The Boston Globe is reporting that myriad charities are falling short of fundraising goals as financial support for Marathon bombing victims is re-directed to the newly established The One Fund.  

Competition among non profits for cash donations has already been intense in this recovering economy – fewer dollars available from and greater competition for government grants, lesser gift amounts from individual donors, and corporate sponsors are always considering new charities to match their brands. So when a sudden event creates a new cause like The One Fund occurs, well, let the publisher of MassNonProfit.org Peter Lowy say it- it has “sucked all the oxygen from the fund-raising air.”

This is setting up a scenario that pits terror victims against the hungry against the mentally ill against children, etc. It underscores the cost of giving without strategy, especially a lack of loyalty which can set a non profit and its community of beneficiaries into a tailspin.

Companies and foundations, whether they have $10,000 to give or $10 million to help everyone when their donations follow a larger strategy to reach a common purpose instead of a reactionary scatter shot:

-          What do you stand for? It’s more meaningful to the donor as the receiver if there is a purpose for charitable giving. Defining the company’s or foundation’s values allows the giver to be proactive instead of reactive. A mission statement will provide a roadmap for the long term.

-        Budget Where are the charitable funds coming from? Profit? Endowment? Events? Cause Marketing? Employee matching? Does budget also include volunteer time, pro bono services and in-kind gifts?

  Create a giving plan A plan makes it easier to say no to requests for donations, just as much as it does to say yes. Within the plan, start with a tangible and achievable goal that’s not about money but social outcomes, like increasing graduation rates or preserving natural spaces. The right collection of non profits and even corporate partners will emerge, along with events to turn vision into reality. Plus, If you are invited to participate in a sudden cause, like The One Fund, you have guidance to stay on plan or find the funds elsewhere.

-        Leadership Companies whose CEOs and Presidents help set the giving strategy are the most successful. That leadership keeps corporate giving an enterprise-wide priority, motivates the staff to keep the giving plan on task and provides a face for the cause, legitimizing the cause and inviting broader support.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Star National Building Competition attracted 3,000 participants from across the country encouraging public and private enterprises to improve their energy efficiency.  From a nursing home in Skowhegan, Maine to an office park in La Jolla, California, the program was a success and created a model for other businesses to follow.

Overall competitors saved a total of more than 3 billion kBtus of energy and $50 million on utility bills. These savings reduced annual greenhouse gas emissions equal to the electricity used by more than 40,000 homes. The top winner is Demarest Elementary School of Bloomfield, NJ which cut its energy use by a whopping 52 percent in a single year.

In addition to saving energy, the program encouraged water conservation too. A branch of Webster Bank in Brockton, MA, logged an impressive 80 percent water use reduction to come out on top of 500 competitors that also worked to cut water use with help from EPA’s WaterSense program.                                                             

These results came one building at a time – 20 of which were are in Maine. Cedar Ridge Center, a nursing home in rural Skowhegan, reduced its energy use by 58.6 percent, for an annual savings of nearly $16,000.

Cedar Hill Center nursing home in Skowhegan, Maine cut its energy consumption by 58 percent.

A Texas convenience store cut its energy bills by more than $17,000. The first order of business was to be sure all their electronics and equipment was in correct working order. Sounds simple, but it is a commonly overlooked loss center. Then they retrofit the store’s lighting with energy saving bulbs that had the added benefit of brightening the floors.

As the facilities manager of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Courthouse in Newark, NJ Mark Dremel says, “The cliché ‘if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it’ applies to conserving energy too. You need to spend time and review and oversee the issue if you expect to reduce energy.”  His 20 percent energy reduction efforts paid off on the bottom line too, with $51,400 in annual savings.

Often it is the dollars and cents savings from the facilities departments that are the first step to Corporate Social Responsibility, the “planet” part of the triple bottom line mission. Energy efficiency and sustainable operations are a gateway to other initiatives, engaging employees and contributing to the broader community too.

Ridiculous you say? The sort of thing perpetuated in backward cultures overseas? Sadly these false rumors and urban legends are popular among our boys and girls here who aren’t getting the facts about their bodies and how they work.

Bad information isn’t a joke. The consequences range from big problems like increased risk of teen pregnancy, to less-acknowledged ones, like girls sitting on the sidelines instead of participating in sports and social activities. Just watch MTV’s lineup and you see it – the show “16 and Pregnant” is so popular that it spawned “Teen Mom 2.”

