Democracy in Action

By: John Davidoff

I walked the halls of Congress yesterday (2/28/12). Literally. I participated in the Museum Advocacy Day sponsored by our client, the American Association of Museums (http://www.aam-us.org/). About 300 museum professionals from all over the US spent all day Monday 2/27/12 going through a fantastic training at the Georgetown University Conference Center. On Tuesday 2/28/12 we arrived at Capitol Hill at 8am for a full day of lobbying for support of the our country’s 18,000 museums. I, personally, had face-to-face meetings with three Congressmen (Danny Davis, Jan Schakowsky and Bob Dold) plus four other meetings with staff from Senators Durbin and Kirk’s offices and Congressmen Quigley and Jesse Jackson Jr.’s offices. I had never done anything like this before. I am amazed at how truly accessible our elected federal government representatives are to the voters of the United States of America. This was a fantastic experience and I am planning to be back next year for Museum Advocacy Day 2013.

*John Davidoff (left) visits with Illinois Congressman Bob Dold (center) and Kohl Children's Museum CEO Sheridan Turner (right) in the US Capitol Rotunda during Museum Advocacy Day on Tuesday, February 28.

A Lesson in Marketing Brilliance: Method Laundry Crowdsources for Commercial

By: Stephen Delaney

In today’s marketing climate, innovative companies realize that marketing is no longer a one-way street. Instead, companies are increasingly engaging in an open dialogue with their consumers. When their company was faced with massive marketing challenges, Method Laundry decided to include their consumers in the conversation. Eric Ryan, co-founder of Method, says, “As a mission-driven brand, we have great consumer advocates.”

Those advocates stepped up to the challenge, allowing Method to produce a commercial via crowdsourcing. Consumers submitted clips of “themselves performing specific actions from a storyboard,” which were edited into one commercial. The week that the commercial debuted, it was the 93rd most viewed video on YouTube. It helped launch Method’s Facebook page, increasing their fans by 68 percent.

By running a company entirely aligned behind their mission, including their marketing efforts, Method cultivated a loyal consumer base. When Method turned to their consumers for help, those consumers jumped at the opportunity to support a respected, mission-driven business.

Watch the "Laundry Room Love" video below.

Source: Entrepreneur.com

Dwight Eisenhower: Mission Driver

By: Stephen Delaney

President Eisenhower had a mission: defeating the Nazis. FedEx has a mission: delivering to any destination and as quickly as possible. It may seem silly to juxtapose the two, a world war and a commitment to rapid shipping. Yet in a post on Forbes titled “The Secret to Success? Stick to Your Mission,” Geoff Lotus, author of "LEAD LIKE IKE: Ten Business Strategies from the CEO of D-Day," draws parallels between the two.

To Lotus, success is achieved by ensuring that planning and operations, logistics and communications (specifically marketing) are all aligned behind mission. He views Eisenhower from a business perspective, examining how he kept all of those processes focused on mission. To illustrate, he names FDR and Churchill as Eisenhower’s bosses and the citizens of the United States, England and Canada as the majority shareholders.

Lotus’ message is simple: no matter the size of the challenge, the most important key to success is to stay on mission. Whether a president conducting an international war or a CEO directing his corporation, remaining mission-driven is the principal concern.

The Utility of Corporate Volunteering

By: Stephen Delaney

In today’s economic climate, nonprofits are seeing an increased trend in corporate volunteerism. A recent article on Fast Company argues that corporations can provide more meaningful support if they lend their “manpower and expertise.” The author argues that financial contributions are not the best use of a corporation’s resources. Certainly, nonprofits can benefit from free training and other pro bono services a corporation could provide. Yet, it’s important to note that this article was written from a corporation’s perspective by Ali Marano, Vice President of Technology for Social Good at JPMorgan Chase.

Do nonprofits agree? Is corporate volunteerism an adequate substitute for dollars? Corporations may crave the PR they can whip up by saying they are taking an active role and accomplishing a concrete task for a nonprofit. Yet, what about the nonprofit’s ever-present financial demands for the less glamorous costs of administration and general operations?

Marano’s counter to this question is that organizations can redirect funds allocated for whatever project the corporation helps with and “invest them in other areas to directly meet their missions.”

What do you think?

For more information on corporate volunteering, you can see the story on Fast Company.

The State of Corporate Philanthropy: How Non-Profits Can Make the Most of Their Current Situation

By: Gene Zlotnikov

At a recent Philanthropy Club meeting I had the chance to hear Kassie Davis, Executive Director of CME Group Foundation in Chicago, speak about corporate philanthropy. Ms. Davis shared her perspective on what non-profits should keep in mind as they reach out to corporate and foundation grant makers.

• Non-profits must be fully aware of what their mission is and be able to properly express their goals to grant makers.

• Do not reach out blindly to companies – do your research. Most corporate foundations have a website in which they clearly state how much money they give and exactly what they support.

• If there is no website or information to determine these specifics, non-profit executives should take initiative in reaching out to the appropriate person within the foundation to see if there is alignment for a partnership.

• The challenge facing grant-seekers is the constant struggle to get a foundation or corporation to listen to their message, let alone provide them with a grant.

Here is the good news: Ms. Davis says that although non-profits have seen funding shrink during the last few years because of the recession, corporate giving has been on the rise since 2010. Non-profits should be on the lookout for organizations that are passionate about the programs they are initiating. They must realize that they are unique and be able to effectively communicate their mission and vision to differentiate themselves from other organizations applying for grants.

To see what the CME Group Foundation supports please visit: http://www.cmegroupfoundation.org/