Luxury Brands Promote Their Philanthropy Efforts

Vanity Fair - May Issue: Luxury Brands Promote Philanthropy Efforts.... great read about
Louis Vuitton, Estée Lauder, Prada, Dior, Saint Laurent and Céline, Gucci, and Kenzo.  "Luxury brands have the ability to spread awareness about dire world issues due to their global celebrity and fan base..."

Read the article at http://www.naurucondos.com/luxury-marketers-promote-philanthropy-efforts-in-vanity-fairs-may-issue/

Fusing Fashion & Philanthropy - Wild Soul Sunglasses

 



Image: POSE


Wild Soul sunglasses was created by two law students who both had a passion for fashion and philanthropy.  Together, they created their company to bridge the gap between fashionistas and philanthropy.  Wild Soul gives every customer the opportunity to choose the organization where their money will go.  It donates a portion of every sale to causes across the globe.  POSE posted on their blog the full press release about Wild Soul and their giving back. 

The sunglasses are available at YoungRepublic.

 

 

Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation Partners with La Colombe Coffee Roasters for a Good Cause

Recently, Leonardo DiCaprio's Foundation (LDF) partnered with my hometown, Philadelphia's La Colombe Torrefaction, a national coffee roasting chain to create a new coffee line, LYON. Together, they will  help save endangered orangutans on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra where the company's coffee is grown while Leonardo DiCaprio has been using his pull as an actor to help endangers tigers around the world.

With DiCaprio being the tiger guy and Carmichael the organgutan guy, they will now work to together to raise awareness on one of the most pressing environmental issue of our time. 100% of the net profits from the sale of LYON will be donated to environmental charities supported by LDF.

Todd Carmichael, Co-Owner of La Colombe, said in a recent press release, “Leonardo is a real person, who lives and breathes what he does and I can’t say that for everyone in Los Angeles. He uses everything is his power to change the world and he is what I wish everyone was.”

Juicy Couture | Choose Hope | St. Jude's

 

St. Jude's  Children Research Hospital is one of the most successful organizations when it comes to cause marketing. This summer, Juicy Couture is offering Juicy Couture's "Choose Hope" Canvas Tote, a Heart Charm Key and Locket Necklace to support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.  This canvas tote featuring the Juicy Couture crest and “Choose Hope” logo is the perfect pretty pink and great summer style. The Choose Hope selection is available on Amazon.  100% of the net proceeds of this exclusuive selection benefits St. Judes. Now everyone woman and girl can help save a child's life in style

Jenny McCarthy Designs Shoe for Autism

Celebrity Jenny McCarthy designs a new sexy shoe, "Insatiable", for ShoeDazzle to support children with autism. This is Jenny's second year partnering with ShoeDazzle. 100% of proceeds support Generation Rescue, an organization dedicated to recovery for children with autism spectrum disorders by providing guidance and support for medical treatment to directly improve the child’s quality of life for all families in need.

Shop your support and read more here.

Vacation: What August is All About

Each year, I traditionally take the month of August to vacation and have some fun. Many of you know that Summer is my favorite season. It' so easy...living in tees, shorts, and flip-flops, sleeping in, no day planned, soaking up the beach, and relaxing evenings.



I also try to take time away from fashion philanthropy and cause marketing projects, blogging and social media. This respite energizes me to 'get back to school' come September. New ideas and feeling refreshed. However, I have to admit, this summer has brought new contacts with new opportunities and I have logged a few more days at the computer than I have on the water.



I do hope you had time to spend with family and friends having some fun, vacationing, and enjoying all that Summer has to offer.



Will be back early September.



Maggie~

Antica Farmacista Scent to Benefit Gilda's Club

Three of my all time favorite scents are rolled into one fabulous home fragrance and it is supporting a good cause. Now this is a must have product for me!

Antica Farmacista's Home Ambiance Peonie, Gardenia and Rose fragrance uses antique inspired apothecary bottles, filled with fragrance, to permeate the air in any room. It is a beautiful way to infuse your home with the smells of summer, when summer days have past by.

