Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Gary Zarr, Partner, at Phil & Company, a New York-based cause marketing agency, on their new report on Mobile Cause Marketing and Millennials & Generation Z. 

On today's show Gary, Megan and I discuss:

• The difference between Millennials and Generation Z.
• How organizations like UNICEF, Arts Brookfield and Amnesty International are creating mobile campaigns specifically for Millennials and Gen Z.
• How to pick the right social and marketing platforms to reach Millenials and Gen Z.
• The challenge nonprofits face in generating awareness with and raising money from younger audiences.

Alyson Genovese has written a thoughtful piece on the Realized Worth Blog on re-thinking charity pinups. 

According to Alyson, charity pinups have several major liabilities.

• Charity pinups and the millions they raise allow companies to pad their philanthropic totals. Companies profit from other people's money - and not from their own giving or generosity.
• Yes, pinups are lucrative, but they make companies look lazy. Where's the passion? Where's the commitment?
• Customers. Hate. Pinups. Point taken.

Alyson goes on to explain how charity pinup programs could be improved. She has some good ideas. I have a better idea: let's get rid of them altogether. Here's how it could happen.

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Phil Haid, Co-Founder and CEO of Toronto-based Public Inc. about Starbucks controversial cause campaign: Race Together. While aimed at starting a conversation around race issues in America, the campaign has drawn a lot of criticism.

Naysayers call Race Together ill-timed and self-serving. But our guest Phil Haid has a different perspective. He describes the campaign as a bold and ambitious effort by Starbucks that while not perfectly executed is unflinching and a great example of a company "walking the talk." 

On today's episode, Megan, Phil and I discuss:

One of the most persistent questions I get from my readers is: "Which cause marketing fundraiser is the best?" 

It's not always an easy question to answer because it depends a lot on your business partner. While pinups, register programs, donation boxes and are great fundraisers for retailers and other B2C businesses, they won't work at an accounting firm. You'll need a different fundraiser!

Still, it's helpful to be clear on which cause marketing fundraisers raise the most money and are the easiest to execute. It's also good to know which fundraisers are lucrative but harder to execute, etc. 

That's the goal of The Cause Marketing Fundraiser Matrix!

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Buddy Teaster, CEO of Soles4Souls. Nashville-based Soles4Souls is a global not-for-profit focused on fighting the devastating impact and perpetuation of poverty.   

Soles4Souls advances its anti-poverty mission by collecting new and used shoes and clothes from individuals, schools, faith-based institutions, civic organizations and corporate partners. They distribute those shoes and clothes both via direct donations to people in need and by provisioning qualified micro-enterprise programs designed to create jobs in poor and disadvantaged communities.

Soles4Souls is fortunate to have many corporate partners, but two of their best are Stride Rite and PUMA. While both of these companies are known for their outstanding footwear, Buddy and his team also know them best for taking bold steps to support Soles4Souls' mission.

On today's show, Megan, Buddy and I discuss....

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Mollye Rhea, President of For Momentum, an Atlanta-based cause-related marketing agency.

With Mollye, we tackle one of the toughest issues for nonprofits - how to identify, sell and close new corporate partnerships. It's not easy! Fortunately, we have one of the best partnership experts in the business on today's show. 

Since Mollye founded For Momentum in 2003, she's helped over 60 clients with projects ranging from setting strategy to valuing campaign ROI. She and her team have created and grown more than 75 partnerships, raising tens of millions for non-profit clients and directing millions in support to corporate clients.

On today's show we discuss...

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Mason Wartman, owner of Rosa's Fresh Pizza in Philadelphia. Over the past several month's Mason has become a media darling for his efforts to feed the homeless in his neighborhood. He's even appeared on Ellen!

Like all great ideas, Mason's is simple but powerful. When customers buy a slice of pizza they can buy another for someone in need. Rosa's walls are lined with sticky notes and well wishes that the homeless can redeem for a slice.

Since the program began last year, Rosa's has given away nearly 11,000 slices in a neighborhood that needs all extra dough it can get.

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Maureen Carlson, President, and Brittany Hill, Vice President of Research and Insights at Good Scout Group, a social good consultancy, about their 2015 Cause Alliances Trend Report.