Just teen reality shows, some say. They grow out of it? C’mon. It was just 8 months ago that former GOP Senate Candidate Todd Akin famously said “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”

How can this ignorance persist when Gloria Steinem, the chief proponent that knowledge about our bodies is power, is still hard at work at 79 years old?

Kotex, the feminine products manufacturer, is taking the lead in a public education campaign to stop the myths, misinformation and embarrassment. Their “Generation Know” program invites anyone with questions to ask, and is debunking myths on tv commercials, online and on packaging. The answers are frank and factual, using moms, doctors and young women as spokeswomen.

But incredibly Adweek magazine reports resistance from the major broadcast networks to air the ads. Reporter Noreen O’Leary writes in the article:” The networks all requested the spots get reworked to avoid use of the word vagina. One of the myths the campaign seeks to dispel is the fear that tampons will get lost inside of users, an idea deemed to be too visually provocative for consumers in the networks’ minds. (Never mind that erectile dysfunction TV ads are allowed to mention side effects like eight-hour erections.)”

Why would American broadcast networks behave like Nepalese state television, a country where girls are dropping out of school once their periods start because they lack feminine hygiene products? Indeed, these girls won’t have the chance to “lean in” with Sheryl Sandberg if they never graduate high school.

By the way, numbers show Kotex’ U Campaign is proving popular with the target audience. Adweek reports “In the campaign’s first month, the brand has seen a 68 percent increase in YouTube traffic and a 379 percent rise in the amount of social conversation.

“Getting consumers talking is key. In the past, ‘you had to dance around the subject like it was a pharmaceutical product, and a period was treated like a disease,’ said Ogilvy account supervisor Terri Mattucci. ‘We really had to push the envelope here. In order to be an honest brand, it’s up to us to be more open in our discussion about it.’”

Watch more here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTeIBu5eQnM

Unity College students protest endowment investments in companies working in fossil fuel.

Student activism on college campuses has spurred broad, popular discussion of serious issues for decades. When I was in college, the student activist movement across the country was to band our efforts together to pressure an end to apartheid, the South African government-sanctioned racism and legal segregation.  Nelson Mandela and Stephen Biko were our heroes as we held campus sit-ins and built tent cities as a way to pressure our schools to divest their endowment investments from companies doing business with South Africa. Eventually, after many ugly years of violence in South Africa, and heroism by risk takers in that country, in 1991 the legislature there dismantled apartheid for good.

Today’s campus cause is divesting from fossil fuels funds. The argument is that burning fossil fuels is contributing to climate change, damaging our environment, displacing and impoverishing indigenous peoples, and no corporation ought to profit from that. As students sponsor rallies from coast to coast, so far three schools – Unity College in Maine, Sterling College in Vermont and Hampshire College in Massachusetts – have announced their endowment divestiture from 200 fossil fuel companies as listed by the advocacy group 360.org.

Universities are just one (important) lever in the growing climate change movement. Concerned institutional and individual investors are increasingly proactive, seeking what’s known as “ESG” funds.  ESG stands for Environment, Social and Governance. Whether investing a 401K or public pension, the quality of the portfolios take into account all three. For instance, corporate attention and care for the environment covers individual company performance from emissions and pollution reduction to updated reporting; social responsibility spans both in the workplace (e.g. diversity, safety, human rights) and in the community (corporate giving and community relations), and governance measures executive compensation, board accountability and shareholder rights.

But, we’re talking about investing. How do ESGs perform? The latest research shows how ESG leads to superior returns over time. Now one of the most influential institutional investors is setting out to find out. CalPERS, the California Public Employees Retirement System, set a sustainability standard for its investments in 2011 and is now kicking off a study to measure long-term returns.

Michael Simmons, Managing Director at Partner at Simmons Wilkes Investment Advisors in Portland, Maine says his firm recently embraced “sustainable investing.” For them, sustainable investing incorporates ESG factors in a proactive, as opposed to exclusionary way.  “Studies have shown that companies with high ESG ratings have a lower cost of capital, and at least over the longer term, tend to outperform,” Mr. Simmons says.

But it still is up to the advisor to set the  framework. “ESG is now becoming a tool used in many mutual funds and other investment products,” he continues. “At this point there are no real agreed upon standards and different investment companies define these criteria in slightly different ways.  The shared goal however, is to find the best of breed companies in all sectors that are continuously striving to improve themselves across these three factors.”

