Arby's Foundation, about the chain's first PurposeFULL report highlighting progress across its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) platform. With 3,300 locations around the world, Arby's is the second largest quick-service chain in the world!
On the show, Megan, Chris and Joe discuss:
- Why Arby's is releasing its first CSR report now
- What Arby's is doing to share the report with stakeholders.
- The four pillars of the report:YouthFULL, SkillFULL, ResourceFULL & FlavorFULL.
- Arby's focus on youth empowerment and its contribution of over $76 million.
- Customer donations at the register - last year that totaled $3.6 million.
- How Arby's puts the "FUN" in fundraising and gets 75 percent of its restaurants to participate in fundraising programs.
- The structure of Arby's point-of-sale fundraisers and importance of having an employee "champion."
- How Arby's picked childhood hunger as its cause.
- How's Arby's is working with its nonprofit partners to maximize social impact through innovation.
- Arby's plans to work with Dipjar on a pilot program for year-round "passive fundraising."
- Chris' thoughts on the importance of cause marketing to brands.
Links & Notes
- Arby's Foundation
- Arby's CSR Report
- Restaurant Execs: Cause Marketing, Employee Engagement Drive Bottom Line
- Cause Talk Radio 165: Retailers Have a New Option. DipJar is a Donation Box for Credit Cards
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Chris Noble, CEO of Matchfire, a marketing and technology company for business and social impact, about key trends in cause marketing, including the power influencers, content marketing and employee engagement.
On the show, Megan, Chris and Joe discuss:
- How Matchfire brings four different agencies together (StudioGood, Kompolt, Patron & Matchfire) that were once "Brand Soup." The commonality with all these entities was social good and technology.
- Matchfire's work with the Muscular Dystrophy Association on #LiveUnlimited, a bold initiative to reach a new, younger audience for the charity.
- How #LiveUnlimited focused on 150 online influencers to drive traffic, interest and donations to the campaign.
- Trends in cause marketing: Snapchat, Pokemon Go!, Employee Engagement.
- The critical role content marketing has and will play in cause marketing, and how people confuse it with digital marketing.
- How the language we use to describe corporate responsibility (cause marketing, purpose, CSR etc.) can either empower or confuse our employees.
Links & Notes
- Matchfire
- MDA's #LiveUnlimited
- Chris on Twitter
- Cause Talk Radio Ep 5: Homeless Hotspots Roam SXSW, Austin for Money. Is it Right? (Chris' last appearance on CauseTalk Radio)
- Cause Talk Radio Ep 143: Call of Duty Endowment Enlists Gamers, Retailers for Mission to Help Vets
- Cause Talk Radio Ep 171: Nationwide Puts Cause Content to Work for Safety's Sake with 'Make Safe Happen'
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Lisa Lewis, Director of Marketing at Formation Data Systems (FDS), a startup data storage company, about an interesting cause marketing partnership with Oxfam involving giving goats to families in need!
On the show, Megan, Lisa and Joe discuss:
- How FDS was looking for a marketing program that was affordable but impactful when Lisa discovered Oxfam after a friend gave her a goat as a gift!
- How the program works. If you demo FDS' product through Oxfam they will donate a goat to a needy family in a third-world country.
- The power of goats! They are a fantastic animal to donate because almost singlehandedly they can lift a family out of poverty.
- How FDS has used See a Demo, Get a Goat outside outside a trade show (that they couldn't afford to attend!) with great success!
- Are goats the next household pet?!
- How FDS has incorporated goats into a series of videos called GoatBusters that links the craziness of goats with the disorganization of most company's storage efforts.
- Two unexpected lessons from the program. First, employees love it - especially their younger employees (Millennials!). Second, the program is so "sticky." Prospects remember the goats!
- Is this cause marketing program driving sales?
- FDS' partnership with Oxfam. What do they think of the program and its success?
- What is the key takeaway from this program? What can other B2B companies learn from it?
- What's next for the goats?
Links & Notes
- What a Goat Can Teach You About Cause Marketing
- Lisa Lewis on Twitter
- Formation GoatBusters on Youtube
- Formation Data Systems
- Just Like Dogs, Goats Will Look You In The Eye When They Need Your Help
- Goats Fight Weeds in Local Cemetery
- Skyhill Farms
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Katrina McGhee, a nonprofit leader and entrepreneur who has more than 25 years of experience in progressive leadership roles, including chief marketing officer for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
On the show, Megan, Katrina and Joe discuss personal branding for causepreneurs. We cover:
- What is personal branding?
- Why causepreneurs have a difficult time focusing on personal branding.
- How personal branding is critical to career success. It's portable and helps you become an "A" player.
- Katrina's process for defining your personal brand.
- How to do a "personal audit" on yourself.
- How to tell what's a distinction and what's a distraction in your personal brand.
- The importance of generosity in your relationships.
- How to build strong relationships with people. It's better to go deep than wide.
- Katrina's top five tips for personal branding.
Links & Notes
- Katrina's Website
- Katrina on Twitter
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Bill Spae, CEO of Vasari LLC, a Dairy Queen franchisee with 76+ locations in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Vasari is the second largest franchisee in the DQ system!
Vasari leads several cause marketing programs, including a fundraiser for Share Our Strength that raised $335,000 since 2014.
On the show, Megan, Bill and Joe discuss:
- How Joe met Bill at the National Restaurant Show in Chicago where they were both speaking on behalf of Share Our Strength.
- How DQ got involved with Share Our Strength. It's not a national program for DQ, but a regional program for Vasari LLC.
- How DQ kicked off the program in 2014 and Share Our Strength supported their efforts with their deep experience in cause marketing point-of-sale.
- How much the program has grown since 2014. The goal this year is $200K+.
- How DQ changed its ask from a dollar amount to a meal amount and raised more money.
- The power of incentives to solicit donations.
- Joe shares a painful DQ regret.
- Does DQ ask for specific donation at the register, or do they let the customer decide? Key takeaway: don't pressure people.
- What employees think of the program, and how Vasari has grown their engagement with communication, storytelling and swag.
- Why DQ doesn't ask for donations through the pinpad. Employees do all the asking.
- How DQ avoids donor fatigue.
- The business benefit of supporting a cause.
Links & Notes
- Vasari LLC
- Restaurant Execs: Cause Marketing, Employee Engagement Drive Bottom Line
- Cause Marketing Limits Raise More Money
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Risa Sherman, Manager of Philanthropy & Cause Marketing at The Boston Beer Company, about the company's signature cause initiative, Brewing the American Dream.
This innovative program champions the great ideas and dreams of small business owners nationwide who are pursuing their passion in the food and beverage, hospitality, and craft brewing industries.
On the show, Megan, Risa and Joe discuss:
- An overview of the halo-award winning Brewing the American Dream. The initial goal was to add value to the community beyond just writing a check.
- The three legs of the program. First, access to capital. Second, access to mentors. Third, access to new customers and markets.
- The focus of the program over the past year? One word: Impact (and tracking it!).
- What's the business impact of Brewing the American Dream? A close connection to innovation helps Boston Beer stay nimble in its own business.
- How much Boston Beer employees enjoy working with other entrepreneurs.
- Risa has worked on the agency side and the brand side. What's the difference? What advice would she give agencies?
- The importance of involving the whole company in cause marketing.
- What is Boston Beer planning for the program in 2017?
Links & Notes
- Brewing the American Dream
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Stephanie Bagley, COO at Charity Miles, about the new Pokémon Go game and how it can be used to raise money for good causes.
On the show, Megan, Stephanie and I discuss:
- What is Pokémon Go? And what the heck is augmented reality?
- How Charity Miles is leading the charge to use Pokémon Go for GOOD.
- How Charity Miles launched a challenge to users to play Pokémon Go for a purpose.
- The explosion in users and downloads that Charity Miles has seen since the launch of Pokémon Go. A 2000+ surge in new users of the app.
- How different businesses and nonprofits are usingPokémon Go.
- Is Pokémon Go a fad or the future?
Links & Notes
- Charity Miles App on iTunes
- Walk for a Dog App on iTunes
- Charity Miles
- 116 Examples of Digital Cause Marketing on Pinterest (Includes AR Examples!)
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Brittany Hill, Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Catalist, an agency focused on providing corporate partnership professionals tangible and sustainable tools to meet their fundraising goals.
Megan, Brittany and Joe discuss Catalist's recent report,Revelations at the Register: A Look Into Sector Specific Consumer Giving Preferences at the Register.
On the show, they cover:
- How Catalist defines "Checkout Charity." What does it include?
- What were the goals of the study?
- How checkout charity drives customer loyalty.
- What consumers want after they donate at the register. Is a simple thank you enough?
- While two-thirds of respondents said they've given at the register, one-third had not. How can this group be engaged?
- The importance of brand recognition at the register. What should you do if your nonprofit brand isn't well known?
- Consumer feelings on donating through PIN pads. Do consumers prefer to be asked verbally or electronically - or both?
- How much do consumers want to donate at the register? Why haven't round-up programs taken off?
- Are paper pinups on life support? Do consumers still like to see them hanging in stores? What will become of Joe's reputation as the "Pinup King"?
- Brittany shares what she thought was the most interesting finding of the study.
Links & Notes
- Revelations at the Register
- Take That Critics: Consumers Like Donating at the Register
- Brittany Hill on Twitter
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan, and Joe talk to Elicia Azali, Associate Vice President at insurance and financial services provider Nationwide. We discuss their cause initiative Make Safe Happen, which seeks to reduce accidental injury at home, the number one cause of death among children.
On the show, Megan, Elicia, and Joe discuss:
- How Nationwide's commitment to safety initiatives and Make Safe Happen got started. It began decades ago!
- Make Safe Happen is a comprehensive platform. Elicia offers some examples of how Nationwide is helping to keep kids safe.
- The challenges of creating a comprehensive site that addresses so many safety issues.
- The focus this year on four injury areas: furniture/TV tip overs, poisoning, water and fire safety.
- Nationwide's partnership with Nationwide Children's Hospital and Safe Kids Worldwide to bring Make Safe Happen to life.
- Nationwide's business objectives for Make Safe Happen.
- The channels (social, earned media, influencers) Nationwide is using to promote Make Safe Happen.
- The feedback Nationwide has gotten on the platform.
Links & Notes
- Make Safe Happen Web Site
- Promise To Make Swimming Safer
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Matt Hodges, Vice President of Public & Investor Relations at GameStop, about the gaming chain's first-year fundraiser for Autism Speaks that raised a whopping $1.2 Million.
On the show, Megan, Matt and Joe discuss:
- Why GameStop chose Autism Speaks.
- How did GameStop survey employees to find out what their favorite causes were?
- What's GameStop's process for evaluating charities before they partner with them.
- The benefit of partnering with Autism Speaks because they share GameStop's international footprint. Megan is hearing this more! Companies want nonprofit partners with international reach.
- What are GameStop's current best practices when it comes to executing successful point-of-sale fundraisers? GameStop continues to make it personal and relatable to employees.
- How GameStop communicates autism stories with customers, both through internal assets and social channels.
- News Flash: Is a GameStop candle for Autism Speaks in the works?
- Adding Autism Speaks to the GameStop roster of causes gives them a full plate. What's next?
- Matt discusses GameStop's holiday campaign for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which tripled the dollars raised the previous year.
Links & Notes
- 127: GameStop Quadruples High Score, Raises Over $1M for Make-A-Wish
- CMF's Webinar with GameStop
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to frequent guest Mollye Rhea, President of For Momentum, an Atlanta-based cause agency.
On the show, Megan, Mollye and Joe discuss For Momentum's survey of U.S. nonprofit executives responsible for selling cause partnerships in the Nonprofit Partnership Sales Cycle Research.
We cover:
- For Momentum's new research takes on the number one question people ask about cause partnerships: "How long will it take?"
- The survey included interviews with 50 nonprofits with corporate alliance teams.
- The survey looked at sponsorships, integrated fundraising and employee directed partnerships.
- Nonprofits need to give themselves up to 18+ months to close a larger partnership. The more money involved, the longer the sales cycle. Warmer leads can reduce close time.
- Mollye's advice on how to work with prospects, especially your warmer leads.
- How the sales cycle is impacted by your nonprofit's brand and mission fit and readiness.
- Why do companies turn down a cause partnership? The #1 reason surprised Mollye! But she has some good ideas on how nonprofits can address this.
- Mollye's advice on how nonprofits need to stay proactive, top-of-mind, creative and flexible when pitching cause programs to companies.
- Should you ask a company to commit to a minimum level of support? How much?
Links & Notes
- Cause Partnership Sales Cycle Research
- For Momentum's Cause Marketing Resources
- For Momentum on Twitter
- Joe's Latest Post on For Momentum
- For Momentum's 2015 Corporate Partner Survey
- 126: What Companies Want from a Nonprofit Partner — See the show notes for this show for other podcasts with Mollye!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Julie Cottineau, founder and CEO of BrandTwist, a brand consultancy, and creator of Brand School Online, a learning program that teaches small business owners, entrepreneurs and non-profits how to create powerful brands that break-through crowded markets.
Julie is also the author of a new bestseller: TWIST: How Fresh Perspectives Build Breakthrough Brands.
On the show, Megan, Julie and Joe discuss:
- Julie's career path to branding expert, including her unacknowledged invention of the Pet Rock and a stint with Sir Richard Branson.
- How Julie defines Brand and a Brand Twist.
- When is it appropriate for organizations to Twist? And why it's okay to turn off some people!
- How you find your twist in the marketplace by looking both within your own brand story and outside your industry.
