David Hancock with Morgan James Publishing wrote a nice blog post, To Give is To Receive, on the Digitizer Group Blog encouraging businesses to think about ways to be involved with causes beyond just writing a check.  Here is the link.

Nonprofits always are seeking cash donations and if you have dollars to give, they of course appreciate that.  However, if you are looking to offer your company and employees a deeper, richer experience with the community…chances are giving cash alone will not do it.  There are so many other ways to offer much needed support to causes.  I have a menu of 65 ways that I use with my clients to help them figure out what combination of giving approaches works best for their specific situation.  Think of your giving as a portfolio.  Cash may be one thing you offer…but what other resources do you have or have access to?

I had the opportunity to interview David Eisner, the former CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service, in October about his sense of current trends in business giving.  During our time, he mentioned that one thing that gets in the way of businesses thinking beyond checkbook philanthropy is in fact nonprofits themselves.  Many of them are still firmly rooted in the “tin cup” mentality of charitable donations and do not think partnership with benefits for both organizations.  Hence, when you are approached, you may be asked for a donation.  I encourage you to engage in a different conversation with the nonprofit rep about what else you could do to support their efforts.  You may be surprised what can develop!

My forthcoming book on business giving strategies outlines the range of ways to make a real difference in the community through contributions of dollars, time, and other resources as well as commerce-based promotions and relationships.

Last weekend I attended Mark Victor Hansen‘s  MEGASpeaking Empire event in Los Angeles as part of Brendon Burchard’s Center Ring.  Brendon was a featured speaker at the event and did his usual fabulous job!

While I was there, I was very interested to learn of Mark Victor Hansen’s Foundation.  Its mission is “to end global poverty by promoting entrepreneurial literacy on this planet.”  The MVH Foundation currently sponsors four programs.  Check them out by clicking the links. 

The Soul Solution Program – Pathways out of Poverty

The Young Entrepreneurial Challenge – Developing Visionaries

Free Enterprise Scholarship Program – Empowering Young Adults

The Bookmarks Program – Building Bridges to Education

During the MegaSpeaking event, Mark’s event volunteers distibuted envelopes to all attendees so we could make donations to the MVH Foundation as part of our thanks for the value we were receiving from the event.  Volunteers collected the envelopes and then drew one name to receive one of Mark’s products as a thank you.  What a great way to promote the MVH Foundation, increase its visibility, and get needed resources.

The donation envelopes were also available at the MVH Foundation’s display table outside the ballroom.  I liked that the envelope gave the option of contributing as an individual or business either as a one-time gift or a monthly contribution.  They had a nice graphic featuring three levels in the Monthly Donor Program of $25, $50, and $100 though one could select a different amount above.  Nicely done!

At the MegaSpeaking event, the MVH Foundation also had a silent auction of products and services donated by the various speakers and exhibitors with the proceeds to be given to the Foundation.  I bid on the new WOW Factor Program, the Take-Home Experience for Speakers, Authors, Entrepreneurs and Others That Make Presentations created and donated by Lynn Rose, who also is also an amazing singer.  Lynn is fabulous, check out her music – I bought her latest CD and am loving it!  Lynn has a great heart and is giving back in some unique ways - I’ll do another post just on her soon!  Unfortunately, I did not have the winning bid but the Director of the MVH Foundation called and personally left me a message to let me know and thank me for my support.  Now THAT’S GREAT customer service.  You can be sure I am now even more intersted in supporting their work!  The personal touch goes a LONG way…too many other nonprofits and foundations still need to learn that lesson!

Doing research online after I got home, I really liked how clear the MVH Foundation’s webpage was on how to get involved with their efforts to alleviate poverty. This makes it very easy for a business or individual to know the range of options available to participate – everything from a attending their big upcoming fundraiser called the Soul Motion Ball to donating a silent auction item.  Specifically, the page provided information on how to,

“Attend the Soul Motion Ball—Rockin’ The Universe

January 31, 2009 6:30-11:30, with the Global Humanity Pre-Event VIP Reception from 5:30-6:30pm
The Irvine Marriott Hotel
18000 Von Karman Avenue
Irvine, California 92612″

as well as how to make a contribution, donate online or by mail or phone, workplace giving, gifts to honor someone special, gifts of stock, leave a legacy, and/or contribute an auction item.

All in all, it’s a great model!  While I was on the MVH Foundation website’s Visionaries Page, I noticed that Rick Frishman with Morgan James Publishing that I wrote a blog post about a couple days ago is on the Board of Directors which is great!  So be sure to go check it all out!  On the MVH Foundation’s home page, you can sign up to receive Mark’s free 114 page eBook, the Miracle of Tithing.  I signed up, did the downloaded and now look forward to reading it!

Mark’s next event is MEGABook Marketing.  If the event MEGABook is anything like the MEGA Speaking event, it is sure to be inspiring.

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:

1. “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.
2. 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. 
3. 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?