Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I have back-to-back guests to discuss a new cause initiative launched by HBO, Game of Thrones, Omaze and the International Rescue Committee to raise $1 million for refugee services.

The goal of Rescue Has No Boundaries is to bring attention to the global refugee crisis and to raise emergency funds to help rescue the millions of people displaced by the war in the Middle East. 

Our first guest is Dennis Williams, Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility at HBO.

Our second guest is Matt Pohlson, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Omaze, a cause marketplace that raises money and awareness for charity by offering the chance to win once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

On the show, Megan, Dennis, Matt and I discuss...

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Robin Hulshizer, a partner at Latham & Watkins LLP and Chicago chairwoman of Do The Write Thing, an initiative of the National Campaign to Stop Violence. 

Each year, the program invites sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders in the Chicago area to submit essays about the impact of youth violence on their communities. Students write about how violence has affected their lives, the causes of it and what that they can do to help reduce it.

On the show, Megan, Robin and I discuss...

Earlier this month, I had a great time speaking at the annual New England Association for Healthcare Philanthropy Conference on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. (Well, great until the final day when I slipped on a jetty on the beach and messed up my leg. But that's another matter!). 

The conference included a great group of healthcare professionals who posed a simple question to me: As local nonprofits restricted to fundraising in a specific town or region, what's the best way to use cause marketing?

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I are talking to Natasha Collins, BOOK IT! Program Administrator at Pizza Hut.

BOOK IT! is a free program designed to encourage students in grades K–6 to read more by earning a reading award certificate for a free, one-topping personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut.

Talk about early adopters: Pizza Hut launched the BOOK IT! program in 1984.

On the show, Megan, Natasha and I discuss...

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk Debbie Sardone, President and Founder of Cleaning for a Reason, a nonprofit that gives the gift of free house cleaning to women undergoing treatment of any type of cancer.

Cleaning for a Reason has worked with over 1,200 maid services to donate free housecleaning to women who are undergoing treatment for cancer. Since 2006, their partner maid services have volunteered time to clean for to 20,000 women – valued at over $5,500,000.

On the show, Megan, Debbie and I discuss...

On Tuesday night, just a few blocks from my house in West Newton, Massachusetts a SUV careened into Sweet Tomatoes Pizza, a popular restaurant in my town. Two people died and seven were injured. It was a senseless, terrible tragedy.

I can't tell you how many times I or someone I love ate at that same pizza place. It could have easily been me or them.

To support the families of the two victims, my daughter, Cate - a sophomore at Newton North High School - and I have launched a t-shirt fundraiser with Booster. The t-shirt design is an outline of the City of Newton. While Newton up is made of 13 different villages (West Newton, Newtonville, etc), we are ONE NEWTON and act together in times of tragedy.

These are the two people we want to help...

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Dave Altmann, Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, Jersey Mike’s, a sub sandwich franchise with 1,500 stores open and under development nationwide. 

In March 2015, Jersey Mike’s celebrated its 5th Annual Month of Giving, a national fundraising campaign, raising more than $3 million for 180 local charities. Since the program started five years ago, Jersey Mike’s and its generous customers have raised more than $8 million. They'll be adding to this number next month!

On the show, Megan, Dave and I discuss...

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to a true cause marketing superstar: Scott Beaudoin. Scott is a veteran of many top cause campaigns and agencies and was recently named the  chief strategy officer and executive managing director of corporate and brand purpose at RF|Binder, a full-service public relations agency in New York City.

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

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Rosanne Ranta, associate marketing manager at snack bar makerLarabar, about #ShareRealFood, a new cause marketing partnership supporting Feeding America.

With the help of The Real Girl’s Kitchen star Haylie Duff, Larabar kicked off the initiative with a $150,000 donation to Feeding America. Consumers can support the effort by donating or volunteering and sharing the activity online with a photo, video or a tweet with the hashtag #ShareRealFood.

On the show, Megan, Rosanne and I discuss...

If your nonprofit wants to up its social media game and remain a regular presence in your supporters’ online (and by extension, offline) lives, you have to be proactive about tracking and improving your strategies and methodologies.

By tracking the following three social media metrics, your organization can learn more about its donors and understand your own performance better.

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Karen Wu, a leading authority on cause marketing law at Perlman & Perlman, about the 10 Commandments of Cause Marketing Law, a new infographic from Selfish Giving and Perlman & Perlman.

This graphic will help cause marketers stay on the right side of the law!

Megan, Karen and I discuss these ten commandments...

People ask me all the time about the legal side of cause marketing.

I hate legal questions because I don't have a good answer. (Which is frustrating for a know-it-all wannabe like me). "Don't ask me," I reply. "You should talk to a lawyer, or call the attorney general's office in your state."

But I got SO MANY requests for legal information - and felt so frustrated because I didn't have an answer - I finally talked to a lawyer myself! And I couldn't have asked a better one than Karen Wu, Partner, Perlman & Perlman, LLP in New York City. 

Together, Karen and I created this great infographic for you!

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Clovis Siemon, video marketing manager, at Organic Valley about their Save the Bros campaign, a spoof on the traditional charity PSA.

The initial Save the Bros video attracted over 2.4 million views on YouTube and generated a "significant increase" in product sales following the launch.

Megan, Clovis and I discuss...

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Thomas Bognanno, President and CEO of Community Health Charities (CHC) about its High Impact Causes to raise money and awareness for groups of health charities supporting similar issues.
 
On January 20th, CHC launched its first High Impact Causes – EveryKidDeserves, merging leading children’s health charities improving the health, wellness and quality of life of children in the U.S.

On the show, Tom, Megan and I discuss...

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Dr. Lisa Cavanaugh of the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business about my favorite topic: selfish giving!

Lisa, along with Francesca Gino (Harvard Business School) and Gavan Fitzsimons (Fuqua School of Business) wrote When Doing Good Is Bad in Gift Giving: Mis-Predicting Appreciation of Socially Responsible Gifts. 

Megan, Lisa and I discuss...

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Brian Reich, Director of Project Hive, the UN Refugee Agency’s innovation lab, about a new engagement campaign called Refugee Emojis. 

The goal of Refugee Emojis is to spark discussion among Americans around the daily struggles faced by refugees – while also establishing a fun and common language for people of all countries to connect around the needs of refugees.

On the show, Megan, Brian and I discuss...

I'm excited about this new book from Darian Rodriguez Heyman: Nonprofit Fundraising 101.

Nonprofit Fundraising 101 is the first truly comprehensive, practical guide to all aspects of nonprofit fundraising.

And it includes a great chapter on cause marketing by me and my mentor David Hessekiel, the Founder & President of Cause Marketing Forum!

I’m back with my annual list of 10 Best Cause Marketing Promotions of 2015. As always, it was a great year for cause marketing. 

My goal each year with my picks is the same: to inspire you to create interesting, effective cause marketing promotions that raise gobs of money for your cause. This list is just a start. You can find thousands more on Pinterest boards.

Which one is your favorite? Did your favorite promotion make my list, or did I pass it over? Use the comments or social media to let me know what you think. I'd love to hear from you!