My computer is not behaving well again today.  It hasn’t been the same since Best Buy replaced the motherboard.  I decided to do what I can do to see what is going on and went to Trend Micro to run their HouseCall program to detect virus and malware etc that might be on my computer.  “HouseCall™ is a FREE Web-based tool designed to scan your PC for a wide range of Internet security threats including viruses, worms, Trojans, and spyware.” 

On the page for HouseCall, I noticed the following statement:”After scanning for viruses and spyware, why not spend an extra two minutes to express your appreciation for HouseCall by a charitable donation to Schools Online! ”
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There was an article from Joan Hill, Communications Manager for Denver’s Warren Village, in Thursday June 19, 2008’s The Hub Section of the Denver Post about a recent philanthropy activity of Qwest, the telephone company.  Warren Village helps motivated low-income, single parents move from public assistance to self-sufficiency through subsidized housing, on-site childcare, counseling, and education or job training.

For the second year in a row, Qwest Women and employees provided every child at Warren Village a brand new pair of shoes.  “Seeing the joy on their faces was priceless,” according to Bridgette O’Toole who managed the shoe donation project for the company.  The article also mentioned that members of the women’s organization “asked everyone they knew to buy a pair of shoes to donate” which to me means they leveraged their personal networks not only to increase the amount they were able to contribute but, at the same time, they let others know about their community involvement, helping to improve the company’s image.  There were quotes from both Bridgette and Naomi Taggart, resources director for Warren Village in the article.
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According to research done by the Independent Sector, the value of volunteer time increased in 2007. The estimated dollar value is now $19.51 per hour. Your company and the nonprofit organizations where your employees volunteer can use this estimate to quantify the enormous value your volunteers provide.  This dollar figure is appropriately used for service projects and other general volunteer assignments – not for calculating the value of specialized services offered pro bono.

Learn more about these figures, including how they are calculated and how to use them, go to the Independent Sector website.

Lori Burley, “Mama Hen” of 2 Red Hens, creators of fine baby bags and accessories handmade in Denver, Colorado was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1991. Because of her experiences, Lori set up a goal that her company would a make a donation to fund cervical cancer research for each bag sold.

Cervical Cancer affects millions of women annually.  On their website, 2 Red Hens also gives educational information on cervical cancer as an added service.

For more information, go to: http://www.2redhens.com/helping.html.

As a business person, are there causes which are near and dear to your heart?  Is there a way you can leverage your company reputation, brand and sales to raise both awareness and dollars to support that cause in bigger ways than you can as an individual?  Have you done this?  I’d love to hear and share your story – please submit a comment or email me at sue@BNConnections.com!

I was shopping in the Cherry Creek Mall Nordstrom last week and the saleswoman in the Cosmetic Department gave me some sample products.  One was a nicely done brochure and sample of L’Occitane En Provence hand cream.  When I got home, I removed the sample and while I was throwing away the packaging unread, a photo caught my eye.  The packaging for the sample was shaped like a cross with five panels.  The center panel held the sample and a photo of the hand cream product and its packaging.  The other panels described the main ingredients used in their hand cream and each of their ”True Story”: Lavender, Almond, Verbena, and Shea Butter. 

 On the Shea Butter panel, there was a photo of two African women and a baby with a caption stating, ” Far from Provence, in Burkina Faso, Africa, grows the sacred Shea tree.  Only the local women are entrusted with the secrets of Shea Butter preparation, and only they benefit from its trade, which is why it is called “Women’s Gold.”  Since 1981, L’Occitane has been involved in a sustainable development program in Burkina faso.  Over 3,500 women gather the shea nuts, produce the butter in situ, and sell the fruit of their work to L’Occitane.”

So…I went to their website to learn more.  They write, ”From the very beginning, L’Occitane has been a socially responsible company. The meaning and purpose of the brand are based on strong values: respect for both man and the environment, with an emphasis on exchange and sharing. In 1989, beyond the Mediterranean, L’Occitane initiated a sustainable development program in Burkina Faso around the production of shea butter. In 1997, it introduced Braille labeling on its packaging for the first time. And in 2006, it created the first large-scale organic immortelle plantation in Corsica, to protect the integrity of the Corsican maquis.

Since 2006, the L’Occitane Foundation has enabled us to go even further. It supports three causes in particular: ones that are dear to the brand and its history; literacy and support for women in developing countries; the fight against blindness and assistance for the visually impaired; and finally, the preservation of threatened traditional cultivations.”