Financial Advisors and Wealth Managers like Mr. Simmons’ firm are now putting together investment portfolios that are largely sustainable in nature. Because of this, they are introducing more clients, both individuals and businesses, to the idea of sustainable investing.  So, for those of us long out of college,  we are empowered every day to vote on social policy and corporate behavior  with our own portfolios.

A Philanthropic throw-back? The next generation affluent look to model their giving after Rockefeller and Carnegie, focusing on impact not institutions.

A just released survey of the next generation philanthropist (Generations  X, Y and millennials) indicates a shift in how they are giving. It’s a bit of a throwback to the style of Rockefeller and Carnegie – rather than be satisfied with “checkbook charity,” they are increasingly more engaged and focused on what measurable impact they’ll make. Further, in pursuit of making an impact on an issue, the cause comes before the non-profit entity.

The survey considered the behaviors and attitudes of affluent 20 and 30 somethings who give away at least $250,000 annually, and was conducted jointly by the Johnson Center for Philanthropy and 21/64. The bulk of next generation wealth is inherited (Mark Zuckerberg not withstanding), as scholars project that at least $41 trillion will transfer as bequests to the post-Baby Boom generations over the first half of the 21st century.

Imagine $41 trillion dollars put to work to strategically solve some of the world’s most intractable problems? This affluent generation says it’s not interested in funding community institutions just because that is expected of them. They want to engage with organizations with which they can connect in personal ways. This desire for close, hands-on engagement utilizing personal interests and skills is a major finding of this study.

And they recognize the power of partnerships. The survey reports:  Along with time, talent, and treasure, they also give their ties – their peer networks, their connections to others. Among these major donors, this connection to peers who can also give is particularly powerful.8 If they work and give together, as they like to do, they can be a significant force.

Where the next study needs to head is surfacing the desired impact. What are the key problems this group wants to change? Would they collaborate? Would personalities and politics get in the way? What would be the vehicle and where would they begin? That’s the next phase that’s the most exciting, that Rockefeller, Carnegie and Gates were able to figure out, and in the process eliminate deadly diseases, educate new generations of scholars and innovate new methods of philanthropy that made for sustainable long term social change.

Ricky Martin and Nicki Minaj promote Viva Glam, where every penny of sales goes to a global AIDS relief fund.

Congratulations! Your company is going to support a cause that’s important to your stakeholders by earmarking a portion of product sales to a charity. But be cautious- new legal guidelines are in place to protect customers, charities, and your company. Based on the popularity of the Pink Ribbon campaigns that raise funds for breast cancer research and awareness, New York State’s Attorney General has published Five Best Practices for Transparent Cause Marketing as a new standard, and to also discourage occasional unscrupulous behavior where companies dare to exploit charities for publicity and profit. As AG Eric Schneiderman says, the purpose of the rules are to “ensure that cause marketing campaigns provide the benefit that’s expected, and that consumers, charities, and above all, the women and families affected by this devastating disease are protected.”

Don’t think that because your business is based elsewhere that these best practices don’t apply to you. If you sell products to consumers in New York State, and promise to earmark a portion of those sales to a nonprofit, then this means you. Furthermore, this is the start of a trend that is beginning to expand across the country, again, intended to protect consumers and charities. Finally, it’s the right thing to do. Here are the New York guidelines:

Clearly Describe the Promotion
Before a consumer purchases any product, she should be able to understand how the cause marketing promotion works, from the name of the charity that will stand to receive money to the actual amount that will be donated to the length of the promotion.

Be Specific with Dollars

Too often companies use an ambiguous term like “a portion of the proceeds …” without being specific. The Attorney General says that’s wrong, as consumers can’t properly evaluate what they’ve been asked to contribute. Instead, if you are running a cause marketing program, be specific, such as MAC Cosmetics’Glam products where the company states “Every cent of the selling price of MAC Viva Glam lipstick and lipglass is donated to the MAC AIDS Fund,” with a link to the fund that shows exactly who receives the monies.

Transparency

Companies should disclose what might not be obvious to consumers, including if there are contractual limits on the campaigns, if charitable contributions will not be made in cash, or if a fixed amount has been promised to charity regardless of the number of products sold. By example, SMS Audio will donate the equivalent of 250 meals to Feeding America from the purchase of each headphone. The company notes the monetary equivalent of meals and minimum commitments on its website.

Ensure Transparency in Social Media

Companies conducting cause marketing through social media should be equally transparent as in traditional campaigns, and clearly and prominently disclose key terms in on-line marketing.

