An Idea for Non-Profits

In the current economy non-profit organizations across the US are hurting for revenue. The US has a 9% (I am probably being generous here) unemployment rate and it is not unusual for those currently employed to have taken a pay cut or freeze within the last few years. Just today, there was an article on the internet regarding call centers in India now moving back to the US due to the fact that any job, regardless of level of pay, was in demand.

What does this mean for non-profits? It means that the demands for their services are increasing while giving to non-profits (income) is going down. In this dilemma, I see a golden opportunity for both the non-profits and for companies managing their ever-shrinking marketing dollars while seeing less donation dollars roll in.

If I were an Executive Director or President of a Non-Profit Board, I would begin to look for a company who would like to enhance their brand and approach them about developing a cookbook and donating the profit dollars to my non-profit. This process worked backwards for the Susan G. Komen Foundation because Calico Corners decided to create a cookbook and sell it in their stores and donate the profits to a non-profit funding breast cancer research. After they had raised their first $100,000, the Komen Foundation became the recipient of the funds.

Think about this idea—cookbooks are one item in our society that are selling better (up over 9%) than in the previous year. Companies are looking to get their brands identified and what better vehicle than one consumers are buying anyway and that can benefit a need in society. It allows a company to support the non-profit by using marketing dollars that result in creating revenue rather than just giving profits away off of the top.

Recently, Kroger developed a cookbook by conducting a recipe contest among employees and then sold the book back to their employees and used all of the profits to fund the employee assistance fund. Kroger is a smart company—they created a product that their own employees could have fun with, feel a part of, and yet rather than pocket the profits they gave it back to the employees own assistance fund.

What ideas do you have that create a win/win for companies and needy non-profits?