I liked that L’Occitane gave details on the website and on their packaging about their codevelopment work with women in Burkina Faso from whom they they source the shea butter used in their products.  More companies should do that, if they are doing such things because consumers like myself care!  I have never given L’Occitane much of a second look, thinking it just one more beauty product company that uses the allure of France to sell their products.  However, now I will definitely pay more attention to them as a company and will try some of their other products, as well.  I want to support companies that are committed to operating in socially responsible ways including not only contributions to help communities but commerce models, as well.  “Trade not aid” is part of my personal perspective on how to alleviate poverty on the planet.

Nicely done, L’Occitane!

Yesterday I drove up to Ft. Collins, Colorado to see my 78-year old Dad for Father’s Day.  I met him and my mother at Christ Our Hope Anglican Church for the Sunday Service before going to my parent’s home for a backyard BBQ.  On the table just inside the door, was a display of coffee from Rwanda.  I thought coffee from Rwanda?  Didn’t know that country was a coffee producer.  The note on the back label read “Drink a Cup and Do Good” and “Proceeds from the sale of this specialty coffee ensure rural growers a Living Wage and provide microfinance loans to the lnyakurama, widows of the genocide.”  Caught my eye so I bought some to look into later.

Doing the research for my forthcoming book, Business Philanthropy: How Smart Companies Give Back, I remember being struck the fact that many of the smaller companies dealing in tea, coffee, and chocolate were great role models in terms of business social responsibility and Fair Trade. 

Going to the Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee website, I read “Most people will not associate the Republic of Rwanda with coffee” (hmmm…so I was not alone in that thought), “but it is in fact considered to be one of the finest in the world – after all, Africa is where the coffee bean originated. With volcanic soils, abundant rainfall and high altitude mountains, Rwanda has some of the best coffee-growing conditions in the world. But given this nation’s recent history, your bag of aromatic Arabica Borbon coffee beans comes with many a bittersweet story to go with it.”

So I was intrigued but could not figure out from the website if The Land of a Thousand Hills was a nonprofit organization or a business.  What was clear was that the Anglican Church was one of the distributions channels for their products.  So I wrote an email to Robert Crow to ask.  He answered almost immediately and sent me additional information.  In his email, he wrote, “The Anglican Church is very supportive of what we do, and many Anglican Churches form part of  the 200 plus churches that support our ministry to Rwanda and drink our coffee. We are very blessed by the Anglican Church and a number of our staff are Anglicans but we are not affiliated with one particular denomination,  we are a business run by Christians with a love of coffee and a strong belief in the fact we are all called to “engage redemption” in everything we do.  Rwandan Coffee is an incredible opportunity to share that belief.”

For more information, contact Robert Crow at 1-866-875-4369 or robert@landofathousandhillscoffee.com. Their coffee and roasting house address (also their mailing address) is 352 South Atlanta St. Roswell, GA 30075. The website says, “Come visit us when you are in town!”

On June 10th in the Denver Post, there was an announcement in the Fashion Calendar about the Riverfront Park Fashion Series.  There are three fashion shows scheduled this summer: June 12, July 17, and August 14th for Riverfront Park in downtown Denver.  Clothes for June 12th were by Garbarini and hair and makeup by Luxe Salon.  Ticket prices were $30 or $40 and the proceeds benefitted Railyard Dogs.

That caught my attention.  What the heck is Railyard Dogs?  So after my Google search, I learned on the Railyard Dogs’ website, “In July of 2004, a group of downtown Denver residents joined together with the Denver Health Department to educate dog owners in Commons Park about Denver’s leash laws.”  Railyard Dogs major contribution to the community will be the construction of a dog park in downtown Denver.

My first thought was this effort not my idea of a critical social problem…then after a bit more thought I realized that having a controlled place for dogs to play off leash was a needed component of public health in the urbanscape.  I took my own dog, Kiwi, to the Chatfield Reservoir dog park this morning and I am always amazed by how many pet owners do not pick up after their pets.  Not only is it gross when Rover poops in the middle of the path and I have to walk around it, it is can be a health issue as the poop from thousands of dogs piles up!  I hope they will “police” the new park heavily and force owners to do the right thing.  I got lucky with a dog that will only pee and poop in her own backyard – never on a walk.  Phew!    

In the Thursday, June 12th edition of the Denver Post, in the Denver & the West section, there was a little article in Bill Hustad’s column about Charlie Huang – owner of two great Denver restaurants – Jing and Little Ollie’s.  The article mentioned that Charlie was in China on May 12 when the earthquake hit Chengdu in Sichuan Province.  He could feel the quake even on the 30th floor of a hotel in his hometown of Nanjing which is east of the disaster.  He is back safe in Denver and committed to raising relief money on the 12th at both of his restaurants.  All sales from that night, 100%, will be given to China to help with recovery efforts.

On the Jing website, there is a community page which tells about their involvement in the Sudanese village of Pakur.