Tell the Public How Much Was Raised

At the conclusion of each campaign, the company should clearly disclose the amount of the charitable donation generated.

Common sense? Yes, but it’s surprising how few companies actually make these standards part of ordinary operating procedure. So whether you area business embarking on a cause marketing program, a charity seeking a corporate sponsor or a consumer, know your rights before moving ahead.

Amy Poehler advocates for Girl Power.

Did you know that Amy Poehler runs a web channel to build girls’ esteem? The motto for Smart Girls at the Party is “change the world by being yourself.” Episodes include regular segments like “Ask Amy,” where most recently the founder talked about how to be positive about yourself. There’s also a regular contribution from college students, where young women talk about navigating change, most recently, the ups and downs of rooming with your best friend. Looking for humor? You might like the Meow Meow Music a not-so-silly segment from Poehler’s peer Amy Miles, with singing, cats and a point of view presented by, you got it, a girl. Sample lyric? “If a cat had a pizzeria, anchovies wouldn’t cost extra …” All this accrues to giving girls tools for growing up if not strong, then at least assured that there are others like them and they’re not crazy to expect to be treated fairly or to aspire to greatness.

Meanwhile, actor and director Ben Affleck started the Eastern Congo Initiative in 2010, an outlet for both his philanthropy and activism. The humanitarian crisis in Democratic Republic of Congo is grim: In some areas of eastern Congo, 2 out of 3 women have been victims of rape and other forms of sexual violence.  Tens of thousands of children are recruited to become soldiers, and millions of people are denied the chance to earn a living and provide for their families due to continuing instability and poverty.

Affleck pulled a group together in order to bring to light these atrocities, while advocating for action that will allow the people of Congo to forge their own path to stability and peace. Some of their good works include funding a women’s justice group of lawyers and judges, prosecuting assault cases and training a nascent career track of paralegals in rural areas, and schooling vulnerable youth including former child soldiers, sex slaves, and orphans who never attended school. Affleck supports the grant making by going on the stump, using his celebrity stature to inform, educate and lobby for other governments to intervene in the crisis there.

Actress Glenn Close is also using her celebrity to power her activism. Close is working to de-stigmatize the treatment of mental health disorders, inspired by her sister Jessie’s struggle with bipolar disorder, as well as her nephew who lives with schizoaffective disorder. Close created BringChange2Mind.org, an advocacy platform for the public to pledge not to discriminate, and to learn the facts of mental illness. She was able to corral some other star power to help with the advocacy, including director and actor Ron Howard who donated direction of a public service announcement, and guitarist/ singer John Mayer who wrote a song for it.

Many more celebrities are finding new avenues to direct their passions, beyond dollars but to use their star power to sincerely advocate for positive social change. They’re setting an example for Hollywood’s next generation.

Be Healthy

The Wellness Council of America (WELCOA) created a national workplace award to encourage businesses to instill healthy lifestyle practices. Norway Savings Bank of Maine won their top award in 2011 and has made wellness a part of its corporate culture. Not only does their program enhance overall employee health but added benefits are better managing health care costs, health insurance premiums and individual health savings accounts. Since 2010 the Bank has had a one-on-one, behavior based wellness program where employees meet with a dedicated health coach throughout the year to complete a health risk assessment, set and track personal health and wellness goals. Norway Savings Bank also has a Safety and Wellness Committee to work on projects. So far overall participation in the wellness program is at 98 percent, with some staff evolving from couch potato to tri-athlete.

Happy

For every five years worked, VistaPrint, the online printing company, rewards its employees with a VistaBreak – a one month sabbatical to spend as they wish, in addition to their regular vacation. That’s a benefit that employees love.

But being happy at work is more than perks, it’s also employee engagement, opportunities to grow and the ability to fulfill a passion. Do you ever watch the TV program “Undercover Boss?” Sure it’s schmaltzy, but it holds a core of truth- the boss at top Fortune brands through a corner variety store can introduce happiness in the workplace if they stand in their staff’s shoes, listen to them and then work together to find gratification on the job.

Prosperous

This is the trickiest, of course. Part of seeding prosperity is paying a fair wage for honest work. This means equal pay regardless of gender, as salaries for women in the U.S. continue to lag behind men in the same jobs.

Another area where business can encourage prosperity is through community philanthropy, funding a cause or supporting an issue that lifts the quality of life for others. Jordan’s Furniture is well known for its focus on supporting children in foster homes or needing adoption. Their corporate philanthropy has found permanent adoptive homes for 220 children in foster care and the company recruited another 800 new foster homes through their efforts, helping to put the next generation on track for future prosperity.

