"The latest strategy for selling homes isn't to give something to potential buyers -- it's to ask buyers to give something back," according to a recent Wall Street Journal article.

Cause-related programs range from promotional events (an open-house that generates donations) to positioning philanthropic activity as part of a development's lifestyle. Some even require homeowners to pay a fee to a resident-run foundation that supports local charities.

The developer of a planned community in Las Vegas reports that hosting major fundraisers -- including an American Heart Association walk -- has drawn large crowds and boosted sales.

Do Something has developed a novel way of engaging brands to inspire, support and celebrate teens -- giving away branded grants.

This year marketers including Frito-Lay's Doritos, Del Monte and Game Stop have teamed with Do Something to fund over a quarter million dollars in small grants.

According to an article in Ad Age, the alliance with Frito- Lay has equipped Do Something with much more than just cash. "These guys at Doritos are really smart," Do Something CEO Lublin said. "And they know their target market. They have budgets for focus groups, they have budgets for trendspotting. They can make us a smarter organization."

Contrary to conventional wisdom, businesses can benefit from partnering with lesser-known nonprofits, according to a study shared with us by our "academic advisor", Michal Strahilevitz of Golden Gate University.

• 11/21 -- Attorney Seth Perlman on CM Legal Issues
• 12/19 -- Susan Knobler of Luxottica Group on "Give The Gift of Sight"
• 1/15 -- Jim Armstrong of Good for Business on "Communicating Your Cause"
• 2/13 -- Mike Indursky of Burt's Bees on "Setting The Natural Standard"

Back in my consumer marketing days, I learned that the acronym BOGO means "Buy One, Get One". Now the concept has hit the cause marketing world.

T-Mobile USA, Inc. has partnered with One Laptop per Child's Give One Get One initiative. Until Nov. 26, T-Mobile is offering one year of complimentary T-Mobile HotSpot access to people who pay $399 to simultaneously buy an XO laptop and donate one to a child in a developing country through the campaign.

In a similar vein, SunNight Solar has created solar lighting for people in developing countries who would otherwise be in darkness or forced to use outdated, expensive, and harmful sources of illumination. For each BOGO light sold in the US, the company donates one identical light to a nonprofit for distribution in the developing world.

A few corporations have made some large purchases, but no major cause-related campaign has been developed. Sounds like a great opportunity to me!

Companies with a good relationship between philanthropy and operating earnings have outperformed the S&P 500 index by 3.5 percentage points a year over a five-year period, according to research by Dover Management.