Looking for a great Christmas gift for the business leader in your life?  Your employees?  Why not give them a copy of my new book, Strategy for Good?  Available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or directly from me below, if you’d like an autographed copy.

Jaki Bent, If Everyone Cares, talked with me about my new book, Strategy for Good: Business Giving Strategies for the 21st Century at the Experts Industry Association annual meeting in Santa Clara, CA. I share with Jaki why I wrote the book and give a brief overview of its contents.

I interviewed Lisa Bowen, CEO, and Jeanie Barnett of Tweezerman for my book, Strategy for Good, which is coming out in February 2011 (Pre-order your copy now at http://www.StrategyforGood.com.)  I was impressed by their commitment to CSR and giving back — and have been a big Tweezerman fan ever since!  Before Christmas, I was wandering through Sephora looking for some last minute stocking stuffers and ran across their Mini Slant Tweezer for “Paws for a Cause.”

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When I bought my last 4 pack of Light & Fit yogurt by Dannon, I noticed the Hope with Every Cup special labeling.  Dannon® is “teaming up” (I like that language!!) with the National Breast Cancer Foundation to “Give Hope With Every CupTM” in the fight against breast cancer.

From the stand alone Give Hope with Every Cup website, I learned “Dannon and the National Breast Cancer Foundation are united to carry out a mission of giving hope. It is the long standing mission of the National Breast Cancer Foundation to increase awareness through education, provide diagnostic breast care services for those in need, and provide nurturing support services to save lives through early detection.

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Lisa Donaldson of Groupon sent me the following email after my post about the new Blacktie Daily Program to let me know about Groupon’s giving program.

Ever wander through a mall and had the sweet odor of cinnamon drive you directly to Cinnabon for a snack?  It is SO hard to resist…  Anyway, I just heard about their support of U.S. Troops overseas…gives you a really good excuse to stop by the next Cinnabon you see!

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Gap Adventures has been my international travel tour company of choice – I have been to Spain, India, and Peru with them – all were really great trips!  Today I got an email that caught my eye, no pun intended….  Thinking about taking a cool trip?Definitely check Gap out!!

It said, “To celebrate the rarity of this calendar date we’re putting our group tours on sale this weekend only! Hooray for the 10th day of the 10th month of the 10 year….errr, 2010th year.

Plus, you can share your savings by helping others obtain 20-20 vision! Through our Planeterra Foundation, we’re raising funds for building a permanent eye camp in Cambodia to treat simple eye conditions and increase prevention and detection of cataracts and other eye diseases. We’ve supported temporary eyesight camps in Tibet for years and value any support you can add to the cause as we help change people’s lives!

To grab your savings and book a trip, head to:  www.gapadventures.com/trips/promotions/10-10-10-sale/

What is on sale this weekend and when does it end?
Virtually all of our group tours are on sale for 10% off. This includes departures from now until December 31, 2010! But you have to act fast as this sale ends on October 11, 2010.

Why support 20-20 Vision?
It always feels good to give back, doesn’t it? Head over to our Planeterra website to see how you can donate your trip savings and support our eye sight restoration camp project: http://www.planeterra.org/pages/projects/2.php.”

According to their website, “In order to minimize its impact on local cultures, Gap Adventures has also endeavoured to become one of the most sustainable tour operators in the world. To achieve that goal, Gap founder, Bruce Poon Tip founded the companion non-profit Planeterra Foundation in 2003 to aid global community development. To date, Planeterra’s innovative focus on voluntourism and fundraising has funded roughly 30 development projects, delivering everything from health programs to infrastructure improvements.”

When I was in Peru, I got to visit the women’s weaving co-op in the Sacred Valley. I learned that since 2005, Gap has been working with the Ccaccaccollo community to develop a women’s weaving cooperative. Most Gap Adventures groups like mine visit this community as part of their tour to meet the women and learn about all the stages of the weaving process; from hand-spinning the wool, dying the wool using natural dyes, and participating in a weaving demonstration.  It was fascinating to see it all live!  We also were given the opportunity to purchase high quality textiles directly from the women who made them.  One of the pieces I bought now sites in my living room where I see it everyday and I remember my conversations with the woman who wove it.  You can see her holding it in this photo I took.

By working with the women of this community, Planeterra and Gap are encouraging them to be proud of their cultural heritage by showcasing their intricate weaving skills. This also enables the women to help provide for their families and benefit from tourism in a way that avoids negative social and cultural impacts.

Gap Adventures pays the salary of all Planeterra employees and all administration costs so that 100% of each donation goes directly to our projects. 

