Cause Talk Radio: The Cause Marketing Podcast

This week on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Jenifer Snyder, Executive Director of The mGive Foundation, about the myths of mobile marketing for nonprofits. The mGive Foundation has supported more than 10,000 text donation campaigns for more than 500 nonprofit partners and processes around 85 percent of all text donations made today. Working with their partners, mGive helped charities raise almost $70 million through text message donations. Who's really giving with mobile devices and when? Tune in now!

In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Aria Finger, COO of millennial-focused nonprofit Dosomething.org and President of TMI, a new youth-focused agency. Aria debunks myths about millennials and explains why the data scientists that explore their preferences, habits and beliefs are the rockstars in her organization. We discuss how Dosomething.org effectively uses humor to engage millennials and why listening to your audience is always (ALWAYS!) the key to your success. Tune in now to learn about marketing to millennials and find out why 250,000 of them signed up to use 'thumb condoms' to stop texting while driving.

Today on Cause Talk Radio Megan and Joe talk to Artis Stevens, National Vice President, Marketing Strategy & Operations at Boys & Girls Clubs of America, about its back-to-school cause marketing campaign, Great Futures. Artis talks about some of the impressive early results from the program, including at least $800,000 from a July round-up program with jcpenney, and the range of cause marketing programs from pinups to collection programs. We also discuss how a large organization like BGCA meets the demands of businesses and consumers that insist that dollars raised locally stay locally. Tune in now! Summer is almost over. It's time to put on your thinking cap back on!

On today's episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to John Kordsmeier, President of the Northwestern Mutual Foundation, about the first year results of fundraising for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation and Starlight Children's Foundation. John talks about how Northwestern Mutual chose childhood cancer as its cause, what made ALSF and Starlight good partners and how it empowered employees across the company to host fundraisers. The results have been impressive: $1.5 million raised in the first year. The foundation learned several important lessons, like the challenge of educating employees on pediatric cancer research, and offers some best practices from which every business and nonprofit can benefit. Tune in now!

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan chats with Eric Friedman, author of the forthcoming book, "Reinventing Philanthropy." In the book, Friedman challenges traditional donor-driven philanthropy and contends that decisions made emotionally may not be the most effective use of personal or corporate contributions to charities. Tune in to today's episode to hear Friedman's contention that the way we give is broken and his suggestions for fixing charitable efforts.

On this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe are joined by James Windon, Head of Revenue for Causes. We learn a bit about the Causes history (you may remember them as Facebook Causes) and how they effectively use technology to run social change and cause marketing campaigns. Causes also helps brands engage with individuals to take tangible actions online and, importantly, are focused on measuring those business results (something too many cause campaigns skip, in our opinion). Tune in today and you may learn something about online engagement, cause marketing measurement or...possibly...why it's a bad idea to move in next to Joe if you plan to harvest corn.

In this episode of Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk coin collection cause marketing with Tim Siffermann, Founder and President of The Siffermann Group. Think nickels, dimes and quarters are no big deal? Think again! Ronald McDonald House Charities raised $27.9 million in 2012 collecting spare change. Hear how this program went from a franchisee afterthought to a strategic charitable powerhouse thanks in large part to third-party administration from The Sifferman Group. If you're as geeked out by cause marketing as we are, you'll be fascinated by this model so tune in now!

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Phil Haid, Co-Founder and CEO of Toronto-based Public Inc., about the need for more risk in cause marketing. They discuss the things that are holding cause marketers back: fear of failure, a misconstrued perception that being first is really worth it, and the lack of a culture of support to spark innovation. Phil will be delivering a presentation on risk and cause marketing at the Cause Marketing Forum Conference. If you're not joining the conference in Chicago, this is a great chance to hear Phil speak on the topic. Phil is one of the best cause marketers we know. Besides picking poorly in the recent NHL series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Joe's hometown Boston Bruins (Bruins won), he's smart, creative, progressive and, of course, an educated risk taker!

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Natasha Deganello Giraudie, the CEO of Micro-Documentaries. Natasha and her team produce 1-2 minute authentic, actionable and affordable documentaries for purposeful companies and nonprofit organizations. Natasha makes the case for short videos that give viewers a powerful taste of the aspirational goals of a cause. She also offers some tips for nonprofits that want to make their own impactful videos. Finally, Natasha tells listeners how they can access a free guide from Micro-Documentaries that explains everything from writing compelling titles and climbing search engine rankings to sharing the video with stakeholders and getting the attention of the media. Tune into this short but powerful conversation!

Today Joe and Megan chat with Chris Jarvis of Realized Worth, the expert on corporate volunteering. Chris discusses how getting employees to change their behavior is much more of a courting process than most companies think - it's all about falling in love. Most programs lack what is called "The Proximity Factor". Chris debunks myths about 'Done in a Day' corporate volunteerism and talks about how the customer becomes the beneficiary in the eyes of retail employees in some cause marketing programs. For the real deal from the guy who knows how to get employees to participate in corporate volunteering programs, tune in now!