This month of October, Antica Farmacista is donating 100% of the proceeds from the sale of the Peonie, Gardenia and Rose to support Gilda's Club, which is now a part of the Cancer Support Community, a nonprofit organization that offers communities free support for anyone living with cancer - men, women, teens and children - along with their families and friends. a

"Gilda's Club is named in honor of Saturday Night Live comedian Gilda Radner, who died of ovarian cancer in 1989. Gilda dreamed that all people affected by cancer, as well as their families and friends, would have access to the same kind of emotional and social support that she received during her illness."

Connecting Your Business Giving Message to Market in an Authentic Way

Just about this time last year, I hosted a teleseminar titled, "Connecting Your Giving Message to Market in an Authentic Way" with special guest Lisa Manyon of Write On Creative. This was the most popular teleseminar for givingadvice in 2009. And while I have shared bits and pieces with clients since then, this message is so important for businesses that I can no longer keep it a secret.

**Below is the link to listen to this teleseminar (and it's free.)**

Did you know that one of the best ways to interact with your customers and clients without selling is to share how you make a difference by supporting causes and social change? Whether you give back in a small way or big way, on this call we shared the secrets how to create a giving message that connects with your market. You can have a great cause marketing campaign or community involvement program, but without composing your giving message in a way that captures customers you may lose that connection with them.

Your business can be influenced by supporting causes and when you create a giving story that is credible and authentic it can be a driving factor in that grows your business and builds awareness about charities.

On this audio link you will hear Lisa and I share:

* How to connect with customers on their terms
* POWER points to ask yourself before you start writing
* Why what you say is as important as how you say it
* Shortcuts to copy success
* Crafting copy that compels your customers to act
* Why credibility and authenticity count

Here is the link to our teleseminar: http://tinyurl.com/yhljllj

Esprit 'Love it and Leave it' campaign for Charity

I have loved Esprit for years. To this day, I still own a pair of Esprit beach sandals and sweaters from the 80's. Some things are just too good to ever let go of.

Esprit launched their Love it and Leave it campaign which benefits the Salvation Army - an organization helping families and individuals in need. Check out the video:

Fashion Brands Making Charity a Way to Market for Greater Good

Today, I stumbled across a really good article, Charity Gives Shoe Brand Extra Shine by Christina Brinkley of the WSJ. Christina highlights Tom's Shoes, Judith Ripka and others who have been tieing their brands to charities. I love the spirit of Tom's Shoes and I love Judith Ripka jewelry as she has been very committed to the Alzheimer's Association. It's not that they set out their business with cause marketing in mind. It just evolved out of a passion and commitment to raise awareness and funds for charity.

I find that the newer or smaller fashion and beauty companies don't quite feel they are "at the point" to do anything charitable oriented like bigger brands. One shoe designer said to me that one day they hope to be and to emulate Tom's Shoes. What is great about this is the designer is already socially minded and feels it's important to make a difference. On the other side is the notion that they feel like they need to be in 'some place of success' to give back. Well, success is relative and once you arrived a 'the place' there will always be another level of success they'll desire to achieve.

The beauty of cause marketing is that it is not a donation! That's right. No check writing for the sake of helping out. Well, not exactly. Cause marketing offers different types of campaigns for fashion companies. One of them is a percentage of sales going to a cause. So, ideally that percentage can be 5% or $5 of an item sold. In addition, campaigns do not go on forever. You can run one for 1 week or 1 month.

Nothing thrills me more than to work with entrepreneurs in the fashion and beauty industry. They are true creatives, risk-takers and passionate. If people are buying your product anyway, why not take a week or 1 month to make the purchase matter. Consumers l-o-v-e knowing their purchase is connected to a cause.

You can catch Christina's article here and read more about why cause marketing is appealing to consumers and how it is benefiting the companies and the causes they give to.

