Dave

We can expect to see more of this as existing organizations learn how to use social media and cause marketing together. While we’ll have many glorious failures, we’ll have some great innovations, too.

@scottyhendo

Scott Henderson’s last blog post..The Back Story of the Pledge to End Hunger (Video)

John, you’re absolutely right on nonprofits acting like a bunch of beggars most of the time. Instead of approaching a donor from a position of strength on the power of their mission and what they have to offer a donor, they crawl in on their knees looking for a handout!

This is one of the reasons I enjoy cause marketing because I can approach a company as an equal. Not only do I represent a fabulous nonprofit, but I have some valuable “assets” to share with the right partner. In short, I don’t beg. I negotiate!

But whatever you do for nonprofit work, you can do it from a position of strength, power and value. Beggars need not apply.

Joe Waters’s last blog post..Phantom Gourmet Cooks-Up Cause Marketing Success

Responsibility is a two way street – agreed. However, Non-profits can change how they use these programs – if they are creative and take 100% responsibility for the mission that they fight. Most small non-profits I know are like this.

In the end, most non-profits have little bandwidth to change how these programs are designed – unless they 1) participate in program design or 2) take away the demand for them (meaning don’t participate – which is highly unlikely).

Board members might not know what “social media best practices” means. But I hope and pray that they know what “sustainability” means.

Begging happens when the contests designed to benefit a small number of organizations that are competing for a large chunk of cash. That is if you go back look at the history of these efforts over the last three years, organizations will go all out, especially with a big cash incentive. Yes it does fly in the face of social media best practices, but I suspect with the economic pressures that many institutions are facing — it isn’t surprising.

And, the directives for strategy might be coming from the c-suite that is looking more at the dollar prize, not at social media best practices.

Contests could be designed to encourage best practices and the reward would not be for begging, but for using social media in a responsible way.
That’s a win-win.

Beth Kanter’s last blog post..So you want a Facebook Fan Page for Your Nonprofit? Here’s the Scoop!

“Off base” implies that there is a game. Games need rules. There are no rules.