- The importance of failing harder and developing focus when it comes to brand development.
- The incredible opportunity nonprofits and businesses have to promote themselves and build their brands.
Links & Notes
- BrandTwist
- Julie on Twitter
- Julie's Free Brand Health Check
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Linn Jordan, Director of Retail Marketing for Walgreens, about its efforts on behalf of Red Nose Day, which is dedicated to raising money to help children who are most in need, both in the U.S. and in some of the poorest communities in the world.
Walgreens has sold more than 12 million Red Noses and raised $18 million since kicking off their campaign on March 28th — twice the amount sold during the entirety of the campaign last year!
On the show, Megan, Linn and Joe discuss:
- What is Red Nose Day? It's a cause import from the UK that has raised $1 billion over the past 30 years.
- How Walgreens got involved with Red Nose Day. Having a CEO from the UK helped!
- What does Red Nose raise money for? How is the money divided up among the charities?
- The challenge of adding a physical product, like a red nose, to the checkout area.
- Why Walgreens decided to sell other products to support Red Nose Day.
- How Walgreens employees had fun with the program with "Red Flair Fridays."
- How Walgreens worked with vendor partners to grow the program.
- How Walgreens balanced having fun with addressing a very serious issue?
- How much did Walgreens raise with the program?
- Other cause programs Walgreens is involved in and the focus on the customer and employee experience.
Show Notes
- Red Nose Day
- Red Nose Day / Walgreens
- See How Red Nose Day Came Alive in Your State!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Hil Davis, founder of BeautyKind, an online retailer where consumers can shop prestige beauty brands while raising funds for charitable causes.
Launched In November 2014, BeautyKind is an online beauty retailer with charitable giving at its core. Customers can shop their favorite beauty, hair, fragrance and skin care brands, while directing five percent of every purchase to causes of their choice, whether that is a local cause or a national organization.
On the show, Megan, Hil and Joe discuss:
- Hil's unique journey from Alabama to culinary school to starting his own beauty brand.
- Hil's opinion on why cause businesses like his are becoming so popular.
- How BeautyKind works. The site has "featured causes" but consumers can support any nonprofit they want - so long as it qualifies as a 501c3.
- How are brands working with BeautyKind? Is it just another place to move product, or do they see value in your cause-focus?
- How important is the cause component to BeautyKind's business? "You need a 'Good to Greed' ratio."
- How BeautyKind has created a retention engine with its cause focus and aggressive loyalty program.
- How are the best charities performing on BeautyKind? What's the secret to their success?
- How BeautyKind is morphing into a public company with a public offering that will involve small investors and allow BK to expand its cause mission.
- BeautyKind's plans to expand their community with events and, eventually, physical stores.
- Hil's advice for aspiring causepreneurs.
Links & Notes
- BeautyKind
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Ryder Kessler, CEO of DipJar, a donation box for credit cards that is a major improvement on the traditional coin-fed canister.
Supporters can "dip" to leave a one-step donation with any credit or debit card. You can also review DipJar activity in real time on your smartphone, and change the preset dollar amount whenever you want.
On the show, Megan, Ryan and Joe discuss:
- The history of Dipjar. It started as a way to collect tips.
- Dipjar combines the power of in-person giving with the convenience of credit cards.
- Why Dipjar switched from tips to donations.
- All the different types of nonprofits that use Dipjar Nonprofits get real-time information and access to their money.
- Where you can find Dipjar: 650 locations.
- The sophisticated anti-theft device on Dipjar: a cord!
- How Dipjar makes money.
- Joe's plans for raise money for the JWFL at the Cause Marketing Forum Conference. (Which were quickly squashed by Megan!)
- What's been the best use of Dipjar? What's been most successful?
- Unlike most point-of-sale fundraisers, Dipjar will generate a donation receipt on the cardholder's credit card statement.
Links & Notes
- DipJar
- DipJar on Facebook
- DipJar on Twitter
- 3 Resources to Help You Get Started with Donation Boxes
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Gentry Lane, founder of TDO Productions, a company that is harnessing the power of virtual reality and leveraging it for social good. TDO's virtual reality experiences are formulated to inspire massive empathy that drives viewers to immediate action.
On the show, Megan, Gentry and Joe discuss:
- All the things you can do with virtual reality! You can switch places with someone, you can teleport and time travel.
- The rise of virtual reality over the past twenty of years. It's evolving like cellphones did, but more quickly.
- The power of virtual reality. It lives forever, has a captive audience and powerfully conveys emotions. "Our brains react in virtual reality the same way they react to real life."
- How you can donate, sign a petition, share on social media without ever leaving your virtual reality experience.
- Gentry's argument on why social good is the best use of virtual reality technology.
- What causes need to do NOW to prepare themselves for when virtual reality becomes mainstream.
- The difference between virtual reality and augmented reality.
- What happened to Google Glass?
Links & Notes
- TDO Productions
- Gentry Lane on Medium
- The Purpose Collaborative
- TDO Productions on Twitter
- TDO Productions and Selfish Giving are members of The Purpose Collaborative
- 110+ Examples of Digital Cause Marketing on Pinterest
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Crayton Webb, Vice President, Corporate Communications & CSR for Mary Kay, about the cosmetic giant's Don’t Look Away campaign which works to educate the public on recognizing the signs of an abusive relationship, how to take action and to raise awareness for support services.
To date, Mary Kay and The Mary Kay Foundation have given $50 million to domestic violence prevention and awareness programs in an effort to end the cycle of abuse.
On the show, Megan, Crayton and Joe discuss:
- How Don't Look Away's mission to stop abuse got started 22 years ago with Mary Kay's founder.
- How Mary Kay launched a video series to educate women about abusive relationships and how to get themselves or the people they love out of violent relationships.
- The challenge companies have adopting causes that people don't like talking about.
- How educated consumers are about authentic partnerships and want companies to be leaders on their chosen issue.
- The business benefits of Don't Look Away. "If we're not making money, we can't give any money away."
- How Mary Kay activates its salesforce around cause campaigns. One of those programs is Lobbying for Good, when sales people lobby their state legislatures for legislation and funding for violence prevention programs.
- How Mary Kay is using cause marketing to stay current and relevant with Millennials and Gen Z.
- How is the Don't Look Away program is executed in countries that have different attitudes about women and abuse.
- How Mary Kay is measuring their impact and success.
Links & Notes
- Mary Kay - Don't Look Away
- Mary Kay News on Facebook
- Crayton Webb on Twitter
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Steve Spangler — America's Science Teacher — about Fueling Education, a CITGO program in partnership with National School Supply, We Are Teachers, and Steve Spangler that offers educators a chance to win up to $5,000 in school supplies as well as STEM-teaching workshops.
On the show, Megan, Steve and Joe discuss:
- How Steve got involved with CITGO's Fueling Education program. The focus is on professional development of teachers to make science fun (again!) for them and their students.
- How most STEM education programs focus on students when teachers deserve as much or more attention!
- The importance of STEM to CITGO - who needs a workforce of scientists and engineers.
- How Fueling Education gives teachers what they want and need: time to learn, develop and recharge their love for teaching.
- How other businesses (e.g. Pizza Hut, H&R Block) launch and use educational training in the classroom and how it could be enhanced with professional development for teachers.
- How the Fueling Education program builds a connection between teachers and CITGO scientists - and Steve is the "science communicator" between the two.
- The business benefit of Fueling Education to CITGO. Is CITGO teaching and grooming tomorrow's scientists and engineers?
Links & Notes
- CITGO Fueling Education
- Steve Spangler Science
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to McCall Gosselin, Vice President of Public Relations at Planet Fitness, about the launch of its first national cause initiative. Building off its Judgment Free Zone policies, Planet Fitness created a pro-kindness, anti-bullying movement called The Judgement Free Generation through a partnership with STOMP Out Bullying and Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
On the show, Megan, McCall and Joe discuss:
- How The Judgement Free Generation got started. Planet fitness had supported local causes before, but never at a national level.
- How Planet Fitness wants to extend its encouragement culture and no-intimidation policy to teens outside the gym.
- How Planet Fitness plans to raise $1.3 million for STOMP and BGCA, and how they are working with the two charities on the gym-level.
- How Planet Fitness is engaging employees and customers in the campaign - and how the fitness chain effectively communicates with stakeholders at 1,500 locations.
- The business case for cause marketing. Does it drive memberships?
- What Planet Fitness has learned from launching their very first cause marketing program. What could they do better?
- What's next for Planet Fitness? Are they planning additional cause marketing programs?
Links & Notes
- Planet Fitness And Its Franchisees Pledge $1.3 Million To Pro-Kindness, Anti-Bullying Initiative
- Giving Back at Planet Fitness
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and I talk to Jenny Fouracre, Director, Public Relations and Charitable Giving, atDomino's Pizza about their longtime partnership with theNational Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
As part of Fire Prevention Week, Domino’s and NFPA are partnering to promote home fire safety this spring using Domino’s box toppers to share electrical safety tips. Participating Domino’s stores will also work in conjunction with local fire departments to deliver pizzas in fire engines!
On the show, Megan, Jenny and I discuss:
- How Domino's got involved with NFPA. It started with one store!
- How Domino's uses box toppers and free pizza deliveries to educate homeowners on fire prevention in the fall and the spring.
- How local stores work with their fire departments to arrange deliveries to customers.
- How Domino's corporate encourage franchise owners to participate in the program.
- How Domino's corporate works with local stores and fire departments to secure media coverage.
- The value of working with first responders and Domino's long history working with firefighters.
- Other charitable campaigns Domino's participates in, like St. Jude's Thanks & Giving, which has raised $30 million over 12 years.
- Why the pizza industry in general is so engaged in cause marketing. Pizza is the perfect social good food!
- How Domino's motivates and rewards employee participation with.... chicken pins??
Links & Notes
- Domino's 2015 Charitable Giving Report
- NFPA and Domino’s Pizza Team Up for Fire Safety
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe have back-to-back guests to discuss a new cause initiative launched by HBO, Game of Thrones, Omaze and the International Rescue Committee to raise $1 million for refugee services.
The goal of Rescue Has No Boundaries is to bring attention to the global refugee crisis and to raise emergency funds to help rescue the millions of people displaced by the war in the Middle East.
Our first guest is Dennis Williams, Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility at HBO.
Our second guest is Matt Pohlson, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Omaze, a cause marketplace that raises money and awareness for charity by offering the chance to win once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
On the show, Megan, Dennis, Matt and Joe discuss:
With Dennis Williams:
- How the campaign got started and why HBO decided to leverage its most popular show to help refugees around the world.
- How Rescue Has No Boundaries is focused on both raising money and building awareness.
- How this is the first time that HBO has tied one of its shows to a major issue.
- Why HBO decided to partner with Omaze to raise funds. HBO has had success with the program in the past!
With Matt Pohlson:
- Matt Pohlson explains how Omaze is an online charity raffle of unique experiences.
- Matt's background in cause-content and producing documentaries, and how an encounter with Magic Johnson motivated him and co-founder Ryan Cummins to start Omaze.
- How Omaze gets access to celebrities, and Matt's early struggles to establish the platform.
- The biggest lessons Omaze has learned since their first success in 2013. It's all about storytelling!
- The value Omaze brings to its charity partners: a new audience.
- Why do people go to Omaze, for the cause or the experience?
- Joe tries to bribe Matt to win the Game of Thrones experience. No chance!
- How Omaze worked with HBO to develop Rescue Has to No Boundaries.
Links & Notes
- Rescue Has No Boundaries
- Omaze Game of Thrones Experience
- 6 Fundraising Platforms That Have Disrupted Charitable Giving Forever (Includes Omaze)
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Robin Hulshizer, a partner at Latham & Watkins LLP and Chicago chairwoman of Do The Write Thing, an initiative of the National Campaign to Stop Violence.
Each year, the program invites sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders in the Chicago area to submit essays about the impact of youth violence on their communities. Students write about how violence has affected their lives, the causes of it and what that they can do to help reduce it.
On the show, Megan, Robin and Joe discuss:
- How Robin's last name is a curse word in German. Really.
- How Do the Write Thing is geared to middle-schoolers to help them address violence.
- How Latham & Watkins LLP got involved with Do the Right Thing and the National Campaign to Stop Violence in 2008.
- How Latham & Watkins LLP views community involvement as a business objective.
- How the program works and begins with outreach to Chicago teachers every fall.
- How Robin plans to grow the program with improved educational resources and partnerships.
- How Latham & Watkins employees get involved with the program.
- How the legal industry is embracing cause initiatives and why it's so important.
- How Latham & Watkins communicates with clients about their purpose initiatives.
Links & Notes
- Do the Write Thing Chicago
- Latham & Watkins LLP Pro Bono & Community Service
- Pizza Hut's Cause Marketing Brings in the Dough for Young Readers
- How H&R Block Uses Cause Marketing to Cultivate Tomorrow's Clients
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe are talking to Natasha Collins, BOOK IT! Program Administrator at Pizza Hut. BOOK IT! is a free program designed to encourage students in grades K–6 to read more by earning a reading award certificate for a free, one-topping personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut. Talk about early adopters: Pizza Hut launched the BOOK IT! program in 1984!
On the show, Megan, Natasha and I discuss:
- How BOOK IT! got started way back in 1984 by a former president who wanted his son to read more!
- How the program works with reading teachers, students and local Pizza Hut restaurants.
- How simplicity, commitment and community engagement have kept the program running so long.
- How the program benefits Pizza Hut by creating a strong, literate workforce.
