Build an audience. Engage with that audience. Monetize that audience (with corporate and other forms of support).

For those of you who have been readers for a while, I can see your eye balls rolling.🙄I know. I say this all the time! It's kind of bcome my mantra. For newbies, welcome to what I call audience-centric fundraising.

Now, when I say build an audience, many of you will think of events, which are generally excellent for building an audience. But, alas, not during a global pandemic.

Plan B is to start building an audience TODAY with…

Megan Strand and I are back with another learning club discussion on Thursday, December 3 at 4pm EST.

This time around, we'll tackle the complex topic of racial justice in corporate social impact efforts.

Hairy topic, right? That's why we've invited a pair of experts to join us.

To kick off our discussion…

I had a terrible experience last week.

I was out walking my dog, Charlie. As I headed up the street, one of the neighborhood kids was walking down the opposite side with a little dog I hadn't seen before. It was a cute little terrier just like Charlie, but a little bigger. I thought, maybe a new neighbor! That's when I saw the moving truck at the top of the street.

But no sooner had I confirmed my hunch when I heard a terrible scream. That same kid was running up the street screaming for his mother. The dog wasn't with him….

Good news. No nonprofit is too small for a corporate partnership! Yay...right?

But I would add a caveat: small nonprofits should not actively focus on corporate partnerships.

Yep, it's a waste for most small nonprofits to dedicate so much time, resources and staff chasing and cold-calling potential corporate partnerships.

Why?

Last week I gave you five great costume ideas for Halloween. I also challenged you to share your own costume idea for cause marketers.

I got a bunch of suggestions and have declared two winners!

The first is…

Well, it's October 28th and we can either talk about Halloween on Saturday or the election on Tuesday. I think you know how I feel about the latter, so let's go with the former...

Every October I get the same question. (Ok, not really, but let's pretend because it's like day 845 of 2020 and I'm ready to lose my shit):

Joe, I love cause marketing sooooo much. What's the perfect costume for a cause marketer?

I'm glad you asked. I recommend the following…