Good Cause to Wear Elizabeth Arden's Anniverary Lipstick

To commenorate 100 years in the beauty industry, Elizabeth Arden is celebrating with the launch of the new Limited Edition Anniversary Lipstick, Red Door Red.

I love when beauty companies create beautiful products that benefit causes. Red Door Red, a universally flattering, sheer red lipstick, packaged in a luxurious gold case reminiscent of the glamour and drama of the 1940s, is meant to represent strength and femininity is also benefiting a good cause. Elizabeth Arden will also donate all of the proceeds from the lipstick to Look Good … Feel Better®. This organization helps to improve the self-image, appearance and quality of life for people undergoing cancer treatments by teaching beauty techniques, which help them to cope with the beauty-related consequences of cancer and boost their self-confidence.

When you purchase the Elizabeth Arden Limited Edition Anniversary, Red Door Red Lipstick, you’ll take part in celebrating Elizabeth Arden's 100 years of beauty and you’ll be helping women to look good, feel better and enjoy life.- and that's a beautiful thing!

Brooks Raises Money for Breast Cancer Research

I am a fan of Brooks, even more so as Moving Comfort is on board with them. Brooks has always been charitable minded and have a wonderful giving program called Run B'cause which encourages people to run and get active to promote healthy living.

Just last year Brooks launched their Brooks for Her collection (BFH) to help support the fight against breast cancer. For each BFH piece purchased from March through December of 2009, Brooks donated 6.25% of the suggested retail price to three organizations that research and support those affected by breast cancer: The Young Survival Coalition, Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation, and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, earmarked for breast cancer research. Nearly $27,000 was distributed to these three charities - and the campaign continues through 2010!

The BFH program works like this... "Brooks will donate 6.25% of the retail price for each Brooks For Her item sold from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2010, to preselected charities that support breast cancer research, awareness, and support. Consumers will vote for which charity they’d like to receive donation."

The BFH 2010 Program begins on March 2nd and runs through December 31st. This is great! No excuses as the program runs for nearly a year giving any loyal Brook customer to be a part of giving back and making a difference to this important cause. Plus, you can run and look pretty in pink at the same time.

(Disclosure: Moving Comfort is a brand of Brooks Running and a client of givingadvice)

Stunning Jewelry with a Compelling Purpose

Sarah’s Hope™ designs jewelry with a compelling purpose in mind. It has a special place for women and the struggle that many of them face when trying to overcome poverty. "There are women all over the world who are driven, talented and determined, who just need some help getting their dreams off the ground."

Sarah Hope creative pieces are dedicated and named after a woman entrepreneur in a developing country who has an entrepreneurial dream. Sarah sets out to contribute 10% of our net profits to fund business MICROLOANS to women entrepreneurs. "In partnership with MEDA, (Mennonite Economic Development Associates), women entrepreneurs receive microloans up to $1,250 dollar to establish and grow thriving businesses. Each of our designs is dedicated to, and named after, a microloan recipient who is moving her life away from poverty and toward prosperity with the support of Sarah's Hope. Sarah’s Hope™ Jewelry was begun to fund small business microloans that start at $50. MEDA (Mennonite Economic Development Associates) distributes these loans that are designed to give women living in impoverished situations a fair chance at supporting themselves and their families." (source: SarahHope)

Sarah Hope Jewelry elevates their cause campaign to an individualized and inspirational level, by sharing the story of each woman, naming each selective piece of jewelry with her name, and assisting them through . This is an excellent way to engage customers of Sarah Jewelry into the lives of each women and it is very compelling. It bridges the gap between the 'what' the percentage of profits goes to 'who' it goes to.

Athena Cosmetics Embraces Philanthropy as a Way of Business

I get 'tickled pink' when I come across a story of a business that embraces giving in every aspect of the company. It is one thing to give a percentage of profits to causes and it is another to do that, plus give time, energy and other financial resources to a cause. And when customers, employees and staff are involved in the efforts, it is clear to see just what the company believes in, stands for, and is committed to solving in this world. These are the companies worth sharing with our givingadvice community followers.