Megan, Maureen, Brittany and I dig into three of the ten industry trends in the report: data-driven cause alliances, emerging industries and franchise growth.

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Alison DaSilva, Executive Vice President, Cone Communications about how fabulous it is to work in cause marketing - and how you can join us!

Alison, Megan and I get calls and emails every week from people who want a job in cause marketing. Most of them are recent college graduates, or might already be already working in fundraising, marketing, advertising or public relations. 

What they all share is a desire to work at the intersection of philanthropy, marketing and business.

So, how do you get a job in cause marketing? 

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Tanya Coventry-Strader, Managing Director of Bear Marketing Communications at Build-A-Bear Workshop about their Share Your Heart program to benefit Make-A-Wish.

For the second year in a row, Build-A-Bear will commemorate Valentine's Day by asking customers to donate a dollar or more at checkout in their stores or online. Last year, the fundraiser raised $440,000.

Since the first Build-A-Bear opened in 1997, the chain has donated $41 million to charities.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm a huge history buff! I'll study just about any era or event, but I'm particularly interested in U. S. History during the 18th and 19th centuries.

As a cause marketer, I'm obviously interested in the history of cause marketing. I have a hypothesis that it all started in Boston (like all good things do), but I have yet to prove it!

There are plenty of other events in cause marketing history, many of which are not included in my infographic. But it's a start!

I hope you enjoy the history lesson.

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Ken Ungar, Founder & President of U/S Sports Advisors. Ken is a "newsjacking" expert and author of the book Ahead of the Game: What Every Athlete Needs to Know About Sports Business.

Newsjacking, which Ken defines as "When a brand takes advantage of a popular story or topic and inserts itself in the news cycle," is becoming an increasingly popular tactic for companies that want to ride the wave of someone else's popularity. But can it work for nonprofits and causes?

Last month, I wrote a post for Hubspot titled 5 Ways Blogging Can Advance Your Nonprofit Career (and 3 Ways to Get Started). I heard from several people who agreed that blogging would be a great way to advance their nonprofit careers. But they wanted more information on the tools I use to blog so consistently - and on my best days - so effectively.

Here's the list. I've noted the tools that are are free or have a free version or trial. What tools would you add to my list?

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Michael Hoffman, CEO of See3 Communications. See3 is a Chicago-based firm that provides strategy, video and web services to nonprofits and social causes.

Megan and I have known Michael for some time and respect him as a leading authority in online video for nonprofits.

That's why less than a week before Super Bowl XLIX, which will be a face-off between my New England Patriots and Megan's Seattle Seahawks, we asked Michael to join us on the show. We knew he wouldn't take sides and would talk about something we were all cheering for: the Super Bowl ads.

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Joe Hamlin, Director, Corporate Development at Cleveland Clinic about the growth of the hospital's cause marketing program from zero to $750,000.

The growth of the program is impressive in light of the clinic's small cause marketing staff, which also handles sponsorships and traditional corporate giving - among other things.

The two-person team - Joe and senior director Chris McMahan - are a formidable duo (think Batman and Robin)!

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Clark Sweat, Chief Corporate Partnership Officer at Children's Miracle Network (CMN). 

Clark oversees 85 corporate partnerships that raised $205 million in 2014. Ninety percent of those dollars come from point-of-sale programs. And 50 percent of that money comes from just one POS program: charity pinups!

In December, Selfish Giving celebrated its 10th anniversary. For almost as long as I’ve been blogging, I’ve been writing an annual post on the best cause marketing promotions. 

I love writing this post because you love reading it! It always ignites a lot of interest in cause marketing.

Every year, I choose cause marketing promotions that are both successful and aspirational.

Which one is your favorite? Did your favorite promotion make my list, or did I pass it over? I'd love to hear from you!

I can't believe it's already the end of 2014! But I'm having fun looking ahead to 2015 - and looking back at the successes and challenges of the past year. So much accomplished, but so much more left to do!

I wrote dozens of posts on my blog this past year, and I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them. I wrote many more posts for other sites that are definitely worth checking out.

Here are the top ten cause marketing posts from my blog in 2014.