Summer

Away on vaca! See you in a month. Yes, a whole month. Until later ~

Betty Crocker Making Wishes Come True

So very cool! Today I received an email from a person who came across my blog. (this is good, I have at least 1 reader :)). She read my post on April 20th about Betty Crocker's Stirring Up Wishes for Make-A-Wish Foundation and sent the email today to share with the Winning Results from that campaign. It was a "huge success" she said and here are the results:

"· Received more than 146,000 votes
· Provided funding to 12 chapters to grant wishes for wish kids as part of Crocker’s Stirring Up Wishes program.

The winning chapters are:
1. Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Orange County & Inland Empire
2. Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Greater Bay Area
3. Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Mid-South
4. Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Michigan
5. Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Utah
6. Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Wisconsin
7. Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Iowa
8. Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Suffolk County, NY, Inc.
9. Make-A-Wish Foundation® of New Hampshire
10. Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Tri-Counties
11. Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Middle Tennessee
12. Make-A-Wish Foundation® of East Tennessee"
(sent by Megan Bleem, Cone Inc.)

Once all wishes are granted, I will share them here. So check back often.

I thought this was a brilliant campaign and a brilliant alignment between Betty Crocker and Make-A-Wish Foundation for many reasons:

1. Kids love cupcakes,
2. Mom's make Betty Crocker recipes, and often make cupcakes with their kids,
3. There was an authentic expression of the message which supports both Betty Crocker and Make A Wish. Plus the title, "Stirring Up Wishes" is simple, clean and says it all,
4. The opportunity to share this campaign with millions of caring moms, be creative, have fun, and share inspiring wishes.

Here is an extra little something-something about this campaign, a business owner can find it inspiring enough to make a difference in their own way. Making a difference, giving back, cause marketing... doesn't have to be boring or all about check writing. I am of the thought it should be engaging, fun, while boosting your brand. As a matter of fact, stop back later as I share with you my 5 success strategies for building a business giving or cause marketing program from my book.

On the Lists for Social Change

This week I am just a tad bit excited. Here at givingadvice, I am delighted to announce that my blog, givingadvice, made the Entrepreneurs Common: Top 150 List of Social Capital Blogs. Entrepreneur Commons is a not-for-profit, somewhere between regular business and the non-profit world. This list of Social Capital resources is at the intersection of Philanthropy (where the money comes from originally in most cases) , Fundraising & Social Marketing (How to get it), Non-profits & Social Entrepreneurship (where and how it is spent).

The other blogs deserve a shout out and worth checking out. Here are a few:

Philanthromedia
WorldChanging
Gift Hub
Donor Power Blog
Social Marketing

The goal of 'givingadvice' blog is to inspire and inform readers about business philanthropy, cause related efforts, volunteers and other subjects about social change. Even if one post resonates with you and you begin to think about how you can do something similar through your business to make a difference, I am one step closer toward it's purpose.

Also 'givingadvice' blog , is on the List Of Change, a list of social change blogs. There are about 200 and my blog ranked #123. The blogs listed on List of Change are self-submitted but each on goes through a review before being accepted. To be among a list of other blogs that focus on social change is very satisfying. Here are some of the blogs on List of Change:

Beth's Blog
Tactical Philanthropy
PhilanTopic
Philanthropy2173
BlackGivesBack
The Causemopolitan

Be sure to check them out, stop back here at givingadvice and share it with a friend.

Kick-Off for United We Serve

Today marks the official kick off of United We Serve. This is a nationwide campaign calling all Americans, young and old to volunteer this summer and be a part of rebuilding America.

President Obama is challenging everyone, individuals, community organizations, churches, businesses, corporations, foundations and government to be a part of this effort.

Even First Lady Michele Obama is rolling up her sleeves. Listen to her message now.

What does Samuel Adams & Speed Coaching Have in Common?

Samuel Adams Brewing has a unique and clever signature philanthropy program, Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream, that is a spin-off of the speed dating idea. It's called Speed Coaching. This is one clever and creative program worth sharing. Read more here about how Samuel Adams is helping food and beverage entrepreneurs through skills-based volunteering and microloans.

Connecting Your Giving Message to Market

Question: What is the one way you can interact and gain trust from clients and customers without selling to them?

Answer: Sharing your business's giving back story.

And it is a business strategy that is working better than ever. In fact, it works so well that big corporations are doing it more and more and I KNOW that when you connect with clients on a level that goes beyond 'the transaction' to one that you both share in, like making a difference, you create an immediate emotional connection which builds trust and loyalty.

So, whether you give back in a small way or big way, 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 increasing sales. And I want to share with you great tips on this topic. That is why I am interviewing Lisa Manyon, President of Write On Creative and copywriting expert because what you say is just as important as how you say it.

Join us for this free teleseminar, "Connecting Your Giving Message to Market in an Authentic Way" on 4:00pm EST on Tuesday, June 23, 2009.

On this call you will learn:

• 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

Sign up to reserve your spot on this call.

As Giving Falls, Stories Need to Rise

Great article by NPR, "Charitable Giving Fell Last Year but Didn't Dive". A need for services increases and donations decreased leaving many nonprofits having to get very creative and resourceful with fund development and adding social networking to increase awareness.

My advice to charities is the same as it has been, your mission is not your message. Your stories of success is your message and you have to be able to share it in a compelling way that emotionally connects with prospective donors and current donors.