Well done Charlie and Partners!

On May 30th, 2008, Champion, a windows, siding, and patio room factory direct company had a full page color advertisement in the Denver Post announcing their special two day “Military Appreciation Sale.”  There were great photos of their products in the ad, a thanks to the troops statement and the yellow ribbon logo, as well as three additional things that caught my eye.  First was a big yellow multi-point star with the words “We’re Doubling Our Donation!”  all in caps using a bold font.  Beneath it read in blue ” Champion will donate $100 to the Colorado National Guard Foundation for every purchase made.” (Saturday and Sunday only.)  Doing a little online research, I learned that the Foundation “assists soldiers and airmen who are experiencing financial hardship and need assistance to pay their rent or utilities.”

Below the star was a large photo of two Guards in uniform – one male and the other female with the caption, “Come in this weekend & meet your local military personnel & say Thank You in person.”  Last was a photo of company executives making their 2007 presentation of a large check for $19,300 to the Colorado National Guard Foundation.  More than one-third of the full page ad was dedicated to highlighting the philanthropic focus assicated with this weekend sale.  Nicely done, Champion.  I hope you got a good draw from this ad! 

When I went to their website, however, I was disappointed because Champion has missed a few great opportunities to feature their philanthropic efforts and stand out from other window and siding companies, enhancing their credibility and reputation.  They do not have a page highlighting their community involvement on the website that I could find.  When I went to their press release page, there were no releases posted for 2008 at all.  There was a release for the 2007 Colorado National Guard promotion. 

I STRONGLY encourage you to consider adding a page to your company’s website to highlight what you do in the community- customers care!  It can be the factor that tips someone into making their purchase from your company so don;t make the same mistake as Champion.  Also, have a system in place and someone assigned to write and release press releases.  If you are not comfortable releasing it yourself, have your nonprofit partner do that to benefit both you and them.  You may need to provide assistance in developing a quality release depending on the nonprofit you are partnering with but it can have more weight in the eyes of the community coming from them, not you. 

This weekend, I attended Christine Comaford-Lynch’s first Rules for Renegades Summit in Irvine, CA.   It was an inspiring event with world class trainers and over 200 business people in attendance.  One of the trainers that I most appreciated was Alex Mandossian – a marketing guru with many fabulous tips and strategies.  As a trainer myself, I enjoyed his energy, presentation style, and use of visuals and handouts in addition to the content.  As a new member of his “fan club”, I bought his Stick Strategies Program to learn how to develop new ways to engage prospects and customers in my business.  Alex also has a teleclass program on Virtual Book Tour Secrets that started yesterday that I was lucky enough to get in to learn cutting edge ways to promote my book, Business Philanthropy: How Smart Companies Give Back, which will be published this fall. 

I first heard about Alex from Christine Kloser, of Love Your Life Publishing and the Get Your Book Done Program.  Christine is my book coach and will be publishing my book.  Christine’s will be promoting her new book, the Freedom Formula, through a Virtual Book Tour that Alex is helping her with. 

Doing some research, I learned about Alex’s SmartStartGiving micro-giving program to benefit Kiva. According to the email I received after signing up for notification about future SmartStartGiving calls, “SmartStartGiving (SSG) is a consortium of micro-fundraisers with the objective to become the organization that funds the most Kiva small businesses in 2008.  The collective aim of SSG is to utilize the leverage of micro-fundraising to empower entrepreneurs in developing countries to uplift themselves out of poverty forever!”

Alex’s email also stated “In 2008, the final Friday of each month will be designated as “Kiva Micro-Fundraising Day”.  I’ll donate a minimum of $500 out of my own pocket and request micro-donations of $10, $20 and $50 from entrepreneurs on our SSG subscription list … just like YOU.”

The “micro-fundraising” calls start at 8am Pacific (11am Eastern) and will be 40 minutes in duration.  Here’s the remaining 2008 schedule is: June 27th, July 25th, August 29th, September 26th, October 31st, November 28th, and December 26th. Alex extends an open invitation to join in and pass on the word to as many entrepreneurial friends and colleagues as possible.

What a great idea!  Alex is helping raise the visibility of Kiva, an organization with the mission ”to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.  Kiva is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world.”  He is also raising dollars from his broad network to support his efforts with the developing country entrepreneurs Kiva assists.  And, by choosing Kiva as the organization to support, the donated resources go to specific entrepreneurs, not into some big black hole.  Cool, eh?

I plan to be on his next teleseminar for SmartStartGiving and will make a donation – I like Alex and what he is up to…AND microfinance is the cause I selected a couple years back as the primary focus for Business Nonprofit Connections, Inc.’s philanthropic efforts.  Join us!