So, today's blog highlights an extraordinary cosmetic company, Athena Cosmetics, Inc. The beauty (pun is intended) of this cosmetic company lies in the story about how Revitalash® started and the authentic expression about what they are committed to, hands down.

Athena Cosmetics created a line of beauty products to enhance a woman's natural beauty. One of them is the Revitalash® Eyelash Conditioner. It is a unique eyelash conditioner that will help you achieve the natural beauty of Longer, Thicker, Fuller looking eyelashes. Every woman would love this, me included. Revitalash® Eyelash Conditioner was developed by Dr. Michael Brinkenhoff as a special gift for his wife, Gayle, while she was recovering from breast cancer. It was the treatment that left her eyelashes sparse and thin. After research with his team of highly specialized scientist, they formulated the conditioner to help women, especially those undergoing chemotherapy, achieve having fuller eyelashes. It seems like such a simple thing, to want fuller eyelashes. But, every woman knows that when you have fuller eyelashes, you feel and look better. Face it, advertisements and commercials about fuller, thicker, voluminous lashes work and so does Revitalash®.

In his own words, from their website, Dr. Michael Brinkenhoff says, “Often we feel helpless when someone we love is suffering. I am very fortunate, in my own small way, to have been able to help Gayle through her recovery. Watching her be excited about her beautiful looking eyelashes has been a real joy.”

It is so evident in Athena Cosmetics' story their commitment to breast cancer research and education initiatives. It is this focus, the connection of their giving message to market in an authentic way that is compelling and makes you just want to buy their products and tell your girlfriends about them too.

"Athena Cosmetics, Inc. is proud and honored to devote time, energy and resources to the goal of fighting breast cancer both by public education programs and by the contribution of time, energy and financial resources to the ultimate goal of finding a cure for this epidemic disease...."

Where Athletic Apparel Meets Performance Meets Philanthropy

I admit it, I am a competitive athlete. Make no bones about it. I can be sweet and nice and open to collaborative efforts in business, but when on the racing line, I am a tiger. I thirst and crave winning in athletic performances. I don't apologize for it either. I even got ticked at an athletic director for paying women athletes less than male counterparts for the same race back in the 1990's. "Equal pay for equal sweat." That is my motto.

I love watching the Olympics. There was even a point and time in my life where team mates thought I would have been there for running. But no point hashing times gone by. Some of my team mates have like, Kim Gallagher , a 2 time Olympian and medaler in the 800m run in 84' and 88'. RIP Kim.

The time is today. And, I am loving what some athletic apparel companies are doing for causes. First and foremost is a shout out to Moving Comfort for their Support Your Girls Campaign. Full Discloser as they were a client of mine.

Another is DEKA Athletics, in Atlanta, GA who carries athletic and footwear, as they announce that Alp-n-Rocks, a ski athletic apparel company has launched a fabulous cause marketing campaign. They recently spear-headed a scholarship program. Here is what Alp-n-Rocks is doing (directly from the DEKA Athletic latest blogpost):

"Born in the Swiss Alps and raised on Sunset Strip, Alp-n-Rock offers the finest in ultra-luxe t-shirts with a purpose. Alp-n-Rock draws its inspiration from the glamorous alpine resorts of Europe where fashion is as important as sport, and comfort and style go hand-in-hand. But its attitude is strictly Rock-n-Roll. Bold, sexy and just a little bit twisted, Alp-n-Rock redefines luxury: live life on your own terms, feel connected and create change. Along with being ultra fashionable, Alp-n-Rock donates 10% of profits to Room to Read to fund girls' scholarships in developing countries around the world, giving girls the lifelong gift of education.Ski Magazine showcased an Alp-n-Rock reversible, long sleeved top in its most recent issue. The versatility, fashion, and comfort offered from these organic cotton tops are what has consumers coming back for more! DEKA carries a collection of the original designs for men and women; give back & feel good about getting your new "go to" Alp-n-Rock top for the winter!"

