Cause Marketing Today


Cause Marketing Today		Helping You Reap Financial and Social Dividends May 2007

Greetings!

I'm still smiling -- and slightly awestruck -- by the tremendous outcome of our fifth annual conference.

Opening keynote speaker Jeff Davidoff of Whirlpool set the tone with a brilliant, high-energy presentation on the initiatives that earned his company this year's Cause Marketing Golden Halo Award for Business. A convert to the power of strategic cause marketing, Davidoff provided my favorite quote of the day: "This has opened the door to the heart of our company and we are never going back."

A record number of attendees (500) from 35 states and three continents learned from a gifted group of speakers and one another. It was an awesome day and I thank everyone who played a role in its success - - faculty, sponsors, exhibitors and staff.

For those who couldn't make it, you'll find descriptions of this year's Cause Marketing Halo Award winners on our website.

Stay tuned in June for exciting news about CMF programs planned for Atlanta (September 19) and Los Angeles (October 3)!

David Hessekiel
President
Cause Marketing Forum, Inc.

In this issue

	CMF 5 On CNN Corporate Foundation Expected to Grow Education Top Corporate Cause: Ernst & Young Offers Advice

Corporate Foundation Expected to Grow

Corporate foundaition giving grew by 6% to $4.2 billion in 2006 and should experience healthy growth in 2007, according to a recently released study by the Foundation Center.

Giving USA puts corporate foundation giving at roughly 30% of all corporate giving -- it does not capture corporate cash or in-kind giving.

Learn how to get a free copy of the report

Education Top Corporate Cause: Ernst & Young Offers Advice

Whether motivated by the need for a skilled workforce or the popularity of helping children, education ranked #1 in the Foundation Center study as it does in most such surveys.

How to best apply corporate dollars to improve public education? Ernst & Young took a stab at that topic by underwriting a white paper entitled: "Best in Class: How Top Corporations Can Help Transform Public Education"

Among its six key recommendations: