I ran across a blog post on Elliot’s Blog asking if any businesses might have an extra ticket to TRAFFIC Las Vegas, an event put on by the World Association of Domain Name Developers (WADND) that they could donate for use by Grassroots.org, a nonprofit organization that assists small to medium size charities establish an online presence (free web hosting, free first year domain registration, free SEO advice, volunteer web designers…etc).  They also match select charities with MBA students to provide business and organizational advice. Their strategy is to utilize their connections within the Internet industry for the benefit of the nonprofit industry. 

Great idea Elliot!  The ticket was a business expense and has already been paid for so instead of going unused, donating it would allow a nonprofit staffer to go to an event they could otherwise not afford to attend and which could help them in their work.  There were several comments to Elliot’s original post - one of which included the following statement.  “I have little sympathy for these non-profits who are typically quite weathly with often substantial income and assets.”

Personally, I thought Elliot did a great thing by trying to hook up a business with an extra ticket to support this nonprofit.  One of the ongoing issues for nonprofits is that they frequently have VERY limited funds for administrative costs which includes travel for professional development.  Some donors, especially businesses, often will only provide dollars for program costs and direct service provision.  There is a misconception that all nonprofits waste money on administration.  OK, there have been a few cases where that was the case.  However, just as all businesses are not Enron, all nonprofits are not wasteful.  In fact, most of the nonprofits I work with are very under-resourced and can squeeze so much value from $1, I am constantly amazed.  How can any organization (nonprofit or not) provide quality services without proper management and oversight?  The staff time and overhead expenditures needed to make that happen are critical and they aren’t free. 

So back to the extra ticket idea – if your business has an extra ticket(s) to some event either professional or leisure, why not donate it to a nonprofit?  If it is an educational event, the nonprofit could send one of their staff and you would be helping strengthen their organizational capacity.  If the ticket is to a play or sporting event (maybe your box seats??) – the nonprofit could raffle it off as a fundraiser, give it as a thank you to one of their stellar volunteers, or use it with a needy client who might never get to go to such an event otherwise. 

I mentor a 12 year old at-risk girl through Denver Partners, a local mentoring organization.  People and businesses often donate extra tickets to them so the kids get exposed to a new and exciting activity which helps expand their notion of what is possible in their life.  My mentee and I had great seats at a Denver Nuggets basketball game last year as well as at a Colorado Rapids soccer game.  She loved it and still talks about it.

What tickets might you or your company have?  If you are not going to use them, what nonprofit organization could you donate them to? 

I read a little snippet in Dean Bonham and Don Hinchey’s column in the 2/2/2008 Rocky Mountain News that caught my eye because I found it odd…They reported that Kentucky Fried Chicken would donate “$260,000 to charity in the name of the first player in this year’s Super Bowl who celebrates a touchdown by doing the “wing flapping” part of the chicken dance.”  What was strange to me was learning that KFC did not sign on as an official sponsor of the NFL or the Super Bowl.  Bonham and Hinchey say “a league spokesman has labeled it “ambush marketing” (a strategy whereby a nonsponsor tries to give the impression that it’s an official sponsor.)”

So what is KFC thinking?  I did a little digging and found the original 1/17/2008 KFC press release.  “In another marketing first, KFC – to spotlight its Hot Wings menu item – cooked-up a big-dollar philanthropic offer for this year’s big game. If a player or celebrity performer opens his heart and flutters his “hot wings” in an impromptu chicken dance, KFC will donate $260,000 to charity in the name of the first player or performer who does the Chicken Dance¹.   If “hot wings” flutter February 3 in the end zone or on stage, KFC will make the donation in the name of the chicken dancer to Colonel’s Scholars, a charity providing deserving students with much needed college scholarships.” 

It does state in the press release that “KFC is not an official sponsor of, or affiliated or associated with, the National Football League, the big game, or any other football-related entity.”  So Bonham and Hinchey had it completely right.  Hmmm…

Maybe a company with the size and reputation of KFC can get away with doing an independent promotion like this through the Super Bowl and not feel much negative fallout.  However, I would really question the wisdom of this end run approach.  Why not pay up like every other Super Bowl advertiser/sponsor and make it legit?  Doing it this way will certainly get them free press but it becomes pretty borderline in the ethics category to me.  It’s clearly a PR stunt first and foremost…and it also happens to benefit a charity and its beneficiaries.  While creative, I am afraid this kind of “community involvement” is what gives businesses a bad name in many people’s eyes and causes them to label all business support of nonprofits as “self-serving.” 

In my post yesterday, I wrote about travelers philanthropy.  As a follow-up, I’d like to share some other ideas with you.  In my work over the past year with the Louisiana Serve Commission which is housed in the Lieutenant Governor’s Office, I have learned about that state’s efforts in “voluntourism” (a term that was new to me).  Volunteer Louisiana, a portal to link volunteers to service projects to help rebuild Louisiana post-Katrina/Rita, is one such endeavor.  “To respond to the tremendous need and the tremendous opportunity facing Louisiana, VolunteerLouisiana.gov was established. Bringing together many of the state’s largest volunteer and citizen service organizations in the state, VolunteerLouisiana.gov will serve as a clearinghouse for volunteer and service opportunities throughout Louisiana. The effort was made possible by the offices of  former Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco and Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu, the Louisiana Board of Regents and the Points of Light Foundation, in conjunction with other national and statewide organizations that have partnered to support and encourage citizens, businesses and non-profit organizations in Louisiana and across the country to join the rebuild movement. ”

The Gulf Coast region still has a long way to go in terms of its recovery efforts.  Unfortunately, the situation has “fallen off the map” for many Americans as it is no longer so frequently in the news.  However, there are many people who DO understand that the region still needs extensive help and who want to be of service.  Instead of just getting in your car and showing up, the site helps insure that a your good intentions and skills are matched with an organization that has the capacity to use the help effectively. 

Again, if your company is looking for a way to give back or make a difference, consider voluntourism either for teams or individuals from your company.  Folks get a trip to a great place AND they get a chance to give back and be part of the solution.  Your company could run a competition, take applications for mini sabbaticals from people who have been at the company a certain length of time and use selection criteria to select who gets to go, or offer a trip as a performance bonus.  Could be fun and a great way to boost employee morale and commitment to your company!

I read Christine Arena’s book titled, “The High Purpose Company” about a year ago and enjoyed it.   So when I saw mention of it in my Google Alerts today, I clicked through to read the review of the book posted 1/31/2008 on a blog called Understanding Travelers Philanthropy.  The blog gives a nice review of the high points of the book so I strongly encourage you to check it out, especially if you don’t have time to read the whole book.  “THE HIGH PURPOSE COMPANY illustrates to readers that a corporation does not have to choose between being socially responsible and making a profit. Rather, being a high purpose company leads to success.” 

Also on the site, you will find links to other information about travelers philanthropy - a subsector of the travel industry that has been around a while but is growing rapidly.  Eight years ago, a friend and I signed up to do an Earthwatch Expedition in Thailand for two weeks.  We paid our way there plus a fee to help fund the project, and volunteered our time.  While in Thailand, we worked with an international team of archaeologists and the Thai Government to excavate and process dig finds – pottery, jewelry and other items of material culture.  It was great – very educational for us – and we provided need dollars and manual labor to help their effort to document the history of the NE region.  And it was partially tax deductable….win/win/win!  

In addition to nonprofits like Earthwatch Worldwide, there are numerous businesses that specialize in helping people arrange volunteer or philanthropic travel.  For example, GAP Adventures (a company I have used for a couple of my international trips) also offers volunteer trips.   In addition, GAP offers other ways that their travel clients like myself can support the local communities where they travel through direct donations to the Planeterra Foundation, a non-profit organization developed by G.A.P Adventures as a way to give back to the people and places they visit on their tours.  “Through fundraising efforts and donations, we support community projects, local non-profit organizations and international charities that work in the places that we operate. The projects we support focus on the areas of health, education, community development, environmental conservation and employment skills training. By identifying projects that specialize in different areas, donors are provided with a variety of worthwhile projects to choose from and support.”  They also offer a “Dollar a Day” add-on to all their trips – an option I used during my recent trip to India.

What can you do? Where do you want to go on your next trip?  While I went on Earthwatch as an individual, this could be something for your company to consider as well.  Could you offer employees a philanthropy/volunteerism trip as a reward for their performance on the job or as part of a teambuilding effort?

As an update to my post yesterday – after looking over many project descriptions online, my company, Business Nonprofit Connections, Inc.’s first Peace Corps Partnership Project support will go to helping a women’s microenterprise project in Morocco titled, Boutique and Neddy Improvement.

The project description on the Peace Corps website states, “The goal of the project is to develop a small store in the existing rural women’s association building (commonly called the “neddy”) from which to sell member’s products, and on a consignment basis, to sell product of artisans from adjacent villages. The project also includes improving the interior of the neddy to better accommodate training and storage space.   The neddy is located in highly visible area on the primary tourist route. It is located in a village with very limited means of income.”

Microenterprise development is one of the focus areas selected for Business Nonprofit Connections, Inc.‘s strategic community involvement efforts as we feel it aligns with our work on strengthening companies and their community involvement and our belief in the value of trade not aid as a way to end poverty.  We support microenterprise on multiple levels – in Denver, the US and internationally.  We are pleased to have a new way to directly support a specific local project that should improve the lives of many.  Helping women with their small businesses provides resources to families and helps improve quality of life of the next generation.

What Peace Corps Partnership Project will you pick to support?