So! There you go. Ski in fashion and be it with a philanthropic twist... We love Alp-n-Rock! Rock On! Run on or ski on.... whatever motivates you to get moving. Just know that giving back can motivate you run a few more miles or run a few more slopes, no matter your sport. It's all for the love of sports, competition and having the heart to give back.

Oh... Even if you are skiing slow... If you are wearing Alp-n-Rock, at least you're looking good!

Maggie~
a.k.a. "Mid-pack-Mag"
Get Your Miles In :)

Capitalizing on Cause Marketing Can Make You a Winner or a Loser

It's Super Bowl weekend and the game is on. Well, the game isn't until Sunday. I am referring to the cause marketing campaigns of Pepsi and Coca~Cola.

Pepsi, one of the longest and largest advertising supporters of the Super Bowl is sitting on the side-line of sort this year with advertising in a traditional way and has chosen to use its advertising dollars for a $20 million dollar cause marketing campaign the "Pepsi Refresh Project." Pepsi will make contributions to community projects through consumers votes.

Then, Coke guessing since Pepsi is sitting out, jumped on the board and is taking advantage of the opportunity through its Open Happiness theme on Facebook, giving Facebook fans an sneek peek at its upcoming Super Bowl ads. Each time a Facebook fan passes a virtual Coke along to a friend, a $1 donation by Coke to Boys & Girls Clubs of America is triggered. Coke will also have two animated billboards during the Super Bowl to direct viewers to Live Positively to boost donations to the Boys & Girls Clubs and the Red Cross’s work in Haiti.

Both cause marketing campaigns are good. It's good for product lovers, the companies, the causes and those who benefit from the causes programs and services. Everyone wins.

But cause marketing can have losers as an end result. Here are some tips how to avoid having your cause marketing campaign end up with either people or causes sitting on the side-lines (not in the game) or having losers (direct loss from the campaign):

1. Don't 'Rush'. [Pun here is intended as it is Super Bowl weekend] Take time for proper planning before you execute (another pun) your cause marketing campaign. Slapping together a Point-of-Sale or Percentage-of-Sale campaign can come across sloppy and that you really are not committed to the cause.

2. A 'Blitz' can cause a Blunder. Making your campaign all about 'getting the sale' (sacking the quarterback) is not what it's about. Cause marketing will not make you rich and your tactic needs to be a balance or mix of both message, awareness, and the sale.

3. Pick the Right 'Spot' to Launch Your Campaign. Just as in football the official decides the line of scrimmage, 'spot', before the next football play, your business needs to know when throughout the year is the best time for you to launch a cause campaign. It may depend on the issues surrounding the cause and/or your business's cycle.

4. Personal Fouls will Cost You a Big Penalty. Your campaign must be on the up-and-up. It cannot be successful if you have intentions (agendas are fouls) other than making a difference. So, if your message is not authentic and clear to the customers or the campaign lacks transparency, this will cause you a big penalty in the end leaving you with no fans.

You know you have scored a 'Touchdown' when both your business and the nonprofit has reaped positive benefits from the cause campaign. It's a win when both win.

Every punt (oops, I meant pun) was intentional. I hope you find the importance through the humor.

GO SAINTS!

Sandra Bullock, Doctors without Borders and Tybee Island

One of my favorite aspects of Hollywood celebrities is they are big givers. I mean really big givers and they have fun while doing it. For many stars, they have taken their name beyond the Hollywood big screen to support causes, not because they can write a check but rather when you explore their charitable giving many support the same causes and charities for years. And in addition to financial contributions, they also leverage their name, face, and voice to promote a cause's message.

Today's celebrity pic is Sandra Bullock. She happens to be one of my favorite comedian-actresses and she is a funny off-screen as she is on-screen. Sandra also has a residence on Tybee Island off of Savannah, Georgia where I live and is generous to our community.