- How Natasha manages the BOOK IT! program with a six-person team and a year-long calendar of promotion, enrollment and participation.
- How the program has evolved over the years and what BOOK IT! has done to keep the program fresh. This year, BOOK IT! has involved children's author Kate DiCamillo.
- How and why Natasha to BOOK IT! after a successful career at public relations giant FleishmanHillard.
- How the BOOK IT! program fits into the overall structure of Pizza Huts' CSR efforts within the YUM! brand, which is their parent company.
Links & Notes
- BOOK IT!
- BOOK IT! on Facebook
- One Newton’ T-Shirt Raises Money For Victims Of Sweet Tomatoes Crash
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Debbie Sardone, President and Founder of Cleaning for a Reason, a nonprofit that gives the gift of free house cleaning to women undergoing treatment of any type of cancer.
Cleaning for a Reason has worked with over 1,200 maid services to donate free housecleaning to women who are undergoing treatment for any kind of cancer. Since 2006, their partner maid services have volunteered their time to clean for over 20,000 women – valued at over $5,500,000.
On the show, Megan, Debbie and Joe discuss:
- How “Clean homes make people feel good.” Amen! Cleaning for a Reason is free service to women battling cancer.
- How Cleaning for a Reason partners with maid services all over the country to help the community.
- How maid services benefit from Cleaning for a Reason in communications training and support soliciting local and national media coverage.
- How Debbie, the owner of a cleaning business of her own, developed the idea of Cleaning for a Reason by talking to people in the cleaning industry.
- The national exposure Cleaning for a Reason has received from The Ellen Show, People Magazine, Reader’s Digest, Buzzfeed and many others!
- How Debbie’s whole world is cleaning and founding Cleaning for a Reason was a natural extension of her brand that helped her business, other cleaning companies and the community.
- What maid services pay to be involved in Cleaning for a Reason, how much goes back to the charity and the firewall between Debbie’s business and her nonprofit.
- How starting a nonprofit has contributed to Debbie’s success and her bottom-line.
Show Notes
- Cleaning for a Reason
- Cleaning for a Reason on Facebook
- Texas Woman Helps Women Battling Cancer Get Their Homes Cleaned – for Free!
- Firehouse Subs
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Dave Altmann, Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, Jersey Mike’s, a sub sandwich franchise with 1,500 stores open and under development nationwide.
In March 2015, Jersey Mike’s celebrated its 5th Annual Month of Giving, a national fundraising campaign, raising more than $3 million for 180 local charities. Since the program started five years ago, Jersey Mike’s and its generous customers have raised more than $8 million. They’ll be adding to this number next month!
On the show, Megan, Dave and Joe discuss:
- How Mike’s started their Month of Giving Program. Giving back is built into the company’s culture and from its founding.
- How the month of giving peaks with a Day of Giving when ALL the dollars from all sales go to charity. This generates more than 50 percent of the dollars raised in March.
- How customers can support the program either via an ask at the register or a donation box.
- How friendly competitions between stores keeps motivation high!
- How Mike’s corporate office guides new franchisees through the Month of Giving program and choosing a charity.
- How Mike’s deals with store owners who want to support controversial causes.
- How much does cause contribute to the success of Jersey Mike’s.
- How Mike’s uses cause marketing to find the right franchisee partners. If they don’t support giving back, they may not make a good partner.
- How charity partners participate in the program.
- How Mike’s educates a large group of franchise owners about the Month of Giving.
- How Mike’s uses incentives with franchise owners and customers to boost involvement.
Links & Notes
- Jersey Mike’s Month of Giving 2016
- Jersey Mike’s on Facebook
- Donate Profits Days on Pinterest
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to a true cause marketing superstar: Scott Beaudoin. Scott is a veteran of many top cause campaigns and agencies and was recently named the chief strategy officer and executive managing director of corporate and brand purpose at RF|Binder, a full-service public relations agency in New York City.
On today’s show, Megan, Scott and Joe discuss:
- How Scott got his cause marketing start with Carol Cone, but his roots were in TV reporting.
- While Scott has worked at some larger agencies - like MSLGROUP, the fourth largest PR conglomerate in the world - his new position is with a smaller agency that prizes the central role purpose plays for every organization.
- The business case for working with agencies focused on social good. While many agencies have touched some part of cause marketing, only a few know how to work at the c-suite and use purpose to drive business innovation.
- How slow growth at most agencies is squeezing talent and resources and hampering social good strategy.
- How Millennials are leading the purpose revolution.
- Is “Cause Marketing” the right term for what purpose professionals do? Does it need to be retired?
- Scott’s advice for nonprofits who want to build win-win partnerships. The right mindset is critical!
Links & Notes
- RF|Binder
- Scott Beaudoin on Twitter
- Cause Talk Radio 50: New PurPle Index Tracks Corporate Purpose, Participation and Performance
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Rosanne Ranta, associate marketing manager at snack bar maker, Larabar, about #ShareRealFood, a new cause marketing partnership supporting Feeding America.
With the help of The Real Girl’s Kitchen star Haylie Duff, Larabar kicked off the initiative with a $150,000 donation to Feeding America. Consumers can support the effort by donating or volunteering and sharing the activity online with a photo, video or a tweet with the hashtag #ShareRealFood.
On the show, Megan, Rosanne and Joe discuss:
- The history of Larabar. It started with a real person and founder, Lara! And the partnership with Feeding America stems from the company’s commitment to real food.
- Along with a donation, Larabar is asking consumers to start talking about hunger issues by using the hashtag, making a donation and/or volunteering at a food bank.
- Did Larabar ever consider rewarding positive consumer behavior with an additional donation to Feeding America?
- The social channels on which Larabar is promoting the campaign.
- How consumers are communicating with Larabar on the types of social initiatives they want the brand to be involved in.
Links & Notes
- Larabar Asks Americans to #ShareRealFood
- CauseTalk Radio 93: KIND Does the Kind Thing with KIND Causes
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Karen Wu, a leading authority on cause marketing law at Perlman & Perlman, about the 10 Commandments of Cause Marketing Law, a new infographic from Selfish Giving and Perlman & Perlman.
This graphic will help cause marketers stay on the right side of the law!
Megan, Karen, and Joe discuss these ten commandments:
- Thou shalt comply with the law.
- Thou shalt not mislead.
- Thou shalt clearly state donation amount.
- Thou shalt meet Better Business Bureau Standard #19.
- Thou shalt register/file, if required.
- Thou shalt enter into a written agreement.
- Thou shalt avoid unintended endorsements.
- Thou shalt be aware of UBIT.
- Thou shalt not wait until the last minute.
- Thou shalt seek advice from good advisors.
Links & Notes
- 10 Commandments of Cause Marketing Law Infographic
- Karen Wu, Perlman & Perlman, LLP
- Transparency & Cause Marketing: 5 Best Practices — NY Attorney General Guidelines
- Karen Wu’s Articles on Cause Marketing Law in The Nonprofit Times
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Clovis Siemon, video marketing manager, at Organic Valley about their Save the Bros campaign, a spoof on the traditional charity PSA. The initial Save the Bros video attracted over 2.4 million views on YouTube and generated a “significant increase” in product sales following the launch.
After the initial video’s success, Organic Valley followed up by announcing the Brononymous Hotline, a way to anonymously send a coupon for Organic Fuel and one of seven video messages to a “bro” you know on Twitter to encourage them to “protein responsibly.”
Megan, Clovis, and Joe discuss:
- What is Organic Valley? Short answer: it’s a billion dollar company!
- The different approach Organic Valley took to promote its new protein shake with 26 grams of organic protein.
- How Save the Bros didn’t happen overnight. Organic Valley worked with two different agencies and went through 29 rounds of creative that took months and months!
- To enter into a new category, Organic Valley focused on “shock and awe” appeals. They considered some crazy ideas.
- How the campaign was disruptive but still on-point and on-trend for the brand.
- How Organic Valley distributed Save the Bros. They started with Upworthy, Youtube, Facebook and Twitter. Facebook was the best performer.
- The follow up to Save the Bros was The Brononymous Hotline. They launched it on Twitter.
- The irony of the Save the Bros is that bodybuilders aren’t the target audience.
- What were the marketing takeaways for Organic Valley following the success of Save the Bros.
Show Notes
- Just Because It’s a Good Cause Doesn’t Mean Your Marketing Shouldn’t Be Edgy
- This Co-operative Is the World’s First Billion-Dollar Organic Food Company
- Organic Valley
- The Brononymous Hotline
- Wine to Water: The Real Miracle of the “Miracle Machine”
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Thomas Bognanno, President and CEO of Community Health Charities (CHC) about its High Impact Causes to raise money and awareness for groups of health charities supporting similar issues.
Through High Impact Causes, employees can support the work of multiple charities with just one donation. Research from the Millennial Impact Report shows millennials tend to be more loyal to causes and issues than to individual organizations and institutions. This product can help revamp workplace giving campaigns.
On January 20th, CHC launched its first High Impact Cause – EveryKidDeserves, merging leading children’s health charities improving the health, wellness and quality of life of children in the U.S.
On the show, Tom, Megan and Joe discuss:
- The history of Community Health Charities. CHC represents 2,000 health charities nationwide with the goal of soliciting support for these organizations in the workplace.
- How the Millennial focus on causes rather than institutions has forced workplace giving programs to adapt and change.
- How EveryKidDeserves allows donors to give to a group charities that are making a difference in the area of children’s health (e.g. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for cancer care and care; the Alliance for Healthier Generation to teach kids healthier habits, etc.)
- How High Impact Causes includes more reporting, communication and engagement features that employees want and expect. It’s also less campaign focused and more year-round.
- How CHC innovates as an organization so they can stay current AND effective.
- Other funds CHC plans to launch, including one to fight the top five chronic diseases that are impacting companies.
Links & Notes
- Community Health Charities
- High Impact Causes
- Millennial Impact Report
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Dr. Lisa Cavanaugh of the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business about our favorite topic: selfish giving!
Lisa, along with Francesca Gino (Harvard Business School) and Gavan Fitzsimons (Fuqua School of Business) wrote When Doing Good Is Bad in Gift Giving: Mis-Predicting Appreciation of Socially Responsible Gifts.
Megan, Lisa, and Joe discuss:
- How it was Lisa’s own giving of socially responsible gifts that sparked her interest in exploring why they are given and how they are received.
- How the positive reception of a socially responsible gift depends on the social distance between you and the person that’s receiving the gift.
- Just how egocentric we are when choosing gifts for others and the importance of empathy for giving gifts the receiver will love.
- Other research Lisa has done and the power of one emotion: LOVE!
- Lisa’s advice for giving socially responsible gifts.
Links & Notes
- When Doing Good Is Bad in Gift Giving: Mis-Predicting Appreciation of Socially Responsible Gifts
- WSJ: Socially Responsible Gifts Are Great - Primarily for the Givers
- Dr. Cavanaugh’s Website
- Making People Cry Isn’t a Good Nonprofit Mobile Strategy
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Brian Reich, Director of Project Hive, the UN Refugee Agency’s innovation lab, about a new engagement campaign called Refugee Emojis.
The goal of Refugee Emojis is to spark discussion among Americans around the daily struggles faced by refugees, while also establishing a fun and common language for people of all countries to connect around the needs of refugees.
On the show, Megan, Brian and Joe discuss:
- How Brian, a longtime cause consultant and author of two books, got involved with Hive.
- How Brian created a fast-moving, responsive team to battle American perceptions on refugees.
- Why Hive isn’t interested in traditional metrics like “awareness.” They are driving engagement and donations to the issue and having a real impact.
- Hive’s most recent campaigns involved Major League Baseball and the Pope’s visit to the United States. The goal is to bring the refugee issue to people where they are.
- The goal behind Refugee Emojis: to give people a timely, fun and popular language to discuss refugee issues.
- How companies are supporting the global refugee crisis and how they might support Refugee Emojis.
- What Hive will be focusing on in 2016.
Links & Notes
- Project Hive
- WWF’s #EndangeredEmojis
- Brian Reich on Twitter
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe take a look back at our favorite cause marketing programs from 2015, and make a few predictions for 2016.
On the show we discuss:
- Our favorite campaigns, which include H&R Block, Cheeky Home, Rosa’s Fresh Pizza, Doritos, Starbucks and Dave’s Killer Bread.
- How cause businesses will flourish in the New Year - and how traditional businesses will pave the way for these new enterprises.
- How product packaging will play a more important role in cause marketing in 2016.
- How businesses will take bolder stands on controversial issues 2016.
- The rise of company-lead cause marketing in 2015 and why we will see more of it in 2016 - and the peril it poses.
- Is there a future for point-of-sale programs in 2016?
- Our plans for CauseTalk Radio for 2016!
Notes & Links
- The Five Most Important Cause Marketing Trends of 2015
- Best Cause Marketing Posts of 2015
- How H&R Block Uses Cause Marketing to Cultivate Tomorrow’s Clients
- A Cheeky Way of Doing Good
- Pay-it-Forward Pizza Feeds Homeless with Slices & Sticky Notes
- Starbucks’ Race Together: Critics Should Wake Up and Smell the Courage
- How an Ex-Con’s Bread Company Gave Rise to Second Chances for Others
- Take That Critics: Consumers Like Donating at the Register
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Robert Thomsen, Vice President & General Manager of Merchandising & Marketing for Box Lunch, a civic-minded specialty retailer with an online site and eight physical stores.
With every $10 spent on the site, Box Lunch will help provide a meal to a person in need through its partnership with Feeding America.