A toast to health, happiness and prosperity to all in the year ahead.

What’s especially neat about the Prius is its estimated 95 MPG in hybrid  mode, giving me an 11 mile range running on pure battery. That’s great for a purely electric jaunt across town and especially so for using less gas while driving from Portland to Boston.

Yet we need more public charging stations if more of us are to take the leap and go all electric. The benefits are less pocketbook pain at the pump and an incremental contribution to the planet. While  our family considered a Volt and a Leaf we worried about driving to Boston or to the ski mountains and running out of juice without a way to charge up.

Businesses are incrementally catching on, though, and starting to install charging stations to attract  and encourage electric vehicle owners. A favorite Maine family ski resort Mt. Abram just announced they’ve installed charging stations at the mountain as part of their green initiatives.  I’m counting on those being placed as close to the lift as possible, as a reward for choosing to go green.

Speaking of premium parking, the charging stations give Red Sox fans premium parking access with spots on Landsdowne Street. It may not be a surprise to also see electric vehicle charging stations in the parking lot of Harvard’s Innovation Lab, next to the community bicycle swap. Isn’t eco-chic technology part of the brand image?

Beyond rewarding consumers for going electric on the road, businesses are switching their fleets to electric vehicles as part of their broader sustainability strategies. Frito Lay is a leader in the movement, with well over one million electric miles driven this year. Electric trucks reduce fuel consumption, noise pollution and CO2 emissions, compared to traditional delivery trucks. By the end of this year, Frito-Lay will have more than 275 electric trucks deployed in the U.S., making Frito-Lay the largest commercial fleet of all-electric trucks in the country.

Neat.

Rapper The Game got out of Compton; promotes new album Jesus Piece

Chart-topping rapper The Game was an in-studio guest on The Howard Stern Show Monday and shared a story that depicted what sounded like a scene from another country. Perhaps those in Los Angeles take the multi-generational, intractable culture that is Compton as there to stay, but the matter-of-factness and rawness of the violence there was stunning and tragic to those who don’t live there.

The Game talked about his parents routinely preparing guns for gang warfare in front of their 15 children, the would-be-rapper among them. The family business was drug dealing- mom and dad, then passing it onto the next generation, where The Game and his brothers would sell anything anyone would buy. Indeed it was a drug deal gone bad that left The Game nearly dead of a handful of gunshots. He says he turned to rapping during his recovery which ultimately provided a road out of Compton, but sadly not all together out of the lifestyle. The Game has had gun fights with other rappers since becoming successful, but when you’re a second generation gangbanger and that world is all you know, the world you witness from birth when you parents blow their dope smoke into the crib, why be surprised? Knowing that The Game’s lyrics may shock, but ought not be surprising.

The Game’s grandmother tried her part. It was tender to hear that she’s the one who gave the rapper his stage name, because when he was just 7 or 8 years old she saw that he was an athlete, playing basketball and other games, and likely thought that held promise for him. But by 16 he was dealing drugs and in a gang.

Of course it’s not just Compton battling the toxic mix of poverty, crime and blight. Newark, N.J. has come a long way and today is home to the gleaming Prudential Center, where the Rolling Stones are performing this week and which was host to America’s Got Talent last year.  At the same time Mayor Cory Booker is participating in a “food stamp challenge” eating mayonnaise and burnt canned sweet potatoes to raise public awareness about the program. Yet Newark’s seen over 70 murders and an increase in other violent crime this year. In Chicago so far this year, there have been more than 2,364 shootings and 487 homicides.

These cities are the classic cases of decades old, multi-generational story lines that feature you name it, poverty, teen births, drugs, gangs, school drop outs, political grandstanding, graft, empty promises , spite, stubbornness and more. And the beat goes on.

There are every day heroes helping individuals rise above, heal and learn, but if there were a solution for a broader community-wide transformation wouldn’t it have happened by now? Take Global Village, the latest ambitious reform efforts for Newark’s schools. Spearheaded by a local mom, supported by NYU parents get regular support, children are fed, and social workers even make home visits. But it’s already shut down once, are these good works sustainable?

The solution appears gloomily to be individual, and it’s to get out, to move. That’s what The Game did. He moved his wife and two children to Michigan, well away from the Compton scene and grooming a new generation with hopefully, nothing to do with the family’s prior business.