Is cause-related marketing counterproductive?
Eileen Alt Powell’s story today suggests that nonprofits may actually be hurting their fundraising efforts by partnering with consumer brands. According to the story, the Susan G. Komen Foundation raises 10-12% of its annual revenues from corporate partners who feature the group’s pink ribbon on their packages. Most folks see these partnerships as win-win propositions, since they lead to higher retail sales and position the business partners as caring and socially responsible. But there is a danger, according to Dwight Burlingame, of Indiana University’s Center for Philanthropy. “The big negative is the idea that potential donors think that by buying a bottle of water or participating in a particular race … that they’ve done their philanthropy, when only a portion—and often a small portion—of their contribution is going to a cause,” he said. “The danger for the nonprofit is that potential donors feel they’ve ‘given’ and don’t have to sit down and make a real gift,” he added. If Burling
