Week of May 9, 2011

Here’s the best of the best of cause marketing information from the last week:

Cause Marketing that Speaks
A post about the success of Autism Speaks cause marketing efforts. The article notes that the cause used multi-dimensional tactics: events, media materials, grassroots efforts, PSAs, etc. http://bit.ly/l45q5L

Drive Sales with a Cause
As with many articles, this is written from the perspective of the business and not the cause. So, nonprofits reading the story should look at it through the eyes of potential partners. Note once again the emphasis on ensuring that the company’s brand and the nonprofits cause align with each other. This is vital to mutual success. http://bit.ly/kmJuEV

FastCompany’s Interview with Founder of Donors Choose
Since its founding, Donors Choose had attracted 250,000 donors and raised about $30 million to support about 60,000 classroom projects. This foundation has harnessed the power of cause marketing linking companies and classrooms. http://bit.ly/irxHJo

Connecting Cause with Twitter
This is not a reading but rather a great story. Epic Change’s annual “To Mama with Love” Twitter campaign ran this weekend … and, in less than three days, generated (as of Monday morning) about $29,134 from those tweeting Mother’s Day greetings and making donations.
Here’s the link: http://www.tomamawithlove.org/ /

What mission/vision might your organization consider for this type of cause-related donation campaign?