On the show:
- How Box Lunch got started - it's only a year-old and focused on Millennial shoppers.
- Why Box Lunch chose Feeding America and whether they will add additional charities.
- How box lunch donated over 70,000 meals in its first 30 days of operation.
- The success Box Lunch is having telling the Feeding America story in stores - and how it trains its employees to tell that story.
- What other cause businesses did Box Lunch look to for inspiration?
- Why did they decide to embed cause marketing in right from the start?
- How much has cause contributed to Box Lunch's success? Can they put a percentage on it?
- How Box Lunch is involving their vendors in supporting Feeding America.
- Critical lessons learned as Box Lunch has ramped up their business.
Links & Notes
- Box Lunch
- Cause Talk Radio 93: KIND Does the Kind Thing with KIND Causes
- Before You Call Joe About a Cause Business Read This First
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Kathy Collins, Chief Marketing Officer for the tax preparation company H&R Block, about the company's Dollars & Sense financial literacy program. Founded in 2009, the program gives kids of all ages the understanding they need to manage their personal finances.
On the show, Megan, Kathy, and Joe discuss:
- How H&R Block created Dollars & Sense specifically for teens. High schoolers are not financially ready for the real world when they graduate.
- How the decision to create the program was a personal. Many members of the H&R Block's senior team had teenagers.
- The three audiences for the program: teachers, parents, and students. Parents find it harder to talk about financial planning than they do sex!
- H&R Block's launch of the Budget Challenge a 10-week classroom program that students do on their phones to make real-world financial decisions. The winners received a $20,000 college scholarship. H&R Block gives away a total of $3 million n scholarships!
- How H&R Block got into public schools - not an easy feat!
- How H&R Block is involving employees and customers in the program, and the benefits of the program for local H&R Block reps.
- How Dollars & Sense is another example of a company leading with their own cause as opposed to partnering with a nonprofit.
- How to sell a cause marketing program to the c-suite.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Carol Cone (aka The Mother of Cause Marketing) about her new venture Carol Cone on Purpose!
Carol has been a cause leader for decades and is set to disrupt the field once again with a new venture that combines partner collaboration with idea acceleration to take the field of purpose to new heights.
On the show, Carol, Megan and Joe discuss:
- The growth of purpose and Carol's launch of what she calls Carol Cone 4.0!
- Carol Cone on Purpose has two purpose engines: The Purpose Collaborative and The Idea Accelerator.
- How Carol is adopting the "Hollywood Model" to run her business. She also names some of the "Stars" she's working with.
- Is the big agency model for purpose broken? How can it be fixed?
- How The Idea Accelerator is aimed at finding, curating, sharing and funding the very best social enterprises.
- How Carol plans to continue contributing to the cause, sustainability and purpose community.
Show Notes
- Carol's New Site: The Purpose Collaborative
- CauseTalk Radio Ep11: Carol Cone, "Mother of Cause Marketing," Talks Power of Purpose
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Dan Goldenberg, Executive Director of the Call of Duty Endowment, the charitable arm of one of the world's most popular video games. We discuss how the endowment is working with companies like Costco, GameStop, Best Buy, and Carl’s Jr this holiday season to do something about veteran unemployment.
Today on Cause Talk Radio Megan and Joe pilot a new format for the show. While we still plan to have guests and do interviews, occasionally we want to experiment with just talking about what's happening in the cause world! We'll review some of the latest campaigns, promotions and posts from the social good space. This week: Giving Tuesday, REI Opt-Out, and Movember ... is it really dying? Listen in!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and I talk to Frank Vamos, Director, Brand Communications at Wendy's, about their October coupon book campaign to raise funds for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption (DTFA).
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Tara Darrow, Director of Public Affairs & Corporate Social Responsibility for Nordstrom, about Treasure&Bond, Nordstrom’s private label, give-back brand. Since the brand's inception in 2014, Nordstrom’s raised $440,000 for charities like Girls Inc., Girls on the Run and Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Sharon Yon-Johansson, Community Affairs Manager for Stripes | Sunoco Convenience Stores, about an in-store cause marketing program that raised a $1.2 million for Houston-based MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Julie Hirshey, Director of Community Relations for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles, about the Eagles Care Program and their capacity building efforts for nonprofits in the Greater Philadelphia area.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Keith Nowak, Director of Marketing Communications at Travelocity, about the results of its recent Travel for Good Survey and plans to expand its Travel for Good Program to help people achieve their dreams of philanthropic travel!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Scott Welch, Global Corporate Relations Manager, at Columbia Sportswear Company about their national cause marketing program with the National Park Foundation called Find Your Park.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Randy Paynter, Founder and CEO of Care2, a social network of 32 million citizen-activists who are using and supporting petitions to make the world a better place.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Genevieve Martin, Executive Director of the Dave’s Killer Bread Foundation, about the brand’s success with “Second Chance Employment” for people with criminal backgrounds. The goal of the newly created foundation is to offer inspiration and advice to businesses who want to join Dave’s as second chance employers.
Megan, Genevieve and Joe discuss:
- How Joe can’t pronounce Genevieve and has no clue about U. S. or world geography.
- The background of Dave’s Killer Bread and how it got it started with Dave Dahl, who founded the brand after he finished a 15-year prison sentence.
- How Dave’s Killer Bread has opened its doors to people with criminal records and given them a second chance.
- Why Dave’s Killer Bread started a foundation, instead of working with nonprofits, and how it’s funded.
- The challenge of getting other businesses to join Dave’s in hiring people with criminal records.
- How customers have responded to the program and their enthusiastic support for “second chances.”
- How Dave’s is using the Second Chance Summit to educate other companies about their practices.
- What’s the future of cause marketing for the Dave’s Killer Bread Foundation?
Links & Notes
- Dave’s Killer Bread
- Dave’s Killer Bread Foundation
- Take the Pledge: Motivate Businesses to Hire People with Criminal Backgrounds
- Second Chance Summit
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Stuart McAllister, Vice President of Sales & Marketing for the Food Service Segment of Dole Packaged Foods, about Dole’s partnership with celebrity chef Roy Choi on starting a healthy eating movement in Los Angeles.
They discuss:
- How the partnership between Dole and Roy began because of Stuart’s love of Roy’s food!
- How Dole’s involvement began with a student-run cafe selling smoothies to a storefront to a food truck, which is staffed with interns from the Coalition for Responsible Community Development.
- Why an international conglomerate like Dole decided to launch a hyper-local program in Los Angeles.
- How Dole supports the program and its aspirations to expand the other program to other markets
- How Dole’s support for the cause benefits the Dole Foods brand.
- How Dole is supporting other causes around the world.
Links & Notes
- Dole Packaged Foods
- Dole CSR
- Chef Roy Choi
- Coalition for Responsible Community Development
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Jamie Richardson, Vice President at White Castle, about the quick-serve chain's recent register fundraiser for Autism Speaks that raised over $900,000 — a 48 percent increase over the previous year.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Mark Epstein, Co-founder & CEO of The People's Operator (TPO).
The People's Operator is a socially conscious mobile provider based in the U.K. has launched its service stateside with the help of Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales. The company donates 10% of its subscribers' monthly bills to a cause of their choice. In addition, the company donates 25% of its profits to charity as well.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to William MacAskill, associate professor at Oxford University and author of a great new book: Doing Good Better. Will is one of the cofounders and leading voices of Effective Altruism, which he calls "Generosity for Nerds."
Effective Altruism is all about maximizing your positive impact on the world (through volunteering, charitable donations, etc.), and it's been getting a lot of traction lately.
Megan and Joe learned about Will from an excellent article in The Atlantic. Both Bill Gates and Washington Post blogger Ezra Klein have both recently tweeted about effective altruism.
Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Rob Goldstein, Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Development, ALS Therapy Development Institute in Cambridge, MA, about the 2015 Ice Bucket Challenge.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Marco Crespo, Business Director at the Ayrton Senna Institute in Brazil, about the rise and development of cause marketing in South America's largest country.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Matt Hodges, Vice President of Public & Investor Relations at GameStop. If you or your kids play video games you've probably visited a GameStop. And with over 6,600 worldwide locations it's easy to find a store.
Gamers are passionate about their games, but they don't play around when it comes to good causes. Megan, Matt and Joe talk about a recent GameStop point-of-sale fundraiser for Make-A-Wish that raised $1.2 million - quadrupling the $310K that was raised the previous year.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Mollye Rhea, President of For Momentum, an Atlanta-based cause agency, about their 2015 Corporate Partner Survey.
For Momentum surveyed individuals who manage nonprofit partnerships to learn about local and national giving strategies, partnership selections and expectations, target audience and common mistakes.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Brandy Rettus, Corporate Giving Administrator for Men's Wearhouse, about their National Suit Drive, which benefits at-risk men transitioning into the workforce.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Liz Deering, Founder of 121Giving, a marketplace and crowdfunding platform driven by the real needs of charities, powered by people and brands that care.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Steve Scheier, author of a new book, "Do More Good. Better." Steve is also founder & CEO of Scheier + Group, a consultancy that shows non-profits and social impact companies how to make the most of the people they have so they can better deliver on their mission.
Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Maria Redin, General Manager and Strategy Lead at GOODcorp, a social impact consultancy that grew out of GOOD Media. GOODcorp has worked with top brands such as Pepsi, The Gap, Starbucks and Dick's Sporting Goods. Dick's won two "Halo Awards" at last week's Cause Marketing Forum conference in Chicago!
Megan, Maria and Joe discussed a newly released insights from phase one of a three-part research project that explores “goodness” in brands and how consumers perceive what truly makes a brand “good.”
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Todd Krim, President & CEO of The Krim Group, a Los Angeles-based agency that connects charities with celebrities. Todd, Megan, and Joe discuss how nonprofits can choose the right celebrity for special events, personal appearances and cause marketing campaigns.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Jon Bromley, Founder & CEO of Canadian-based Chimp, an online giving tool. They discuss the advantages of online savings banks for giving and how companies can and should join individuals on a platform that is effective and efficient.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to David J. Neff, author, speaker, and consultant for PwC. Dave is also the founder of Lights. Camera. Help., a nonprofit that is dedicated to encouraging cause-driven organizations to use film and video to tell their stories.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Gary Zarr, Partner, at Phil & Company, a New York-based cause marketing agency, on their new report on Mobile Cause Marketing and Millennials & Generation Z.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Phil Haid, Co-Founder and CEO of Toronto-based Public Inc. about Starbucks controversial cause campaign: Race Together. While aimed at starting a conversation around race issues in America, the campaign has drawn a lot of criticism.
Naysayers call Race Together ill-timed and self-serving. But our guest Phil Haid has a different perspective. He describes the campaign as a bold and ambitious effort by Starbucks that while not perfectly executed is unflinching and a great example of a company "walking the talk."
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Buddy Teaster, CEO of Soles4Souls.
Nashville-based Soles4Souls is a global not-for-profit focused on fighting the devastating impact and perpetuation of poverty.
Soles4Souls advances its anti-poverty mission by collecting new and used shoes and clothes from individuals, schools, faith-based institutions, civic organizations and corporate partners. They distribute those shoes and clothes both via direct donations to people in need and by provisioning qualified micro-enterprise programs designed to create jobs in poor and disadvantaged communities.
Soles4Souls is fortunate to have many corporate partners, but the two we discuss today are Stride Rite and PUMA. While both of these companies are known for their outstanding footwear, Buddy and his team know them best for taking bold steps to support Soles4Souls' mission.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Mollye Rhea, President of For Momentum, an Atlanta-based cause-related marketing agency.
With Mollye, we tackle one of the toughest issues for nonprofits — how to identify, sell and close new corporate partnerships. It's not easy! Fortunately, we have one of the best partnership experts in the business on today's show.
Since Mollye founded For Momentum in 2003, she's helped over 60 clients with projects ranging from setting strategy to valuing campaign ROI. She and her team have created and grown more than 75 partnerships, raising tens of millions for non-profit clients and directing millions in support to corporate clients.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Mason Wartman, owner of Rosa's Fresh Pizza in Philadelphia. Over the past several months, Mason has become a media darling for his efforts to feed the homeless in his neighborhood. He's even appeared on Ellen!
Like all great ideas, Mason's is simple but powerful. When customers buy a slice of pizza they can buy another for someone in need. Rosa's walls are lined with sticky notes and well wishes that the homeless can redeem for a free slice.
Since the program began last year, Rosa's has given away 11,000 slices in a neighborhood that needs all the extra dough it can get.
Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan, and Joe talk to Maureen Carlson, President, and Brittany Hill, Vice President of Research and Insights at Good Scout, a social good consultancy, about their 2015 Cause Alliances Trend Report.
Data-Driven Cause Alliances. The use of the data we produce and collect will be more important than ever to building effective cause alliances. "Data is really the foundation for your amazing, smarter story," said Maureen. "It's about words and pictures AND NUMBERS."
Emerging Industries. Certain industries, like shared economies, wearables, brick-and-mortar e-commerce and consumer healthcare, are growing at record rates, providing immense opportunities for cause alliances in 2015. "With e-commerce going brick and mortar this opens up a new category for nonprofits to target as business partners," explained Brittany.
Franchise Growth. Franchise corporations have long been great supporters of nonprofit causes. Unexpected franchise categories like healthy fast food, fitness & wellness and children enrichment franchisees are now on the rise, which present interesting national and local cause alliance opportunities.
"The franchised business is set to grow faster than the U.S. economy," said Brittany. "But the advantage is that even local nonprofits can work with their local franchise partner."