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Jon Siegel, Executive Director, TisBest, and Tricia Wilkerson, Marketing Manager, Conifer Health Solutions about ExpoGiving. This new trade show product uses money that normally goes to trade show tchotchkes and funnels it to charitable organizations that fight hunger, work to end homelessness, conduct medical research, and take environmental action. Tricia shares her company's experiences with TisBest and ExpoGiving, and Jon talks about the launch of the product this week at the Business 4 Better Conference in Anaheim, California.

Wondering if it's worth your time and money to attend the 11th Annual Cause Marketing Forum? Today Megan and Joe are joined by CMF President and Founder David Hessekiel about what's on tap for the May Conference in Chicago, including Joe's session on Cause Marketing for Small to Medium Sized Business and Nonprofits. David gives us a peak into keynotes by LIVESTRONG CEO Doug Ulman, Andy Goodman on storytelling and J. Walker Smith on industry trends and also updates us on who will be presenting sessions like CauseTech. He also shares his recent cause marketing speaking trip to China. Haven't registered for the conference yet? You'll be compelled to do so after tuning into today's episode!

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Mark Dority, Director of Marketing for KULA Causes, on how his company helps customers support great causes by simply frequenting their favorite brands. Whether using loyalty points, shopping through KULA’s affiliate eCommerce platform, or shopping with another KULA partner brand, consumers can earn and collect a charitable currency that they can donate to millions of causes across the globe. Tune in now!

Today on Cause Talk Radio, Megan and Joe chat with MSLGROUP’s Scott Beaudoin about the new Purple Index, which ranks Fortune 100 companies by how effective they are at communicating and engaging stakeholders around purpose while still turning a profit. They discuss why WalMart ranked #1 overall and question how Target fell off the list. Check out this great infographic and be sure to tune in to hear how companies and nonprofits alike can benefit from this new research.

On today's episode of CauseTalk Radio, Megan and Joe talk to Erik Darby, Vice President at Kanjoya, the parent company of the Experience Project. The Experience Project is the world's largest living collection of shared experiences and the premier passions-based network. It's a comfortable and supportive place for individuals to share and connect with others around the things that matter to them most. In turn, the the Experience Project corrals and leverages these emotional connections around a brand, product and cause. Tune in now!

Our guest today is no stranger to learning cause lessons the hard way. Founder of Trade as One, an online company creating jobs by selling fairly traded consumables, Nathan George shares what he's learned along the way, why Trade as One switched to a subscription model and how saving the world isn't a business strategy. Be sure to listen to today's episode to learn how this successful cause-based business has grown, the importance of quality control and story-telling and what surprises they've encountered in their internationally-sourced product line along the way.

What's more important to a nonprofit's success, money or talent? That's the topic of discussion on today's CauseTalk Radio. Megan and Joe talk to Lynda Gerty, co-author of "The Abundant Not-for-Profit" and Director of Engagement at Vantage Point. This new book combines theory with tactics, case studies and practical tools to show how organizations can attract, meaningfully engage and integrate all the talent available in the community. Is talent really more important than money? Megan and Joe share their doubts. But Lynda presents a powerful, relevant case that the untapped treasure for nonprofits is talent, not money. Tune in now!

Hate and discrimination aren’t pretty but USA Network isn’t afraid of taking a stand, especially with an army of nonprofits backing their efforts. In today’s episode of Cause Talk Radio, Joe and Megan dive into the Network’s ‘Characters Unite’ initiative with Toby Graff, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs. Toby explains the ins and outs of the initiative from cause placement to RV tours and back again, all in the name of civil rights. You thought activism was dead? You’ll think differently after tuning into this episode of Cause Talk Radio.

This week on the show, Megan and Joe speak to Chuck Scofield, the Chief Development Officer of Share Our Strength, the Washington D.C. based anti-hunger organization. Chuck has worked at the organization for 14 years and walks through the history of Share Our Strength and discusses its signature campaign, No Kid Hungry, and its ambitious mission to end childhood hunger by 2015. Chuck also shares the background story on the nonprofit's successful cause marketing program that has it working with some of the biggest names in business, including Tyson, Arby's and American Express. Share Our Strength is a great organization to learn from. They are mission focused, innovative, savvy and know how to engage businesses in partnerships that are truly win-win. Listen and learn. Tune in now!

Today Joe and Megan dig into the cause marketing closet of Joi Gordon, CEO of Dress for Success. Joi shares how this leanly-staffed nonprofit approaches their cause marketing partnerships and how they've managed to recruit and retain partners such as Dress Barn, JCPenney, Puffs and more. And, of course, Joi explains how you can spread the Valentine's Day love for an amazing cause with the Puffs Kisses Facebook Campaign. Tune in for this special Valentine's Day episode of Cause Talk Radio!