Sandra has been really stepping off the red carpet to step up for good causes. She recently donated $1million to Doctors without Borders Emergency Operations for Haiti relief efforts to fix three of the medical facilities damaged by the earthquake. Also, the Bochic bracelet she's wearing in this photo will be auctioned for charity. 100% of the proceeds will support CharityWater and their efforts to support clean drinking water in Haiti.

Just this past week, Sandra teamed up with Coach to benefit one of her favorites charities, the Beauty Bus Foundation. Sandra has two favorite Coach bags the Madison Leather Hippie and Kristin Leather Tote. They can be yours, too, for a good cause. It makes shopping feel good, really good. Part of the proceeds from her two favorite bags,will benefit the Beauty Bus Foundation. The Beauty Bus Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for home-bound, terminally or chronically ill patients and their primary caregivers.

3 Reasons Your Business Shouldn't Keep Your Giving a Secret

A few years ago, I was interviewed by a celebrity entrepreneur on small business giving. During the interview, I was asked if businesses should share their giving with customers and the community or if they should keep it a secret. For many business owners like yourself, giving can be a very private issue. Perhaps it is rooted in humility or a deeply held personal philosophy. These are to be respected, but do not serve a greater good. Keeping your business giving a secret is a motivationally selfish and supports no one by doing it except your own personal interest.

There are a few key reasons a business should contribute their giving message. If you understand the benefits of communicating your giving, you can quickly see the positive impact is has for you, your business, the cause, and your community. This is a big reason why I wrote my book, “Small Businesses Give Big: Why charitable giving is a great business strategy.” It is the idea that sharing giving stories inspires, motivates, and relates to others in any country and any language.

As a business owner, no matter how you give or what you give, not keeping your cause a secret can, in my opinion, have as much of an impact as the check you wrote or time you spent volunteering. The larger picture for sharing your giving is about creating awareness. The first step causes must take to increase their donor pool and prospects is not about asking for donations, rather it is about building awareness about the social issue they address, and how they are an agent of change in their community and the world.

There are three key reasons to reveal your business giving. They are:

1. Social Mission. By adding a social mission to your business and sharing it, you have just taken a pro-active initiative to support your business’s core values. Your social mission communicates the social issue you and your business stands for and is committed to helping solve. The social mission is cause-centric and communicates your humanitarianism. It is different from your regular business mission. However, it is aligned with it and works parallel to it.

2. Connection. Adding your social mission message to your business’s communication can expand the breadth of your outreach and touch the hearts and emotions of others. Today more than ever, customers and causes are seeking to connect with businesses that bring meaning and movement to social issues. By sharing your giving story, new levels of connection are created for you, your business, causes, and a community. These new connections can have long-term impact supporting your business and the causes you give to.

3. Awareness. At the grassroots level, both businesses and causes need to build awareness about what they do and the difference they make to improve lives. By creating awareness, both businesses and causes strive to increase either sales or donations and build their brand trust. Yes, even nonprofits strive to build their brand trust. So, by cementing your social mission-based marketing to your communication efforts, you have increased awareness about a cause to constituents and customers who otherwise may not have known about the specific charity. A new audience has been created through sharing your altruistic intentions in an authentic way.

Perhaps the greatest reason for not keeping your cause a secret is you have added significant social value to the world. So step out and be willing to share your business’s cause.

2010. Copyright. Maggie F. Keenan, Ed.D. All rights reserved.

Clean Makeup for Clean Water

I get so excited when I see a favorite brand of mine engaged in a cause marketing campaign. One of the main reasons why this is exciting is because I am a woman loyal to only a few select brands and rarely ever do I switch a brand once I find one I l-o-v-e. I have stuck to some brands for more than 25 years.