Links & Notes
- 2015 Cause Alliances Trend Report
- Cause Marketing Forum Presents Trends Shaping The Future of Corporate/Cause Alliances
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Alison DaSilva, Executive Vice President, Cone Communications about how to start a career in cause marketing. Alison, Megan and Joe get calls and emails every week from people who want a job in cause marketing. Most of them are recent college grads, or already have a job in fundraising, marketing, advertising or public relations. What they all share is a desire to work at the intersection of philanthropy, marketing, and business.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Tanya Coventry-Strader, Managing Director of Bear Marketing Communications at Build-A-Bear Workshop about their Share Your Heart program to benefit Make-A-Wish.
For the second year in a row, Build-A-Bear will commemorate Valentine's Day by asking customers to donate a dollar or more at checkout in their stores or online. Last year, the fundraiser raised $440,000.
Since the first Build-A-Bear opened in 1997, the chain has donated $41 million to charities.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Ken Ungar, Founder & President of U/S Sports Advisors. Ken is a "newsjacking" expert and author of the book Ahead of the Game: What Every Athlete Needs to Know About Sports Business.
Newsjacking, which Ken defines as When a brand takes advantage of a popular story or topic and inserts itself in the news cycle, is becoming an increasingly popular tactic for companies that want to ride the wave of someone else's popularity.
But can newsjacking work for nonprofits and causes?
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Michael Hoffman, CEO of See3 Communications. See3 is a Chicago-based firm that provides strategy, video and web services to nonprofits and social causes.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and I talk to Joe Hamlin, Director, Corporate Development at Cleveland Clinic about the growth of the hospital's cause marketing program from zero to $750,000.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Clark Sweat, Chief Corporate Partnership Officer at Children's Miracle Network (CMN). Clark has had two tours of duties with CMN. Between his time at CMN, Clark spent four years at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital running its signature Thanks and Giving campaign.
Today, Clark is back at CMN overseeing 85 corporate partnerships that raised $205 million in 2014. Ninety percent of those dollars come from point-of-sale programs (pinups, round-ups, register programs, etc.). And 50 percent of that money comes from just one program: pinups!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to.....each other! For the first time in a long time, we had a show just with each other as we talked about two important developments. First, Cause Marketing Forum's announcement of the Golden Halo winner. Second, Selfish Giving's release of its annual Best Cause Marketing Promotions of 2014.
Tune in as we get to the bottom of this year's winners and expand on why our picks are the best of the best!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Pinterest expert Jason Miles. He's a 20-year veteran of the nonprofit world and the author of three books, including Pinterest Power. Jason and his wife are also the founders of Sew Powerful, a nonprofit that teaches sewing and tailoring skills to women in Zambia.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Russell Sparkman, CEO, Content Strategy for FusionSpark Media about new research on the content marketing practices of nonprofit professionals.
With Blackbaud and the Content Marketing Institute, FusionSpark Media has published its second annual Nonprofit Content Marketing 2015: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends.
Russell, Megan and Joe discuss what is content marketing, the key to its success, the elements of a content marketing plan and why content is the future of fundraising success!
Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach based on creating and distributing content that is relevant, valuable and consistent to build and engage with an audience. The goal is to drive a specific action.
Starlight Foundation helps nonprofits get the supplies they need using an online portal called Wish List. Not every nonprofit has or needs an online list. But many organizations are in need of supplies. Here's how you can get the supplies and products you need.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and I talk to Mollye Rhea, Founder and President of For Momentum, an Atlanta-based cause marketing agency. #GivingTuesday is quickly approaching on December 2nd. Last year's #GivingTuesday saw a 90 percent increase in online giving. This is one day that nonprofits can't afford to take off.
No worries if you haven't started. Mollye has some timely advice on how your nonprofit can still make a profit on the biggest giving day of the year. We also talk about the role social media plays and on which platforms nonprofits should focus.
Finally, Mollye talks about For Momentum's FREE Power of Partnership #GivingTuesday Toolkit, which includes free planning tools and worksheets.
If you're planning to take part in #GivingTuesday — or just thinking about it - you don't want to miss this episode.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Missy Sherburne, Chief Partnerships Officer at DonorsChoose.org about their fundraising success with flash-funding, crowdfunding and corporate partnerships.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Richard Swart, the Director of Research on Crowdfinance at University of California at Berkeley and author of the World Bank’s Report On Global Crowdfunding, on how to strategically use crowdfunding for corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Companies across America are partnering with community organizations and crowdfunding platforms to leverage their social reach and extend their CSR messaging. It's becoming an accepted CSR activity, with very little downside and incredible potential.
For Richard, crowdfunding happens when people are asked to vote with their wallets to support a product or project - instead of with their "likes" or social media impressions. It began in the arts community in 2008 when groups used crowdfunding to get their films backed. From there it was adopted by nonprofits and for-profits alike.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to marketing and communication expert Craig Bida about Millennials and the future of social responsibility. Millennials are a huge audience — roughly 80 million strong. They — and their commitment to social impact and making the world a better place — can’t be ignored. Craig offers some examples of how companies are changing the way they do business to bring about the change on which Millennials are so insistent. Craig explains how companies need to engage Millennials top-to-bottom in a company, and not just on a carefully orchestrated volunteer day. With social impact taking a hold in many major companies, the key to success with Millennials will be commitment and execution. Is your company ready? Tune in now!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Amy Shapiro, Manager of Cause Marketing at New Balance about SparkStart, a new global initiative that's focused on encouraging physical activity in children. It's much needed as one of every ten school-aged child on the planet is overweight. To launch SparkStart here in the states, New Balance has partnered with Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Through August 31st, when you buy New Balance shoes they will donate 30 percent of the sale price back to BGCA in the form of new shoes. For the end of September, New Balance is planning a global volunteer week for employees. Employees worldwide will have the opportunity to work with activity-focused nonprofits in their local communities. Finally, Amy discusses the challenge of picking the right cause and choosing the best activities to create impact. Tune in now to learn more about an ambitious, global initiative that's off and running!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Maria Veltre, Chief Marketing Officer, Fifth Third Bank, the 12th largest bank in the United States. Maria discusses two of the bank's cause marketing efforts. First, with Pay to the Order of each new customer who opens a checking account with direct deposit and makes three online bill payments, Fifth Third will give $150 to the customer and donate $150 to Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C). Fifth Third also donated an additional dollar for each time the #paytotheorderof hashtag was used on social media. The second Fifth Third Bank program is Homeowner Reemployment. The bank has partnered with NextJob, a nationwide reemployment solutions company, to offer an industry-first program that gives unemployed mortgage borrowers job search assistance, including one-on-one dedicated coaching, weekly webinars and online job search software, fully paid for by Fifth Third Bank. No other bank offers this service to mortgage customers! Tune in now. This podcast will show you how a big bank can balance profit with purpose!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Mark Feldman, founder and managing director of Boston-based Cause Consulting, about the potential hazards and potholes of employee engagement. We all know that employee engagement is one of the hottest forms of cause marketing, but how can companies and nonprofits feed the fire without getting burned? The key, according to Mark, is knowing how employee engagement is different from the volunteer programs that preceded it. And viewing employee engagement as just volunteering is the first pothole to avoid. Mark gives the example of Boston Beer Company's Brewing the American Dream, which provides low and moderate income food and beverage small business owners with the mentoring they need to achieve their dreams. Boston Beer has helped new business owners and, in turn, has strengthened its own business with employee engagement. Boston Beer CEO Jim Koch has seen firsthand the value of involving employees in a meaningful cause. You will too! Tune in now!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to David J. Neff, author and consultant, about the thing we've all heard of, but know nothing about: Bitcoin. The author of a recent report on the disruptive impact of digital currency, David makes case for Bitcoin. What should nonprofits know about Bitcoin and its potential impact? What are the risks and benefits? David also discusses how nonprofits can prepare for Bitcoin, and how embracing digital currencies can lead to other innovations that will change nonprofits for the better. Finally, David throws down the gauntlet and challenges Megan and Joe to open our very own Bitcoin accounts. Not one to back down from a challenge, Joe immediately commits Megan to running her entire life on Bitcoin for the next thirty days. But really, listeners, this is a fascinating episode and David with his nonprofit background, mastery of technology, and knowledge of Bitcoin is just the right person to help you weigh the pros and cons of digital currencies.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Darian Rodriguez Heyman, co-founder of BetterWorld Wireless, a company that's aiming to make people feel GOOD every time they use their phone. Darian explains that when you switch to BetterWorld Wireless, which is backed by a great group of supporting nonprofits, a person in need will receive a free mobile device loaded with content to help break the cycle of poverty and empower their life. Sponsored by You. Darian explains how BWW adopted Tom's Shoes' one-for-one model, but applied it to mobile. He and his is partners view mobile as a tremendous opportunity for social good — if it can be leveraged with skill, experience and compassion! Tune in now to learn about a company that is hoping to turn the smartphone — perhaps the most popular invention in history, according to Darian! — into a good-phone for a better world.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Elle Lansing of KIND Healthy Snacks about KIND Causes. Elle discusses the company’s “Kind Movement,” which seeks to inspire and celebrate kind acts of every form. KIND Causes is one of the core programs. Its goal is to crowdsource ideas to make the world a little kinder. To encourage these ideas, KIND awards support to organizations and individuals to make kind acts a reality. All of KIND’s activities — cause related and other — are meant to live out the promise and potential of their brand. Cause is just one component of this. They also discuss how KIND approaches its cause activities, and its insistence on leading with an outstanding product to build passion they can direct toward cause activities. The only place where “cause” should come before “product” is in the dictionary! Are you running a cause business, or do you hope to start one that will grow into the next KIND? This is episode is for you!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Christy Duncan Anderson, Executive Director of the Safeway Foundation. Safeway, a supermarket chain with over 1,300 locations in the United States, has embarked on a new campaign called Hunger Is, which is fighting hunger in America. Christy discusses the collaboration of several key partners in the campaign, including the Entertainment Industry Foundation, Share Our Strength, FRAC and Feeding America. It's a unique combination of organizations that together are enhancing the impact of hunger relief on local communities. Christy also discusses how Safeway used shopper data to develop the Hunger Is campaign, and to choose the best fundraising vehicles for the effort. Whether you are a retailer who wants to launch a cause marketing campaign, or a nonprofit that's eager to partner with a large retailer, this episode is for you! Tune in now!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Paul Dunn, Chairman of B1G1.com, a Singapore-based company, about a buy-one, give-one model that allows supporters to link their everyday actions and purchase to 900 social projects around the globe. Paul discusses how 1,300 businesses are currently participating, and have logged over 42 million giving impacts. B1G1 tracks giving and results and real-time so people feel connected with the projects they support. Paul explains how an upfront membership fee to B1G1 covers expenses and allows 100 percent of donations to go directly to the project. This helps B1G1 put impact first. Tune in now for an episode that talks about one of cause marketing's most popular tactics — buy-one, give-one — and an organization that is taking it worldwide!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Rich Maiore, Senior Vice President, at Cone Communications, about the "Boston Strong" battle cry that has defined a city since the Boston Marathon attacks last April. Rich reflects on the rise of Boston Strong and whether its outgrown its initial philanthropic purpose. They also discuss the role businesses can play after tragedies and disasters, and how to maximize their impact. Boston Strong brings up a whole host of issues. But perhaps the most pressing is the role of business and consumerism when tragedy and disaster turns a community upside down. Tune in now!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Christine Rizk, co-founder and president of Boston-based Fashion Project, about how her company is turning high fashion into cold cash for nonprofits. The mission of Fashion Project is to change the world one piece of clothing at a time. They collect high-end clothing from donors and sell them online. 55 percent of the money raised goes to a nonprofit of the donor's choosing. Christine discusses the challenge of starting and running a cause business, and how important partnerships with retailers and celebrities have been to Fashion Projects' success. One partner - Nordstrom - has given Fashion Project $40 gift cards to encourage donors. Tune in for a great story of how two Harvard Law School grads passed on a career in law to match high fashion with high social impact!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Adam Braun, the founder of Pencils of Promise (PoP), a non-profit organization that builds schools and increases educational opportunities in the developing world.
Adam is also the author of a great new book, The Promise of a Pencil.
Adam shares how he started Pencils of Promise with an investment of $25, and how five years later his nonprofit is responsible for building over 200 schools. Yet Adam concedes that fundraising didn't come easy to him!
Adam explains why "nonprofit" isn't the right word to describe his work. He prefers "For Purpose." Of course, Adam also discusses his for-profit partners and PoP's cause marketing efforts.
