Sunday, May 15th is the annual Kaiser Permanente Colfax Marathon.  I am volunteering again this year and looking forward to it!  They expect 8,000 runners and over a thousand of them are running to support their favorite nonprofits.

DaVita Charity Partners Program

“Run for charity with our highly successful DaVita Charity Partners Program for 2011! It’s simple: non-profit organizations from across Colorado agree to register runners/walkers (and/or provide volunteers) for the marathon, half marathon or relay and then build a fund-raising campaign around those highly visible participants. With 73 charities participating, we’re the 4th largest program in the country!

The nonprofit keeps 100% of the pledges raised. In 2010, 41 charity partners raised close to $250,000.

When you register through Active.com, there is an option to select the Charity Partner you wish to join.  That Charity Partner will email you directly with instructions on how to start your fundraising.  Already registered? No problem. Email info@runcolfax.org and we’ll get you all set up.”

Great way to support local nonprofits by giving them the opportunity to offer a fun fundraiser as a way to involve supporters and strengthen their sustainability while giving DaVita great visibility for their strategic business giving.

About DaVita:

DaVita Inc., a FORTUNE 500® company, is a leading provider of kidney care in the United States, delivering dialysis services and education to patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage renal disease.

OK…I admit it…oatmeal raisin cookies are my favorite…and I don’t trust me to make a batch from scratch as I will eat them all in one sitting.  Recently, I ran across Immaculate Baking Co.’s ready to bake oatmeal raisin cookies in the refrigerated food section at Whole Foods (you can bake one or the whole batch)…so I decided to try them and test my self-discipline because the package said “Cookies with a Cause” on it and I am drawn to products with cause promotions every time!

The back of the package stated, “When we think about all the folks who have helped us become who we are, we know that giving back is important.  Here at Immaculate, we want to inspire creativity in ourselves and others by donating art supplies, offering folk art workshops, and even holding “giant” bake sales for creative-minded nonprofits.”

On their website, I found their Donations Page which stated: “Immaculate Baking is committed to giving back to the communities it serves. So, we offer in-kind donations of cookie dough (and sometimes, pre-baked cookies!) to special events. If you think you have a special event, please fill out the form below. Please be patient…we receive so many donation requests that, unfortunately, we can’t fulfill them all.

Here are some guidelines for our donation program:

• Must be a non-profit organization
• Priority is given to requests from organizations/ events that align with our mission to nurture creativity in children through support of the arts
• Priority is also given to first-time donation requests
• We ask for a minimum of 60 days notice before the event
• Cookie dough donations require adequate refrigeration for storage from receipt until they are baked”

I liked that they stated their criteria for selection clearly and then provided an online form for requests from nonprofits.  They also had another page which listed some of the nonprofits they have supported in the past, which I also appreciated.

Immaculate also had a page for fundraising which stated, “Lots of folks have been asking us if we’d be willing to partner with their organization in fundraising efforts. The answer is a resounding yes! If you’re interested in exploring fundraising with Immaculate, let us know. We’ll try to tailor a great program for you!” And then gave the email address of staff person to contact.

Nicely done, Immaculate Baking Co.!  (NOTE:  Their cookies were VERY tasty…and I ate them all in one sitting…!!)

There was a Macy’s ad in the Denver Post last weekend for their “Shop for a Cause” program.  The ad was designed to inform the community that October 17th would be their next Shop for a Cause day and that nonprofit 501c3organizations who would like to participate were invited to sign up.  

Interested nonprofits are given special Shopping Passes which they can sell to their network of supporters and volunteers for $5.  The nonprofit gets to keep 100% of the proceeds they collect.  The shopping pass gives an all day shopping discount though I could not find anywhere what that exact percentage is.  Anyway, $5 is not much money so even if people are not planning to use it to shop, it is a small donation to give.  

All participating in this promotion win.  Macy’s clearly wins – this kind of promotion broadens their access to consumers through nonprofit networks and can push up their retail sales, especially on October 17th.  This gives Macy’s good PR, as well.  

Shop for a Cause provides nonprofits a fundraising tool besides the old candy bar and bake sales and asking for straight donations.  The dollars are unrestricted so can be spent either on operations or program expenses.  Macy’s reports that since Shop for a Cause started in 2006, more than $28 million dollars have been generated to support nonprofits nationally.  That is a big chunk of change!!  And the supporter gets something in return for their contribution beyond just the feel good of having helped out.  Especially for those nonprofits with large databases of supporters and regular newsletters, it can be relatively easy to get the word out to a lot of people.  However, since $5 is not a lot of money, it may require a decent amount of work for nonprofits to handle the money collection and shopping pass distribution. But with automated systems, it certainly does not have to be terribly time intensive, especially if the shopping passes are available electronically – something I couldn’t tell from the Macy’s website.  

This is a great example of how a business can build sales by offering a discount and partnering with nonprofits – offering them basically a preset commission ($5/person) on projected sales.  The nonprofit does the bulk of the work and other than shopping passes and some web design work, Macy’s does not have to put a ton of resources in up front.

The Macy’s website offers a list of participating charities by state using a drop menu.  When I pulled up the Colorado page, only four nonprofits were listed under the Colorado Springs store.  There are more Macy’s in Colorado so either they have not yet submitted anything or headquarters is way behind in getting things entered onto the site.

Spread the word to nonprofits you know that need some extra cash – a lot of shopping passes can be sold in the next two months!!