There are 5 main ways that their projects are funded:
Individual Donations – are made online by donors and are matched dollar-for-dollar by Gap Adventures (up to $10,000 USD per project)

Dollar-A-Day Program – provides travellers with the opportunity to donate one dollar per day for the duration of their Gap Adventures tour to Planeterra before travelling either by clicking the check box online, or by advising their travel agent at the time of booking a trip

Volunteer Tours – include a donation amount that goes directly to our projects

Fundraising Events – are organized around the world by us and third party event organizers

Corporate Partnerships – is an avenue that we are just beginning to explore by developing partnerships with like-minded companies that are committed to social corporate responsibility.

For more information on Planeterra, click here.

I feel my insatiable travel itch surfacing again…hmmm…where will I go next with Gap?

This morning I got an email which I found very exciting!  I get the daily emails from a couple organizations offering Denver deals for a variety of products ad services at deep discounts and have taken advantage of several offerings.  Blacktie Colorado is now doing something similar AND 10% of the daily deal will benefit a Colorado nonprofit. Such a GREAT idea!  To get on the Blacktie Daily email blast list, click here.

From their email:

“Today is the launch of the new Blacktie Daily program.  The Blacktie daily is like other programs with one big difference:  10% of the deal goes to benefit a nonprofit organization.

Today’s deal is a $50 gift certificate at MAD Greens, for only $25, and the beneficiary will be the Kempe Foundation for the Prevention of Child Abuse.

Click on the graphic below to get the deal for October 5th and subscribe to the Blacktie Daily.

If you’d like to find out how your nonprofit could benefit from a Blacktie Daily, please email bill@blacktiedaily.com

I am going to click through and get my MAD Greens certificate as soon as I finish this post.  MAD Greens salads are delicious and healthy!  Great way for MAD Greens to market themselves and leverage real good in the community.

In Denver?  Join me in supporting this great new program!

Blacktie is a national company headquartered in Denver, Colorado, that provides members with solutions for raising money, lowering costs and bringing people together.  Currently with eleven offices and growing, the company has worked with thousands of nonprofits to help make donor outreach and fundraising efforts easier and more productive. Blacktie is a facilitator of communications by and between nonprofits and their philanthropic supporters and the vital businesses who assist their efforts. Their mission is to empower nonprofit organizations by providing access to online event planning and convenient, easy, one-stop web-based technology for heightening awareness, raising money, managing events, communicating with supporters and managing critical data.

I have met with Kenton Kuhn, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, to discuss common interests and areas of potential collaboration.  I have really appreciated his perspective and commitment to growing nonprofit capacity and services.  Blacktie provides its members the capacity to grow their organizations using online technology without the need for having a person on staff with the necessary technical skills to make it happen.  Blacktie is a great, cost effective solution for nonprofits to build awareness and manage event sales and donations.  Check them out!

Friday as I was waiting for my flight back to Denver from Dulles, I was reading USA Today looking (as always) for cause marketing ads or articles that highlight ways businesses give back or are engaged in corporate social responsibility (CSR). What I saw that struck me was the juxtaposition of ads highlighting obesity and hunger just pages apart.

From my “earlier life,” I have two degrees in nutrition; my Master’s Degree being in international public health nutrition from Virginia Tech.  Also, having just facilitated 10 community dialogues throughout the county for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) as part of their next 5 year strategic plan development process, I heard a lot of nonprofit folks in local communities talking about obesity and access to healthy foods.

So, perhaps you know September is National Childhood Obesity month. I was struck looking through the USA Today by the fact that on one page was a huge ad for Anytime Fitness that said:

“There is no childhood obesity epidemic.

We heard that September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, and people are saying that 1 in 3 of us are overweight or obese. Well, Mom and Dad, can you help us out here? We need more than reminders and threats. We need good examples. If you want us to play an hour a day, then come out and play with us. Set an example by taking the COAK pledge.”

Clearly, an innovative and smart way to motivate parents/adults to sign up for their fitness services.  And childhood obesity IS a big issue these days.  The CDC states, “Obesity is the result of caloric imbalance (too few calories expended for the amount of calories consumed)…Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. The prevalence of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5% in 1980 to 19.6% in 2008. The prevalence of obesity among adolescents aged 12 to 19 years increased from 5.0% to 18.1%.”  These stats look more like 1 in 5 being obese but that is somewhat moot for my real point.  (For more information on childhood obesity, click here.)

However, a couple pages later, there was another huge ad for Feeding America. September is also “Hunger Action Month.” Throughout the month, the Feeding America network of more than 200 food banks is asking you to take action through the “30 Ways in 30 Days” campaign. Whether it’s by advocating and raising awareness, making a donation or giving your time, find the way that’s right for you to make a difference in your community.”