Tune in for this powerful discussion!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Chris Noble, CEO of CauseMedia Group, about the controversy surrounding the water to wine “Miracle Machine.” Developed by the clean water organization Wine to Water, global public relations agency MSLGROUP and two wine industry experts, the Miracle Machine turned water into wine in three days — or so they claimed. But two weeks after announcing the machine, the hoaxters came clean and announced it was all a prank meant to promote the mission of Wine to Water. Chris, Megan and Joe debate whether it’s okay to trick people for a cause. Most causes, especially small nonprofits like Wine to Water, have trouble getting noticed amid the marketing, clutter and noise generated by big brands. Nonprofits need to be creative on how they market themselves. But does this justify trickery? We weigh the pros and cons of this interesting, controversial and disruptive cause campaign. We also suggest next steps to Wine to Water to ensure that the Miracle Machine ultimately leads to more clean water around the globe. Tune in now.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to John Ludlow, a causepreneur, do-gooder and Austin-based consultant who's attended the popular interactive portion of the South by Southwest Conference five times. John is also a past guest on CauseTalk Radio. Thanks to John, we get the inside scoop on the #sxgood track at SXSW. John, Megan, and Joe talk about several cause promotions at the event and whether good is growing — or heading south at SXSW. Are you a nonprofit, causepreneur or cause marketer who's weighing attending SXSW in 2015? We have the answers on today's show. We might even have a place in Austin where you can stay!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Bryan de Lottinville, Founder & CEO of Benevity about his "Goodness Programs" for companies. Benevity designs software that helps companies create impactful and engaging employee giving, volunteering & cause marketing programs. Bryan talks about how his company is focused as much on the ROI for companies as delivering a powerful social impact for the charities they seek to help. But the real winner are employees who gain a powerful portal for giving. Bryan also reflects on the potential for merging employee activities with consumer cause marketing to create a hurricane of giving! Tune in now!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Alisha Greenberg, the founder of Rounding Third, a sports philanthropy consultancy, and director of the sports philanthropy program at George Washington University. Alisha discusses the growth of sports philanthropy in the United States, but especially outside of the country where it's beginning to gain steam. With the Olympics just finished, she also talks about athletes that have turned Olympic glory into support for good causes. Specifically, she talks about her work with three-time Olympian Tracy Evans and her work in Rwanda. Another hat Alisha wears is director of the Steve Patterson Award for Excellence in Sports Philanthropy, which is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She shares how the award process works and the type of athletes and sports organizations they seek to honor. If you're interested in how sports and marketing intersect with philanthropy, this is the episode for you. Tune in now!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Nancy Gofus, Chief Operating Officer at Public Interest Registry (PIR). Nancy and her team manage the .ORG domain, which they've done since 2003. Nancy shares how .ORG has grown into the third-largest domain on the web. PIR is also poised to launch a new domain, .NGO, aimed at nonprofits and non-governmental organizations worldwide. But unlike .ORG, .NGO will require organizations to validate their status as a non-governmental organization. In short, .NGO will be a coveted domain that will say something about the organizations that use it. Finally, Nancy discusses PIR's aspirations to build a comprehensive database of .NGO's that will be a resource to nonprofits, do-gooders and donors worldwide!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Patrick Byrne, CEO of online retailer Overstock.com, about Worldstock, which sells items handmade by artisans from around the world. Patrick discusses the challenges of starting and growing Worldstock from a company vision to an impressive program that has returned $100 million to artisans worldwide. Patrick goes on to share some of the big plans Overstock has for other cause-related programs, including a brand new one he announces on Cause Talk Radio!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to David Woodbury, founder of eatiply, about his meal-for-meal food donation project to fight world hunger. Every time you dine at an eatiply supported restaurant and choose a featured entree, a meal is donated and provided to someone in need. David talks candidly about the challenges of running a cause business and working with local restaurants that are as focused on the bottom-line as they are on giving back. If you run a cause business, or are just a fan of the model (e.g. Tom's Shoes), you'll learn something from this episode. Listen now!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Andrew Plepler, Corporate Social Responsibility Executive, at Bank of America about their CSR efforts. Andrew explains BofA's new initiative with the online learning site Khan Academy to provide both bank customers and non-customers free, self-paced, easy-to-understand resources to develop better money habits. They also discuss other BofA cause initiatives and Andrew announces on-air a brand new partnership between the bank and Product Red, an organization fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa. Tune in now!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Chris Murray, Director of Business Development, of Jingit about how they are shaking up payments and advertising with an app that's enabling marketers to follow a consumer from first media impression through purchase and into loyalty. Chris also discusses how Jingit is being used for good, most recently to enhance a partnership between Walmart and Feeding America. Tune in now!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Clam Lorenz, Director of Nonprofit Engagement at PayPal. Clam explains the important role PayPal plays in processing billions of dollars of donations every year, and how it's always expanding the ways it can work with nonprofits.
Clam also talks about the exponential growth of online donations and how PayPal is leading the way in mobile giving. We also discuss the challenges nonprofits have in adopting a mobile-first strategy.
Finally, Clam, Megan and Joe discuss giving trends for 2014. Tune in now!
This week on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Bruce Bowman, President of Kaboom, about their new cause partnership with Imagine Toys. Together, they've launched a new line of Go Out and Play toys that will support Kaboom's mission to get kids active. Bruce discusses the challenges and opportunities of having a long-term, strategic partnership with a company. Pay attention. These types of partnerships will be the rule, not the exception in the years to come. Cause marketing will be less transactional and more strategic. And Kaboom is leading the charge!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Michael Malekoff, a former executive with Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) who currently consults to nonprofits on organizational effectiveness and fundraising. Michael shares some important lessons on the challenges nonprofits are facing and how they can navigate an increasingly complex and crowded marketplace. Looking back at his tenure at JDRF, Michael reflects on a 2011 partnership between a local chain of Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants and JDRF that sparked a national controversy. Perhaps more than anyone else we've interviewed on CauseTalk Radio, Michael is a practicing fundraiser that we can all relate to. Tune in now!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Tony Smith and Vince Owen of Mobal, a UK company focused on providing travelers with affordable and reliable international cell phones. Nice business but that’s not the good news, as Tony and Vince explain. Mobal donates 90 percent of its profits to the Krizevac Project, which creates self-sustaining businesses in Africa that help the poorest of the poor. The Krizevac Project is like that shampoo commercial that ends with “And they’ll tell their friends - and so on, and so on, and so on.” Mobal donates money to create businesses that in turn donate money and so on and so on. As Brits Tony and Vince would agree: it’s brilliant! What makes this episode so special is Tony and Vince’s commitment to changing people’s life through entrepreneurship, not charity. Tune in now!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Jeff Raider, co-founder of men's grooming brand Harry's, on their signature cause platform Give a Shave, which supports causes with one percent of sales and one percent of volunteer time. Jeff shares how they are rolling out this program with their newest partner, City Year. Jeff talks about the companies that inspired Harry's to have a strong cause connection, including his first venture, eyewear company Warby Parker. They also discuss the challenges cause businesses like Harry's face and how causepreneurs need to lead with an outstanding product, transparency and a commitment to social impact. If you run or are interested in cause businesses, or are a budding halopreneur hoping to one day to be a causepreneur, this episode is for you! Tune in now.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Gary Laermer, Senior Vice President & Chief Development Officer of the YMCA of Greater New York, about lessons learned from Hurricane Sandy one year later. The YMCA of Greater New York was at ground zero for Hurricane Sandy. The Y was caught between dealing with the damage to several of its 22 facilities and using its resources to aid the displaced victims of the storm. Gary reflects on how nonprofits can better deal with crisis and bounce back. They also discuss how nonprofits within devastated communities are ideally suited to meet the needs of community members. As Gary points out, these needs are not always connected with money, and nonprofits need to distinguish between crisis problems and chronic problems that existed in the community before the disaster struck. Tune in for an episode that will educate, inspire, and prepare you for the crisis we hope you never have to face.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Mollye Rhea, president of the Atlanta-based marketing agency For Momentum, about the cause marketing basics. Mollye explains how nonprofits can get started in cause marketing and some of the common pitfalls to avoid. She also offers some valuable insights on the things companies are looking for from nonprofit partners and cause marketing promotions. Learn from someone who's been creating and experimenting with cause marketing campaigns since the "Columbus Moment" when American Express raised money to restore the Statue of Liberty in 1983!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Merri Lee Mark, philanthropist and author of a soon-to-be published book: The Giving Game: Surviving Philanthropy's Schemers, Dreamers and Volunteer Vixins - Come Hell or High Heels. Merri Lee exposes an uncivil underbelly of the philanthropic world. She contends that philanthropy has become a competitive sport, overrun by agenda-seeking, glory-hogging, desperate-for-attention-housewives who will do most anything to capture the prize: recognition and upward mobility. Tune in as they tackle an issue few want to talk about, but can be found in small towns and big cities across America!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Heather Golin, Director of Special Projects, at Spirit Halloween about their nationwide fundraiser for children's hospitals. The Spirit of Children has raised $11 million since 2006. Heather explains how the retailer raises millions of dollars in just several weeks of operation at 1,000+ pop-up stores by focusing on customer fundraisers, vendor participation and employee volunteering. This is a great episode about a retailer that's cause marketing is focused, successful and spirited! Tune in now!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Neelam Makhijani, Chief Executive of London-based Resource Alliance. Neelam gives us an inside look of the launch of the International Day of Charity at the United Nations, which she attended, and its focus on expanding philanthropy both globally and among all economic groups, especially the middle-class. Neelam also discusses how her company is making nonprofits all around the world more sustainable, and the need for more organizations to be focused, efficient, collaborative and mission-driven. Tune in for a show that is global in perspective and reach!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Bill Horne, chairman, president and CEO of Truist, a leader in web-based corporate philanthropy platforms for employee giving and volunteerism. Bill talks about InstaGive, their new platform for small businesses. Truist’s InstaGive is the first online giving tool designed specifically for small businesses, startups, and nonprofit organizations. This inexpensive online giving solution is easy to set up, highly secure, and provides a modern look and feel. Megan, Bill, and Joe also discuss the state of philanthropy, and how millennials are changing the rules for how and why donors give. Tune in now!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Ross Ellis, Founder & President of STOMP Out Bullying, on how her nonprofit is using cause marketing to raise awareness and money to beat the crap out of bullying. Ross shares how bullying went from a taboo topic to a cause marketing darling and how her organization is dealing with all the attention. We also discuss some of STOMP's recent campaigns with jcpenney and Bon-Ton, and how the organization is gearing up for World Day of Bullying Prevention on October 7th.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Craig Bida, executive vice president, Social Impact, Cone Communications, about his firm's new Disaster Relief Trend Tracker. Craig shares how people all over the world are looking to companies to provide immediate and long term relief after a disaster. Companies that don't will face their own disaster in public relations and loss of consumer confidence and trust. We also talk with Craig about how cause marketers can better prepare businesses for a post-disaster response that is timely, significant and fair.
On today's episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Laura Goodman, Senior Director of Corporate Partnerships for Share Our Strength, about Dineout for No Kid Hungry. This September campaign will involve thousands of restaurants of all types and sizes to raise millions for hungry kids!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Nic Covey, Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility for Nielsen, about a new global study on consumer attitudes toward companies and social responsibility. Nick discusses how consumers are expecting more from companies than ever before, and how the sentiment is shared worldwide by global citizens. They also explore fresh research on consumer willingness to put their money where their hearts are, to buy products from responsible companies and to even pay more for products and services that align with their social values. Tune in now for a show that will update you on the latest cause research from a company that's been analyzing what consumers are buying and why since 1923!
This week on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Jenifer Snyder, Executive Director of The mGive Foundation, about the myths of mobile marketing for nonprofits. The mGive Foundation has supported more than 10,000 text donation campaigns for more than 500 nonprofit partners and processes around 85 percent of all text donations made today. Working with their partners, mGive helped charities raise almost $70 million through text message donations. Who's really giving with mobile devices and when? Tune in now!
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Aria Finger, COO of millennial-focused nonprofit Dosomething.org and President of TMI, a new youth-focused agency.
Aria debunks myths about millennials and explains why the data scientists that explore their preferences, habits and beliefs are the rockstars in her organization.
We discuss how Dosomething.org effectively uses humor to engage millennials and why listening to your audience is always (ALWAYS!) the key to your success.
Tune in now to learn about marketing to millennials and find out why 250,000 of them signed up to use 'thumb condoms' to stop texting while driving.
Today on Cause Talk Radio Megan and Joe talk to Artis Stevens, National Vice President, Marketing Strategy & Operations at Boys & Girls Clubs of America, about its back-to-school cause marketing campaign, Great Futures. Artis talks about some of the impressive early results from the program, including at least $800,000 from a July round-up program with jcpenney, and the range of cause marketing programs from pinups to collection programs. We also discuss how a large organization like BGCA meets the demands of businesses and consumers that insist that dollars raised locally stay locally. Tune in now! Summer is almost over. It's time to put on your thinking cap back on!
On today's episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to John Kordsmeier, President of the Northwestern Mutual Foundation, about the first year results of fundraising for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation and Starlight Children's Foundation. John talks about how Northwestern Mutual chose childhood cancer as its cause, what made ALSF and Starlight good partners and how it empowered employees across the company to host fundraisers. The results have been impressive: $1.5 million raised in the first year. The foundation learned several important lessons, like the challenge of educating employees on pediatric cancer research, and offers some best practices from which every business and nonprofit can benefit. Tune in now!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan chats with Eric Friedman, author of the forthcoming book, "Reinventing Philanthropy." In the book, Friedman challenges traditional donor-driven philanthropy and contends that decisions made emotionally may not be the most effective use of personal or corporate contributions to charities. Tune in to today's episode to hear Friedman's contention that the way we give is broken and his suggestions for fixing charitable efforts.
On this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe are joined by James Windon, Head of Revenue for Causes. We learn a bit about the Causes history (you may remember them as Facebook Causes) and how they effectively use technology to run social change and cause marketing campaigns. Causes also helps brands engage with individuals to take tangible actions online and, importantly, are focused on measuring those business results (something too many cause campaigns skip, in our opinion). Tune in today and you may learn something about online engagement, cause marketing measurement or...possibly...why it's a bad idea to move in next to Joe if you plan to harvest corn.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk coin collection cause marketing with Tim Siffermann, Founder and President of The Siffermann Group. Think nickels, dimes and quarters are no big deal? Think again! Ronald McDonald House Charities raised $27.9 million in 2012 collecting spare change. Hear how this program went from a franchisee afterthought to a strategic charitable powerhouse thanks in large part to third-party administration from The Sifferman Group. If you're as geeked out by cause marketing as we are, you'll be fascinated by this model so tune in now!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Phil Haid, Co-Founder and CEO of Toronto-based Public Inc., about the need for more risk in cause marketing. They discuss the things that are holding cause marketers back: fear of failure, a misconstrued perception that being first is really worth it, and the lack of a culture of support to spark innovation.
