Give Now or Forever Hold Your Peace

Splashed across the cover of this past weekend’s edition of the Sunday newspaper supplement, USA Weekend, was a story on “How Your Wedding Can Make a Difference,” introducing engaged couples to the “concept of weaving a dose of altruism into nuptials as a way to launch a couple’s married life with special purpose.”

Apparently, according to the article, more than 2,000 couples have already registered with the Washington, D.C.-based I Do Foundation, magnanimously adding philanthropy to their wedding day vows.

It’s the “pay it forward” principle, really – a novel, noble idea rearing its beautiful, benevolent head in stark contrast to the traditional wedding registry.

Let’s see, you can either shell out for another toaster oven, coffee maker, stainless steel colander or five-speed blender for a bride and groom who already have everything or you can provide food, water, shelter and clothing for a poor, hungry family who are living in squalor and on the verge of starvation.

Given such a choice, I’m thinking most, if not all, wedding guests would gladly consent to the latter proposal. So in a perfect world, the I Do Foundation signs up future newlyweds, and their respective constituencies fall in line. That’s easier said than done, however, as those about to tie the knot can’t help but be preoccupied and have other things competing for their attention.

Marketing Miscellany II

Every once in a while, a growing legion of Seth Godin devotees, myself included, receive an email from the bestselling author, entrepreneur and self-proclaimed “agent of change” himself, reminding us that fresh, new content has been posted on his Web site. I’m there in seconds. And on my most recent visit, as always, there was the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, as he had just announced the launch of his latest brainchild, ChangeThis, a revolutionary, new non-profit medium with the noble intention of facilitating the spread of manifestos – “thoughtful, rational, constructive arguments about important issues” – in order to “help people change their minds to a more productive point of view.” I don’t know about you, but any business model that can use one of my all-time favorite movie lines – Jerry Maguire’s “Help me, help you” – to describe itself, has my ringing endorsement….

Speaking of nobility: Remember those Lance Armstrong yellow wristbands we talked about here nearly a month ago? In a direct mail fundraising appeal I had received from the Lance Armstrong Foundation last month, Lance was quoted as saying, “Ultimately, we want five million people worldwide to wear LIVE STRONG yellow wristbands.” On July 27, I wrote: “That’s a lot of wristbands, sure, but you won’t find me betting against Lance.” Well, sure enough, the August 15 edition of the Boston Sunday Herald reported that the wristbands have “become one of the hottest fashion trends this summer” with about eight million sold so far. Mine, along with who knows how many others, is on back-order. D’oh….

And finally, my wife, Barbara, and I just realized that the neighborhood block party we host annually just happens to fall this year on the three-year anniversary of that awful, ill-fated day that will live forever in infamy – September 11. So while writing our invitations, we decided to add a request for donations to Heroic Choices, a nonprofit organization originally founded as The Todd M. Beamer Foundation in memory of Todd Beamer, one of the heroes aboard United Flight 93 on September 11, 2001. I didn’t think of it till now, but I guess you could say that in a very small way, this is our own little manifesto, our own personal way of helping people change their minds to a more productive point of view, one neighbor at a time.

Like Two Sticks Rubbed Together

Wednesday, August 11, 2004 – Coinciding with last weekend’s Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC), a 192-mile bike ride for charity involving nearly 4,000 cyclists, the August 8th edition of the Boston Sunday Globe ran a timely, insightful article on the growing popularity of pledge-based fundraising events. Such sponsored “athons,” as the Globe referred to them, make up a “$1 billion industry,” according to the newspaper, and apparently the PMC people are the leaders of the pack.

“No other athletic event raises or contributes more money to charity than the PMC,” proclaims the organization’s Web site. “Since 1980, thousands of PMC cyclists have raised more than $102 million for cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through its Jimmy Fund.”

Good for them. And good for those on the receiving end of all those charitable dollars. We’re talking about a classic win-win situation. Which is precisely why pledge-based fundraising events are such a monstrous slam dunk in the minds of all concerned. The donor base feels good about lending financial assistance to the cause because the appeals have been made on such a deeply personal level. The gifts are made out of altruism, but sponsors are also being loyal to a friend, relative or colleague who just so happens to be selflessly participating in a physically challenging, emotionally demanding event for an almost unimaginable greater good. We’re talking about the ultimate coalition of generous, like-hearted people, an unbroken chain of volunteers and philanthropists, athletes and advocates, all enduringly bound together on behalf of one common cause.

That was certainly my experience when I ran the Boston Athletic Association’s Boston Marathon in 2003 and 2002 for The Home for Little Wanderers, and in 1996 for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute as a member of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team. All three times I mailed more than 100 letters to everyone I knew, asking them to sponsor my run with their own charitable contribution. And all three times the response rates were well off the charts, over 50% with an average gift around $45, raising thousands of dollars that might otherwise have been left on the table.

But frankly, I would chalk up such overwhelming success more to the awesome premise behind this unique fundraising model than to the aura surrounding the actual event and participants themselves. Instead of receiving a relatively impersonal mass appeal from a large, unfamiliar entity, my audience was being introduced to a wonderful, worthy cause by someone they could trust, someone who was willing to go the distance to help finance better lives for the less fortunate among us.

That’s certainly the idea behind all these pledge-based fundraising events: to harness all that unchanneled, unlimited camaraderie that lives and breathes between participants and sponsors, then, like two sticks rubbed together, to watch it catch fire.

Two Ways to Raise a Dollar for the DNC

Tuesday, August 3, 2004 – I could have sworn I saw John Kerry wearing one of Lance Armstrong’s yellow wristbands on one of his televised campaign stops just prior to touching down in Boston for the Democratic National Convention. Good for him. Not that he needs it, but such strength by association certainly can’t hurt.

Coincidentally, like Lance, John also knows a thing or two – literally – about timing a direct mail drop. Because less than 48 hours after he accepted the nomination on the floor of the FleetCenter, my wife, Barbara, and I were on the receiving end of not one, but two direct mail appeals from this indefatigable presidential candidate for campaign contributions to the Democratic National Committee.

One of these appeals was mailed in an oversized, faux “overnight” envelope, emblazoned with the words “Extremely Urgent Letter” in big, block letters. The strategy and tactics for this one, of course, were straight out of the Herschell Gordon Lewis school of verisimilitude – that is, from the get-go, the appearance of truth was firmly established. In this case, I was given the impression that Senator Kerry’s words were dashed off at the 11th hour, literally.

“I am rushing this message to you just hours after accepting the Democratic nomination,” wrote the presidential contender at the top of the enclosed, personalized letter. “Our campaign to end the Bush presidency and move America forward is now in its most critical stage.”

Going a long way – successfully, in my opinion – to establish a sense of urgency, this “emergency” appeal certainly got my attention, if not my contribution.

The other appeal to arrive at my home address in such timely fashion was a traditional #10 envelope package bearing no resemblance to the aforementioned “overnight” effort except for its reply form, which, if it hadn’t featured a different affirmation line and gift array, was almost identical, all the way down to the headline, “Personal Reply to John Kerry.”

“This will be a long and challenging campaign,” read this appeal. “But with your energy, enthusiasm and financial support, I know we can win. Help bring that victory a step closer right now by rushing as generous a gift as you can possibly afford to DNC headquarters today.”

Ironically, the beauty of this effort lay in its understated, modest look and feel, in stark contrast to the loud, hard-hitting graphics on the outside of the “overnight” package – although it remains to be seen which approach will yield the best results.