Cause Marketing

On Feb 1, 2013 Bushnell announced that it had made a $145,000 donation to Folds of Honor, a cause that offers scholarships to the spouses of disabled or fallen soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines. In total, Bushnell has donated $450,000 since 2010. Part of the donation came from Bushnell’s pledge to give $1 for each download of the song, “What Matters Most,” by country singer Craig Morgan, himself a US Army veteran. But part of the donation comes from regular folks who donated at Bushnell’s website. Bushnell, which makes binoculars and rifle scopes, didn’t break out the dollars for the 2013 donation, but the press release did say that the donation for the song download was capped at $10,000. Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that you and I and a lot of other regular folks donated the other $135,000. If so, that seems like a pretty sweet deal for Bushnell because they get to take credit for a $145,000 donation! But step back from your cynicism for a mome...

In an interview yesterday a reporter asked me why the match between the cause and sponsor is so vital in cause marketing. After all, what if a local welding shop in a small town was doing some kind of cause marketing for the local school. Wouldn’t that be affinity enough? My response went something like this: If you live a place where everyone knows your name it’s OK if the match between your firm and the cause is imperfect. People know your heart and are willing to give you a pass, whether or not they understand your cause marketing promotion. But if you live in a population center where not everyone you do business with is an acquaintance, then the match between your company and the cause matters a lot. My theory is that people just aren’t willing to invest the psychic energy it takes to figure out a lose affiliation between your company and the cause. The ad at the left from Fortune magazine is a case in point. The daredevil billionaire Sir Richard Branson, whose net worth is an est...

I recently read that Aaron Tonken, convicted felon who defrauded charities, celebrities and politicians alike is out of prison now working on his second book (his first one is at the left) and eager to consult with you on your next fundraiser, although he's legally barred from handling money or fund raising directly. You can find him him on LinkedIn and Facebook. He tells the Los Angeles Times that he's a changed man, properly medicated and emotionally stable. A charity I worked for partnered with Tonken who went to prison in 2003 for fraud. The charity lost $100,000 due to Tonken’s machinations, but we recovered the money in full within weeks and well before his prosecution and conviction. That same charity nearly did a deal with Cameron Lewis, who is in prison in Minnesota for defrauding hundreds of school districts of nearly $40 million using a now-defunct charity called the National School Fitness Foundation (NSFF). The fraud amounted to a Ponzi scheme. I knew Cameron. Met...