Phil will be delivering a presentation on risk and cause marketing at the Cause Marketing Forum Conference. If you're not joining the conference in Chicago, this is a great chance to hear Phil speak on the topic.
Phil is one of the best cause marketers we know. Besides picking poorly in the recent NHL series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Joe's hometown Boston Bruins (Bruins won), he's smart, creative, progressive and, of course, an educated risk taker!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Natasha Deganello Giraudie, the CEO of Micro-Documentaries. Natasha and her team produce 1-2 minute authentic, actionable and affordable documentaries for purposeful companies and nonprofit organizations.
Natasha makes the case for short videos that give viewers a powerful taste of the aspirational goals of a cause. She also offers some tips for nonprofits that want to make their own impactful videos.
Finally, Natasha tells listeners how they can access a free guide from Micro-Documentaries that explains everything from writing compelling titles and climbing search engine rankings to sharing the video with stakeholders and getting the attention of the media.
Tune into this short but powerful conversation!
Today Joe and Megan chat with Chris Jarvis of Realized Worth, the expert on corporate volunteering. Chris discusses how getting employees to change their behavior is much more of a courting process than most companies think - it's all about falling in love. Most programs lack what is called "The Proximity Factor". Chris debunks myths about 'Done in a Day' corporate volunteerism and talks about how the customer becomes the beneficiary in the eyes of retail employees in some cause marketing programs. For the real deal from the guy who knows how to get employees to participate in corporate volunteering programs, tune in now!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Jon Siegel, Executive Director, TisBest, and Tricia Wilkerson, Marketing Manager, Conifer Health Solutions about ExpoGiving. This new trade show product uses money that normally goes to trade show tchotchkes and funnels it to charitable organizations that fight hunger, work to end homelessness, conduct medical research, and take environmental action.
Tricia shares her company's experiences with TisBest and ExpoGiving, and Jon talks about the launch of the product this week at the Business 4 Better Conference in Anaheim, California.
Wondering if it's worth your time and money to attend the 11th Annual Cause Marketing Forum? Today Megan and Joe are joined by CMF President and Founder David Hessekiel about what's on tap for the May Conference in Chicago, including Joe's session on Cause Marketing for Small to Medium Sized Business and Nonprofits. David gives us a peak into keynotes by LIVESTRONG CEO Doug Ulman, Andy Goodman on storytelling and J. Walker Smith on industry trends and also updates us on who will be presenting sessions like CauseTech. He also shares his recent cause marketing speaking trip to China. Haven't registered for the conference yet? You'll be compelled to do so after tuning into today's episode!
Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Mark Dority, Director of Marketing for KULA Causes, on how his company helps customers support great causes by simply frequenting their favorite brands.
Whether using loyalty points, shopping through KULA’s affiliate eCommerce platform, or shopping with another KULA partner brand, consumers can earn and collect a charitable currency that they can donate to millions of causes across the globe.
Tune in now!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe chat with MSLGROUP’s Scott Beaudoin about the new Purple Index, which ranks Fortune 100 companies by how effective they are at communicating and engaging stakeholders around purpose while still turning a profit.
They discuss why WalMart ranked #1 overall and question how Target fell off the list. Check out this great infographic and be sure to tune in to hear how companies and nonprofits alike can benefit from this new research.
On today's episode of CauseTalk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Erik Darby, Vice President at Kanjoya, the parent company of the Experience Project. The Experience Project is the world's largest living collection of shared experiences and the premier passions-based network. It's a comfortable and supportive place for individuals to share and connect with others around the things that matter to them most. In turn, the the Experience Project corrals and leverages these emotional connections around a brand, product and cause. Tune in now!
Our guest today is no stranger to learning cause lessons the hard way. Founder of Trade as One, an online company creating jobs by selling fairly traded consumables, Nathan George shares what he's learned along the way, why Trade as One switched to a subscription model and how saving the world isn't a business strategy. Be sure to listen to today's episode to learn how this successful cause-based business has grown, the importance of quality control and story-telling and what surprises they've encountered in their internationally-sourced product line along the way.
What's more important to a nonprofit's success, money or talent? That's the topic of discussion on today's CauseTalk Radio. Megan and Joe talk to Lynda Gerty, co-author of "The Abundant Not-for-Profit" and Director of Engagement at Vantage Point. This new book combines theory with tactics, case studies and practical tools to show how organizations can attract, meaningfully engage and integrate all the talent available in the community. Is talent really more important than money? Megan and Joe share their doubts. But Lynda presents a powerful, relevant case that the untapped treasure for nonprofits is talent, not money. Tune in now!
Hate and discrimination aren’t pretty but USA Network isn’t afraid of taking a stand, especially with an army of nonprofits backing their efforts. In today’s episode of Cause Talk Radio, Joe and Megan dive into the Network’s ‘Characters Unite’ initiative with Toby Graff, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs. Toby explains the ins and outs of the initiative from cause placement to RV tours and back again, all in the name of civil rights. You thought activism was dead? You’ll think differently after tuning into this episode of Cause Talk Radio.
This week on the show, Megan and Joe speak to Chuck Scofield, the Chief Development Officer of Share Our Strength, the Washington D.C. based anti-hunger organization.
Chuck has worked at the organization for 14 years and walks through the history of Share Our Strength and discusses its signature campaign, No Kid Hungry, and its ambitious mission to end childhood hunger by 2015.
Chuck also shares the background story on the nonprofit's successful cause marketing program that has it working with some of the biggest names in business, including Tyson, Arby's and American Express.
Share Our Strength is a great organization to learn from. They are mission focused, innovative, savvy and know how to engage businesses in partnerships that are truly win-win. Listen and learn. Tune in now!
Today Joe and Megan dig into the cause marketing closet of Joi Gordon, CEO of Dress for Success. Joi shares how this leanly-staffed nonprofit approaches their cause marketing partnerships and how they've managed to recruit and retain partners such as Dress Barn, JCPenney, Puffs and more. And, of course, Joi explains how you can spread the Valentine's Day love for an amazing cause with the Puffs Kisses Facebook Campaign. Tune in for this special Valentine's Day episode of Cause Talk Radio!
This week on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to George Weiner, founder of Whole Whale and former CTO of DoSomething.org, about technology and data for nonprofits.
George was part of a whole team of WICKED SMAHT people - as Joe would call them - at DoSomething.org that developed some of the most innovative marketing and fundraising programs in the industry.
Now he's the leading the charge in a new business that is sure to bring further disruption to the industry - in a very good way.
Tune in now!
The tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December has brought national and widespread attention to the issue of children's mental health. Today Megan interviews Dr. Harold Koplewicz, Founding President of Child Mind Institute, the only nonprofit dedicated to this very cause. Although a young organization (just 3 years old), Child Mind Institute has taken great strides to forward the conversation around this topic that still holds so much public stigma. Dr. Koplewicz shares his philosophy that, to make forward progress on this complicated issue, the conversation has to spread far and wide, including everyone from corporate partners to celebrities and everyone in between. Join us today for this special episode.
On today's show, Megan and Joe talk to Alex Gold, Director of Partnerships at Carrotmob, about the power of buycotts - campaigns in which a group of people offer to spend their money to support a business. In return, the business agrees to make an improvement that the people care about.
Buycotts are an interesting idea, and Alex explains how they are being used with great effect by consumer goods company Unilver and others.
Are you tired of the threats and attacks that often precede any kind of meaningful change? Carrotmob is proposing a new model based on incentives and money. A "carrot" instead of a "stick"!
Tune in now!
An abundance of small, cause-branded products flood the market each year, most of which you'll never see again because they lack a solid business strategy. On this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Project 7's Tyler Merrick talks about how their lifestyle giving brands have earned a place on the shelves of WalMart, Target and 7-Eleven. Hint: it took a LOT of sweat equity and persistence. Join Megan and Joe for this inspiring conversation, particularly if you are, or dream of being, a cause-focused entrepreneur.
In today's episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and I talk to Craig Bida, Executive Vice President of Cause Branding at Cone, about lessons learned in 2012, and how cause marketers will need to adjust their course in 2013. We share some of favorite programs from last year and Craig looks ahead with his 5 Anti-Trends for 2013.
If you want to hear from a razor sharp leader in the field who wisely avoided the spiked egg nog over the holidays and instead focused on peering into the future of cause marketing, you should resolve to listen to this episode! We promise you'll feel better and more alive than our producer Pete Wright and Ted Strand, Megan's husband, felt after eating this bacon bomb!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe have some fun with the season's Christmas cause marketing promotions. They've pinned over 60 campaigns on Pinterest. They take a look at the good, bad, and ugly of these cause marketing efforts, and decide who deserves a visit from Santa ... and who deserves a lump of coal!
What is the holiday season about if not hope? Joe and Megan wade knee-deep into the concept of hope in today's episode with guest Shaun King, CEO of HopeMob. Fueled by a desire to not let anyone's story of need slip through society's cracks, King founded HopeMob as a platform where individual stories come to life. In reaction to those stories, HopeMob's community provides support via charitable donations and sometimes, simple actions. King explains HopeMob's formula of putting community before platform and explains how nonprofits are plugging into this unique, crowd sourced community. Join us for a heartwarming episode that's sure to keep your hope alive this holiday season.
To bring a little holiday cheer to this week's episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe are joined by JC Penney's Vice President of Philanthropy, Miki Woodard. We explore JCP's exciting Holiday Giving Tour that's currently spreading Christmas joy from coast to coast and how the campaign fits into JCP's larger JCP Cares cause initiative that has raised a whopping $8 million for partner nonprofits since July. Get in the holiday spirit by listening to today's action-packed episode and checking out the awesome buggy Santa video below.
On today's show, Megan and Joe talk to Jason Hincks, Chief Operations Officer of Movember, about the mustache-growing phenomenon that is sweeping the world. They discuss the origins of Movember, and the challenges of building a movement around men's health when the world gives most of its attention and money to women, children and animal causes.
Sadly, men's health finishes a distant fourth in the hearts and wallets of donors. As one Movember supporter explained last month, Movember is our attempt to "get above the dogs."
This is an interesting show. If you've ever described your cause as a "tough thing to raise money for" you'll learn some great lessons from Jason on the international success story that is Movember.
Today Joe and Megan get a uniquely Canadian perspective from cause pioneer Jocelyn Daw, consultant and author of 'Breakthrough Nonprofit Branding'. Jocelyn discusses how the cause movement has grown for our neighbors to the north and identifies trends she's noticing in the marketplace including nonprofits aligning for greater impact and businesses more effectively engaging employees in cause efforts. If you've not heard Jocelyn speak before, you're in for a real treat so join us for this episode of Cause Talk Radio!
The great thing about having a guest like David Neff on CauseTalk Radio is that you'll never run out of things to talk about. Dave is a futurist and the co-author of The Future of Nonprofits. For nine years he pioneered social media practices at the American Cancer Society. He's the founder of Lights. Camera. Help. a popular Austin film festival that celebrates cause-related films. This month Dave will be sporting his mustache for Movember, as he's done for many years. As if he doesn't have enough to do, Dave is also a Halloween aficionado!
As October comes to a close, Joe and Megan take one more look at Pinktober with Fenton's Susan McPherson, and then dive right into November and a new movement afloat called Giving Tuesday. And, of course, we'd be remiss if we didn't touch briefly on Super Storm Sandy and whether companies should come out of the woodwork to use a natural disaster as a promotional opportunity. All this and more on today's episode of Cause Talk Radio - tune in now!
On today's show, Megan and Joe talk to Jarrett Barrios, CEO of the American Red Cross of Eastern Massachusetts, about SavingZombies.com. The site, which spoofs what some think is a prediction in the Mayan calendar that December 2012 will mark the beginning of an apocalypse (which no doubt will include zombies), encourages Massachusetts residents to prepare a Go Bag filled with all the things you would need to live for three days until it's safe to return.
They talk with Jarrett on how this Halloween promotion is aimed at Millenials who prefer new media and are drawn to popular, interesting themes that are as entertaining as they are informative.
Taking another page from the Millenial marketing handbook, the Red Cross launched a contest encouraging viewers to create their own Go Bag video that shows what they are planning for the apocalypse.
This week's show has plenty of Halloween laughs and insights! Tune in now.
Small to medium-sized businesses are particularly well positioned to execute cause marketing campaigns. However, this task also seems daunting and, well, prohibitively expensive. In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Joe and Megan chat with Sandra Morris of CafeGive and learn how small to medium-sized businesses are making a big impact for causes by leveraging Facebook and CafeGive technology. Hear about how Portland-based Community Cycling Center (1,400 Facebook fans) turned a $5,000 gift from The Bike Gallery (3,100 Facebook fans) into over $18,000 in 30 days, the importance of Facebook and social media in cause campaigns, and much more!