One of my favorite brands has been and still is COVERGIRL. I love everything about their makeup products from the texture to the scents to the 'real life' face colors. I just pulled out a few of the products I use and have used over the years. My favorite foundation is their FreshLook (Ivory), Cheekers blush (Brick Rose), Perfect Blend PencilCrayon (Brun*Noir), Professional mascara, LipSlicks Lip gloss(Precious) and Dark Chocolate lipstick w/ SPF15. Oh, how I love this lipstick. When I run low, I go into the drugstore, head right to the rack and pick up the product. I can get what I need with no hassles.

Now here is the best part, COVERGIRL has partnered with The Children's Safe Drinking Program and just launched their Clean Makeup for Clean Water campaign. The beauty of this campaign is that it's brilliant and simple on many levels. First, it uses the word 'clean', enhancing the brand image, product line and the cause initiative. This is symmetric and easy to remember (Clean Makeup and clean water), so both the company and cause brand image win.

Another reason this campaign is brilliant is because it directly involves their customers on two different levels. The first level of involvement asks the customer to share a video about how they give back to make a difference. This is a super idea in that viewers can learn about causes and charities, and creative ways other women give which helps build awareness and inspiration. Another level of customer involvement offers women an opportunity to win! Who doesn't like to win something. They could win either a trip to Africa that is a humanitarian effort and aligned with the campaign (sending clean water to children in developing countries) or the chance to participate in a photo shoot. Either of these two possibilities are exciting.

I give this campaign two thumbs up! It's message, brand building, cause awareness, and customer involvement and call to action rock.

About:

The Children's Safe Drinking Water Program provides clean drinking water to developing nations. Every day more than 4,000 children in developing countries die from diseases due to unsafe drinking water.

• Contaminated drinking water is a major problem, especially in developing nations.
• More than one billion people worldwide do not have access to safe water. Diarrhea caused by drinking contaminated water remains a leading cause of illness and death among infants and children in the developing world.
• About 1.8 million children die every year due to diarrheal diseases. More children die from diarrheal illnesses like cholera and dysentery than from HIV/AIDS or malaria combined.
• Beginning in 1995, P&G collaborated with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to develop the PUR Purifier of Water, a safe drinking water system that people can easily use in their homes.
• Simple, low-cost interventions at the community level can improve the quality of household water and greatly reduce the risk of diarrheal disease and death.
• Simply providing safe, clean, drinkable water can significantly help reduce deadly diarrhea and other devastating diseases.

Cause Marketing: A fresh start for 2010

Happy New Year! There is always something so fresh about the beginning of any year. And, it seems all the more fresh with cold-crisp air, and a new snowfall.

At givingadvice, I've begun to put fresh, new ideas into the plan which will roll out this year. Even the business giving model and services will be taking on a new twist which I am really excited about. Most of this will be shared first with my givingsuccess! community. If you are not yet a part of my givingsuccess! community, you can subscribe here. It's free.

Part of fresh starts is getting back to basics. In early December, I posted a response about getting back to the use and understanding of philanthropy and cause marketing terms. My concern was that many in the field do not know the definitions of some of the terminology and use it incorrectly. And let's be honest, the general public probably hasn't a clue what the difference is between charity and philanthropy. Moreover, there are companies that don't know the difference between strategic philanthropy and cause marketing. This can muddy the waters and make just about anyone as confused as the next.

So... I am particularly grateful to Joe Waters (@joewaters) for beginning a fresh new year by setting the record straight. Here is his recent Selfish Giving blogpost on "What is Cause Marketing?" If anyone knows, Joe knows. And, as he says, "If Joe says it's true and Maggie says it's true, then it's true." He gets down to the basics about what cause marketing is and is not.

In the Fall, 2009 I gave a talk "Cause Partnerships that Do Good for Good" and if a mirror could be held against Joe's post and my talk, they mirror each other (although I am better looking and a faster runner than he - our inside joke with one another).

Here is to a fresh, new year with a crisp-clean and clear definition of cause marketing. I wish you giving success in 2010. Give me a shout out if I can support you on your journey to making an impact in this world.