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Greetings!
With the conference behind me, I've finally been able
to get out of the office and into the field lately -- ah,
freedom!
I hit the road in late May by attending my 25th
college reunion. There I met up with David Brancaccio
(like me, Wesleyan '82), host of the PBS news show
NOW.
David shared exciting news of the launch
of "Enterprising Ideas" frequent reports on social
entrepreneurship that will be featured on NOW . You'll
want to tune in and check out their informative website.
This past weekend I was in New Orleans for a KaBOOM!
playground build sponsored by Omnicom.
It was an inspiring experience on so many levels
- KaBOOM! has the process of involving companies
and communities in efficiently building a great
playspace down pat
- The experience clearly touched many members of
the Omnicom team including CFO Randy
Weisenberger
- The excitement and appreciation of Principal
Janet Johnson, faculty members, parents and
students was palpable
Hope that you'll all have many opportunities this
summer to get out of the office and explore!
David Hessekiel
President
Cause Marketing Forum, Inc.
| Too Many Volunteers |
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While I was in New Orleans, several newspapers
carried stories on the challenges local charities were
having in managing all the requests for large
volunteer projects from corporate groups planning to
visit the city.
It can be challenging to organize projects that give all
the visitors significant hands-on experiences -- and
expensive to service all of the volunteers . As one
nonprofit exec told the Wall Street Journal: "If we have
to rent a port-a-potty,
it's $200 to $250 for four hours; the cost of bottled
water, ice, is a significant portion of our budget."
Whether in New Orleans or back at the office,
corporate volunteerism initiatives continue to grow in
popularity. Eight-five percent of US corporations
surveyed by the
Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy
have employee volunteerism programs.
It is crucial for nonprofits to think
strategically about their corporate volunteerism
programs:
- How can you create meaningful volunteer
experiences?
- What organizational resources will it take to plan
and staff these programs?
- What should you charge companies to provide this
service?
These programs can be so resource intensive that
KaBOOM! can't service all of the communities and
companies that would like to get involved with
playground builds. That is why it has made a major
investment in creating online and
offline tools for local organizations.
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| Water, Water, Water |
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Last week Coca-Cola and the World Wildlife Fund
became the latest cross-sector allies to announce a major water conservation
initiative.
In full-page newspaper ads, Coke pledged to improve
the use of water in its bottling operations and by its
agricultural partners.
Next week you can get the inside scoop on another
water-related CM campaign, when Jay Aldous of the
US Fund for UNICEF leads our June 19 teleclass on
The TAP Project.
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| Take Dad Out for a Frosty This Weekend! |
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Wendy's founder created the Dave Thomas
Foundation for Adoption in 1992 and the burger giant
has been a leading supporter ever since.
This weekend the sale of every Frosty shake sold will
generate a 50 cent donation to the foundation for
grants to adoption agencies to move children from
foster care into permanent, loving adoptive homes
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| Know Someone Who Manages Athletic Fundraising Events? |
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If you do, please suggest they visit
www.runwalkride.com, the just launched, virtual home
of the Run Walk Ride Fundraising Council. They'll find:
- Industry benchmarking statistics
- Helpful best practice articles
- Case studies and much more
Check out this new resource
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