This week Megan and Joe talk to Lori George Billingsley, Vice President, Community Relations for Coca-Cola on a new interactive vending machine that allows consumers to buy their favorite beverage and support a good cause. Coca-Cola is testing the machines in its home city of Atlanta in a partnership with the American Red Cross. Engaging consumers where they are and when they care is the future of cause marketing. Tune in now!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Dr. Samantha King, author of Pink Ribbons, Inc. shares her take on Pinktober and the overflow of corporate support for breast cancer "awareness". Samantha, Joe and Megan navigate the history of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (you might be surprised to discover who is behind this effort), whether the "awareness" created is doing any good and what an ideal "Pinktober" might look like. Also: how consumers should be vigilant in selecting pink products this month and what alternatives exist to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Today Megan and Joe chat with Rachel Armbruster, a nonprofit strategist and author. Her book, Banding Together for a Cause, gives an insider's look at the development of the Livestrong wristband campaign that raised more than $100 million for their cause. We discuss the progression of a corporate partner from minor donor to major partner and how nonprofits can create a celebrity brand - minus the celebrity. Join us for a lively, informative discussion.
On today's show, Megan and Joe talk to Bruce Burtch, an earlier pioneer of cause marketing who was creating cause marketing programs well before the 1983 American Express campaign that's credited with starting it all. Bruce is even credited with coining the term "Do Well by Doing Good" - a motto many companies and nonprofits live by today. Bruce talks about the beginnings of cause marketing, how it's changed...and what hasn't changed. These are timeless lessons from someone we call The Father of Cause Marketing. Listen now!
On today's show, Megan and Joe talk to Jeff Freedman, Founder & CEO of Small Army & Small Army for a Cause. Jeff and his agency are behind Be Bold, Go Bald!, an effort that has supporters nationwide wearing bald caps to raise money for 25 cancer organizations. Since its inception in 2009, participants have raised $500,000.
Jeff shares his powerful story of starting Be Bold, Go Bald! after the co-founder of Small Army passed away from cancer following a two year battle. He also has advice for companies that want to commit to a cause.
Today Joe and Megan interview researcher Stefanie Robinson on a recently-released series of studies about consumer choice in cause marketing campaigns. We learn that giving consumers a choice is often (but not always) a good idea in cause campaigns, particularly when the consumers are collectivists (don't know what a collectivist is? Tune in to find out!). Stefanie walks us through the situations researchers found to be detrimental to consumer choice and why disclosing too much information too early in a campaign can also harm participation.
Today, Megan and Joe chat with Sarah Harris, Vice President & Founder of Incite, about her firm's work with nonprofits and companies on cause marketing partnerships. We also discuss Incite's new white paper: The Cause Marketing Triangle: A New Approach to Cause Marketing. Finally, Sarah talks about her recent trip to Africa and how it reinforced that cause always comes before the marketing.
Today Joe and Megan chat with Jenna Reck of Target who explains 'Give With Target', the retailer's first-ever initiative that combines cause with back to school marketing, giving $2.5 million in grants as well as $2.5 million directly to schools via a Facebook voting initiative. Then Artis Stevens with Boys and Girls Clubs shares some of the smart strategy behind their comprehensive 'Tools for Back to School' campaign involving multiple brands executing a variety of cause-related marketing tactics. It's an action-packed show today, not to be missed!
Today, Megan and Joe chat with Ian Simpson, Co-Founder of Tevolution, a cause business that donates back to nonprofits when consumers buy their iced tea and text a code to donate to one of four charities. Ian discusses the challenges of starting and running a cause business and the relentless drive to raise money and to get Tevolution in to more stores. He also reveals how a busy entrepreneur squeezes more hours into his day by removing a real time suck: sleep. Tune in for an episode that will change the way you look at your summertime iced tea...and how you sleep at night!
Today Joe and Megan chat with Christina Bennett of Elizabeth Arden about their bang-up new cause marketing campaign on Pinterest, Pin It To Give It, in partnership with nonprofit Look Good Feel Better. Christina shares how the campaign plans to reach their donation goal of 10,000 eyeliners (valued at $16-$18 each) to Look Good Feel Better by early fall via a very integrated campaign bridging multiple channels and how this campaign may inform the brand's future efforts on Pinterest. We also learn about Elizabeth's Arden's other cause marketing efforts, including a partnership with nonprofit Pencil, focused on employee engagement in local schools.
This week, Megan and Joe talk with Stuart Elliott, advertising columnist at The New York Times about his recent article on "Seeking Success by Helping to Feed the Hungry." In it, Stuart profiles a new campaign called Run 10 Feed 10. Each person who registers to run in 10-kilometer races to be held in 11 cities this fall will trigger 10 meals to people in need in the runner’s community.
The partners in the initiative are Unilever, on behalf of four brands, Degree Women, Ragú, Simple and Vaseline; Women’s Health magazine, published by Rodale; the Feed Foundation; and Crowdrise, a Web site that uses social networking and crowdsourcing to help raise money for charities.
We discuss how this new campaign may represent a new area of opportunity for media companies that have previously let brands take center stage with cause marketing initiatives. Stuart also reflects on the growth of cause marketing the past few years and where the industry may be headed.
This week Joe and Megan discuss 5 cause marketing trends as highlighted in Network for Good's latest white paper. From crowdsourced philanthropy to social enterprise spin-offs, examples of relevant, effective cause marketing that helps business do well by doing good abound in today's episode. We explore how (and why) companies transform "one off" cause-related products into signature cause platforms, how "invisible" sustainability initiatives comes to life through consumer-facing cause efforts and why local activation is still a powerful weapon in a cause marketer's arsenal.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan Strand and Joe Waters chat with cause-preneur Jonah Lupton about his new business Cauzly.com. A serial entrepreneur, Jonah shares his insights on starting a cause businesses and the unexpected—yet rewarding—challenges. He also talks about his prolific tweeting, how it benefits his business and how you can grow your own following to rival his—over 200,000 strong!
Today on Cause Talk Radio, we chat with legal experts Kristalyn Loson and Jonathan Pompan, both lawyers in the advertising and nonprofit practice at Venable LLP.
From the basics of commercial co-ventures and unrelated business income tax (UBIT) to common legal mistakes made by cause marketers, Kristalyn and Jonathan bring an important perspective to today’s episode.
Think your cause marketing’s not going to attract the attention of attorneys general? Think again and get up to speed by listening to today’s episode of Cause Talk Radio.
In today’s episode, Joe and Megan chat with Alexander Chernev, Professor of Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, about a new study on whether social goodwill sways consumer beliefs. Does cause marketing really allow companies to do well AND good? Find out the answer on today’s show!
Today Joe and Megan chat with Craig Bida to clarify, once and for all, what the difference is between CSR, cause marketing and cause branding. Don't know the difference yourself? Today's show's a must-listen. Craig's background in consumer products at P&G frames the conversation and we take a deep dive into the evolution of this field of doing well by doing good.
Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe chat with MoZeus COO Charles Jones about effectively engaging consumers at events. Gone are the days where setting up a booth with kitchy prizes would attract attention. Charles explains how MoZeus is working in a cause marketing capacity with AARP to deepen consumer engagement at NASCAR events in support of their Drive to End Hunger initiative via a tablet-based application. The engagement has been successful in increasing consumer engagement as well as donations in support of their cause partnership.
In this episode of CauseTalk Radio, Megan and Joe talk with Phil “The Godfather of Cause Marketing” McCarty about the signature cause marketing program he helped create, St. Jude’s Thanks and Giving. Phil also offers some great advice and insights for nonprofits that want to realize their own Thanks and Giving aspirations.
In this episode of CauseTalk Radio, Megan and Joe talk with Carol "The Mother of Cause Marketing" Cone about a new study Edelman has just released on the state of cause and social purpose in the world. They also ask Carol the question we all want the answer to: How did she get the title Mother of Cause Marketing?
In this episode of CauseTalk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Tonia Zampieri, Mobile Strategist, Atlantic BT about how mobile technology is changing nonprofit communications and cause marketing partnerships. They discuss having separate mobile strategies for smartphones and tablets, and some new research on the connection between emotion and mobile ads.
In this episode of CauseTalk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Chad Royal-Pascoe, Vice President, National Strategic Alliances, March of Dimes about its new cause marketing initiative called Imbornto (I'm Born To).
This is an interesting new endeavor as it reflects a growing trend among nonprofits to own a particular month or season and to bundle advertising and other promotions for maximum impact. For March of Dimes it's the time between Mother's and Father's Day. Chad explains why everyone born in the past 75 should be connected with March of Dimes and how companies can benefit from hitching their cause marketing efforts to this new effort.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk with Frank Barry, Director of Digital Strategy at Blackbaud, about this week's Nonprofit Technology Conference (NTC) in San Francisco. They discuss what the hot topic is this year at NTC - mobile technology - and surprisingly what's not - Pinterest! Frank also discusses a new report out from Blackbaud on the state of social networking with nonprofits and how they're leveraging blogging, Facebook, Twitter and other networks for good.
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe chat with John Ludlow, Chief Strategy Officer for Snoball about automated giving. We learn more about the Snoball platform, pontificate about why embedded giving is the wave of the future, dismiss claims of slacktivism, and speculate about ways that automated giving can become a cause marketer's dream. Also, Joe suggests best practice phone greetings…be sure to stay tuned all the way to the end of the episode for these valuable gems!
Nonprofit contests are a dime a dozen, it seems. Today, Joe and Megan highlight three great contests that are either open for submissions currently or will be taking place in the near future. First, Ifdy Perez, Community Manager for Razoo, joins us to share "Twive and Receive", a nation-wide fundraising campaign that pits city against city in a one-day fundraising effort on May 24. Then we take a look at Toyota's "100 Cars for Good" campaign (deadline March 26th) and what Toyota does to make this campaign appealing for nonprofits and how it boosts their brand at the same time. Finally, we bring Sherri Wood, founder of nonprofit One Warm Coat, into the conversation to talk about the Cause Marketing Forum/AOL Impact 'Share Your Cause' contest (deadline March 30). As the winner of this contest last year, Sherri talks about why this particular contest was of interest to their nonprofit and what the benefit was to her cause. Join us for all this and more!
This week, Megan and Joe chat with homeless advocate Mark Horvath and Cause Media Group CEO Chris Noble about SxSW. Were the Homeless Hotspots truly a shameless promotion or actually a great idea? Chris and Mark share their fervent opinions. Also, is SXSW the place to be for nonprofits or are their conference funds better spent at other conferences?
In this episode of CauseTalk Radio, Megan and Joe talk with Geoff Livingston, author and Vice President at Razoo.com. We discuss:
- A new Case Foundation report on Giving Days, and the success small nonprofits in Washington D. C. have had with the program. Up to 40 U. S. cities may roll out Giving Days in 2012.
- The Nature Conservancy's partnership with the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue that has created a firestorm of controversy - especially among staffers - for the country's leading environmental organization.
Links & Notes
- Case Foundation Report: How Giving Contests Can Strengthen Nonprofits andCommunities
- Philanthropy.com: Nature Conservancy Faces Flap Over Fundraising Deal to Promote Swimsuit Issue
- CompaniesAndCauses.com: SI Swimsuit Issue/Gilt.com Sale Benefitting The Nature Conservancy
In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk (online) platforms, Pinterest (again) and (motion) pictures.
- Joe's bullish on new, Boston-based online content service Swoop and explains how this might be used for cause marketing.
- Pinterest is social media's golden child but will legal concerns over terms of use preclude passionate pinners from sticking around?
- Megan talks about how major motion pictures are turning to cause marketing to launch new films, establish co-branding partnerships and increase promotional reach. But for 'The Lorax' movie, environmentalists are crying foul. Hear all this and more in today's episode!
Links & Notes
Online Cause Marketing
- Is 'Hovering' the Future of Online Cause Marketing (Joe's Post on Swoop)
- InfoLinks Movember Campaign (In Text Advertising on TMZ.com, etc.)
- eBay Giving Works (CMF Golden Halo Award Winners)
More on Pinterest
- Joe's Chat on Pinterest - Philanthropy.com
- Why I Tearfully Deleted My Pinterest Inspiration Boards (Article on issues with licensing from an attorney - thanks, Laura Gonzo!)
Cause Marketing in Major Motion Pictures
- Feeding America/The Help (DVD Launch)
- Read Across America Tour - Driven By Mazda (Cause Update Post on Mazda's 'The Lorax' cause marketing campaign)
- The Lorax Cannot, Will Not, Truffula Tree-Certify Your Brand (BrandChannel)
- Actor Tyler Perry Announces 'Good Deeds: Great Needs' (via Good Scout)
Social media consultant and Pinterest Superuser Noland Hoshino joins Joe and Megan to discuss the phenomenal growth of Pinterest as a social platform and how companies, causes and cause marketers can reach its 10 million+, primarily-female users to visually capture their brand story and why they’d want to. We’ve yet to see any active cause marketing campaigns on Pinterest but Megan, Joe and Noland pontificate on ways cause marketers could use this medium for good. Noland shares which brands are using Pinterest well and who’s missing the Pinterest boat. Stay tuned to discover Noland’s “6 foot” rule.
Facebook will roll out Timeline for brands at the end of the month. Joe, Megan and John discuss how this could potentially be used for sharing cause marketing stories even more effectively in this medium. ‘Like for donation’ campaigns are popular but also a dime a dozen. How nonprofits have upped the ante when it comes to Facebook voting contests. Two Facebook Valetine’s Day cause marketing promotions and how online translates to offline engagement. Companies and causes tend to be commitment shy in this medium and why that should change. Also, how to keep updated on all things Facebook and why you should want to. Plus how you could win a copy of Facebook Marketing for Dummies by our own John Haydon.