Morgan James Publishing and Habitat for Humanity

Susan Hyatt — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 21:58:56 +0000

While at Mark Vistor Hansen’s Mega Speaking Empire Event in Los Angeles last weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting Rick Frishman with Morgan James Publishing at a VIP luncheon. After I explained that I work with businesses to make their giving more impactful, when he handed me his business card he made a point of showing me the logo in the lower left corner indicating their partnership with Habitat for Humanity Peninsula as a Building Partner. How great! Such a good idea!

Today I went to their website to see what else I could find out about their partnership. I was very pleased to see they had a link on their home page labeled Habitat for Humanity. Clicking that link to get to the Habitat page, Morgan James was very clear about their support for the organization. They list three main ways they support Habitat:

“Financial support – Morgan James Publishing is donating a percentage of all book sales on a monthly basis from our Global (US/UK/CA) efforts under the Habitat for Humanity Peninsula Building Partner Program for the life of each book.
Public awareness – Morgan James Publishing is raising awareness by promoting Habitat for Humanity with every book we release, both inside and outside (with authors consent of course). Creating press opportunities to promote Habitat for Humanity and prominently on our Morgan James Publishing, LLC website(s), literature, radio spots, seminars, etc.
Mobilizing volunteers – Morgan James Publishing rolls up our sleeves and does whatever it takes to encourage and mobilize globally volunteers with an emphasis on Habitat for Humanity, including getting our own hands dirty!”

The website also said “We place the Habitat for Humanity logo on the back and inside of our books, with a statement that a percentage of the revenues from the book are donated to the organization. We also have a large, Mercedes Sprinter cargo van with the Habitat & Morgan James logos that features our imprints and authors; we drive it to as many Habitat home dedications as we can around the country to raise awareness for Habitat and our authors. From the van, we also give a small library of books to the new homeowners. So at the same time when we are generating funds for them, we are also raising awareness for the organization’s life-changing work, helping low-income families build decent homes they can afford to buy. Our efficient business model, enabled by our partnership with Ingram Publisher Services, makes it possible for us to participate with Habitat for Humanity in this way.” – David L. Hancock

On the Habitat site, on the Building Partners Page, they list Morgan James Publishing with a link back to the Morgan James Habitat page. No blurb about the company or a logo but at least it was listed. An upgrade would be for Habitat to add those for all significant business partners.

I really like that Morgan James Publishing is so clear how they support and promote their partner, Habitat for Humanity Peninsula. They also give alot of basic data about Habitat and the work they do in the community, as well. Definitely a best practice! How can you upgrade your own website to do something similar?

Habitat for Humanity and Wells Fargo

Susan Hyatt — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 08:30:32 +0000

I was in Indiana last week collecting data collection for a statewide evaluation I have been contracted to do by the State of Indiana on their AmeriCorps portfolio. Indiana has a state level Habitat for Humanity organization which administers a grant from Indiana’s Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives to fund HabiCorps. HabiCorps places AmeriCorps members at various Habitat for Humanity Affiliates around the state to help with volunteer recruitment and management, construction, partner family support, and other projects.
I interviewed David Hatch, Director of the St. Joseph County Habitat Affiliate in South Bend about his experience with AmeriCorps. When we were done, we started talking about business support of the Affiliate in general. David was very clear that the businesses that choose to support Habitat also receive business value from their giving, in addition to offering critical resources to help his organization with its mission. As an example, he mentioned their partnership with Wells Fargo Bank. Wells Fargo has expressed to him that they don’t want to “just give a check”, they want to be engaged with the Affiliate on multiple levels. Right now they are using a three-pronged giving approach. (1) Regional Wells Fargo has given a cash grant to the Affiliate to help with expenses. (2) Employee volunteers from the local bank help Habitat build houses. (3) Wells Fargo employees also provide financial education for partner families.

How can your business focus multiple resources which you have to support a cause you care about?

Business Giving Strategies » Habitat for Humanity

Morgan James Publishing and Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity and Wells Fargo