Feeding America is the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity.  Their mission is to feed America’s hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks and engage our country in the fight to end hunger. Each year, the Feeding America network provides food to more than 37 million low-income people facing hunger in the United States, including 14 million children and nearly 3 million seniors.

So these two ads hit home with me – what does this say about us as a country?   One out of every four U.S. children struggles to find their next meal AND another one out of five U.S. children is obese from eating more calories than they expend.  Hard to make sense of it all!

What do you think?

I was in Bethesda, MD for the last week as part of JBS International’s Project TAAG team assisting the Corporation for National and Community Service with the AmerCorps State and National meetings with about 400 attendees attending 5 different content tracks.  I was directly supporting the Board Member Institute for governor-appointed state service commissioners from 24 states and territories as well as 3 national AmeriCorps programs (The Corps Network, Public Allies and Hope Worldwide).

Saturday night before it all kicked off, I had a great dinner at Redwood Restaurant & Bar in Bethesda Row – sat outside on their patio, watched the people strolling around – wonderful location!  I liked the restaurant even better when I saw this postcard about an event Redwood was having last week called “Bark & Wine.”

Tuesday, September 14th from 5:30 – 8:30 pm, Redwood Restaurant & Bar and Bone Jour teamed up to hold a fall patio party to benefit shelter animals for the Montgomery County Humane Society.  The donation was $10/person and well behaved and leashed dogs were welcome guests…and their humans, too!  Redwood offered food and drink specials and Bone Jour provided gourmet dog treats and gift bags.

Bone Jour, Inc. has been in business since 1986. Their mission is to provide people and their dogs with a loving, happy environment for services and retail.  They are dedicated to the craft of grooming and the care of dogs which is the reason Bone Jour has flourished and continues to grow.  On their website, on the “About Us” page, they dedicate a paragraph to each of their three main nonprofit partners with descriptions, logos, and links.  Very nicely done – and STRATEGIC as they support animal-related charities which of course relates to their mission and services.

Redwood Restaurant & Bar is an independent, locally owned restaurant that showcases a seasonal menu featuring the best mid-atlantic ingredients available. Their produce, cheese, meat, and seafood is naturally-raised, organic, or sustainable whenever possible and is sourced from local growers. Their wine list from around the world focuses on small production vintners who practice sustainable viticulture – making wine in a way which is economically viable, socially supportive and ecologically sound.  Their website also featured a page in their promotions section about the Bark & Wine event which I like!  Too often, businesses only have up a poster or handout a flyer or put it on their website – in this case, Redwood did all of it!  Great job!

I didn’t find mention of Bark & Wine on the Montgomery County Humane Society website, but since the event date has passed, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume it has rolled off already to keep the site fresh.  Hopefully they also promoted the event directly to their supporters, as Redwood and Bone Jour both did.

I wish I had been able to sneak away from the meetings to check it out – sounds like it would have been a lot of furry fun!

I was in Steamboat Springs, CO over the weekend with my recreation club.  A group of us went snowmobiling on Rabbit Ears Pass which was great fun until I hit a bump and managed to break my back…literally.

Yesterday I went to Whole Foods to see about buying some calcium to take – figured it was wise given I have a broken bone.  I bought Garden of Life’s Vitamin Code Grow Bone System – a raw whole food calcium formula with D3, bone building factors, and BioActive Ingredients.

Got home, opened the box and on the lid noticed “For every Vitamin Code bottle sold, a donation will be made to Vitamin Angels and their Operation 20/20 to eliminate Vitamin A deficiency in the world by 2020.”  So of course, I now like the product and the company even better!!  I was disappointed however when I could not find any reference to Vitamin Angels on the Garden of Life website – I would recommend they do add a section to show their customers about their support of this worthy effort. Not mentioning it is a lost opportunity to have their customers appreciate them even more.

The Vitamin Angels website says, “Our mission is to mobilize and deploy private sector resources to advance availability, access and use of micronutrients, especially vitamin A, by newborns, infants and children in need. Vitamin Angels reduces child mortality worldwide by connecting essential nutrients, especially vitamin A, with infants and children under five. Essential nutrients enable young immune systems to fight infectious diseases, helping children attain good health and the opportunity to lead meaningful and productive lives.”

The Vitamin Angels website does have a section which lists its business partners. “Show your support by shopping with our partners. With every purchase you make, we are one step closer to achieving our mission of giving children around the world the foundation to lead a meaningful and productive life.”  Garden of Life is listed with a link back to the Garden of Life’s website which is great.  Good job Vitamin Angels!