Did you know that:

•    women control two-thirds of all wealth in the U.S?
•    women make 80% of all household purchasing decisions?
•    women donate to twice as many to charities as men do?

If your nonprofit is not actively marketing to women and recruiting them, your organization is missing out on major fundraising opportunities.

Join (http://bit.ly/czYQjG ) Fenton’s Lisa Witter, c0-author with Lisa Chen of The She Spot, and Morra Aarons-Mele of Women Online for a free, 1-hour webinar on Thursday, February 25th on best practices for recruiting and retaining women donors.

The moderator will be Michelle Coyle, Director of Nonprofit Services for Care2, the 12 million member social network of (mostly women) “do-gooders” used successfully by hundreds of nonprofit organizations to recruit loyal donors and advocacy supporters.

The She Spot: Best Practices in Marketing to Women ( http://bit.ly/czYQjG )
Thursday, February 25th, 2010 at 2 pm EST

We have a limited amount of webinar lines, so please take a moment to sign up now. It’s free. ( http://bit.ly/czYQjG )

About the presenters:

Lisa Witter  is the Chief Strategy Officer for Fenton Communications. She is an experienced for-profit executive, social entrepreneur, communications strategist, author, blogger and social commentator with expertise in the nonprofit sector, philanthropy, politics, women’s issues, social marketing, new media, international affairs, corporate social responsibility, and leveraging pop culture for social change. Lisa is the co-founder of She-Source.org, and co-author with Lisa Chen of The She Spot: Why Women Are the Market for Changing the World – And How to Reach Them.

Morra Aarons-Mele  is the founder of Women Online, and utilizes social media strategies to help employers, employees and communities connect with women. She also consults with leading organizations on how women can use the internet for professional and personal development. She is the author of the upcoming “Women and Leadership in the Digital Age,” part of the new Sage Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership. Morra writes for BlogHer.com, MomsRising, the Huffington Post, and guardian.co.uk.

Michelle Coyle (moderator) Michelle is the Director of Nonprofit Services at Care2, where she helps nonprofits customize strategic campaigns to reach Care2’s membership of over 12 million.

We hope you’ll be able to join!

We just had to share this fantastic donor appeal letter by Andrew Marx, the communications director for Partners in Health, which has been working on the ground in Haiti for the more than 20 years (and is also a Fenton client).

The letter is textbook when it comes to connecting with women. Two reasons:

1. It highlights the positive. When you’re dealing with devastation of this scale, it can be difficult to talk about anything other than NEED. But the emotional core of Andrew’s letter – and why it compels you to cut that check – is when he describes how PIH’s partner, Zanmi Lasante, swiftly takes command of the situation – a powerful value for women:

Within 45 minutes, they had erected a large tent, filled most of it with tables and chairs for 20 consulting stations, created and stocked a small pharmacy and lab, and established an orderly system for checking patients in and sending them to the next available doctor. Over the next six hours, they saw and treated more than 500 patients.

Wow. Who wouldn’t want to support that?

2. It’s grounded in tangible details. You can literally feel the heat in the makeshift tent where Zanmi Lasante set up shop. These sensory details make the situation much more immediate– and the need for giving more urgent.

Below is the letter in its entirety. If you are moved to give, click here.

Dear Friends,

Less than a week ago, I reluctantly boarded a plane on the tarmac of the crippled Toussaint L’Ouverture Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to return to Boston.

The next morning, a colleague welcomed me back to the Partners In Health office with a question: “What adjectives would you use to describe your experience?” I came up with two: heartbreaking and inspiring.

“Heartbreaking” I had expected, even before I had boarded the plane to Port-au-Prince.

“Inspiring” was more of a surprise. But inspired is what I felt upon seeing our Haitian partner organization Zanmi Lasante spring into action, doing what they do best—what they’ve been doing for over 25 years—working in partnership with the residents of destitute communities to provide quality health care and essential social services.

A month after the earthquake, Haiti is now threatened by another devastating public health disaster—epidemics of infectious diseases and untreated chronic illnesses in squatter communities where tens of thousands of people are crowded together with no sanitation facilities and little access to clean water and food.

Early one morning under an already scorching sun, a team of about 50 doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and lab technicians drove to an open field adjacent to one of these informal settlements—a patchwork shelters pieced together from tattered sheets of cloth, cardboard, and scraps of wood, with an estimated population of 40,000.

Within 45 minutes, they had erected a large tent, filled most of it with tables and chairs for 20 consulting stations, created and stocked a small pharmacy and lab, and established an orderly system for checking patients in and sending them to the next available doctor. Over the next six hours, they saw and treated more than 500 patients—children with coughs and diarrhea, adults with wounds and fevers, an elderly woman with diabetes who went into shock and was rushed to a hospital.

The compassion, skill, and dedication Zanmi Lasante exhibited was truly awe-inspiring. Especially when you consider that they are operating similar clinics regularly at four settlements around Port-au-Prince, and supporting surgical teams at the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince. All this is being done in addition to providing comprehensive health care at 12 facilities outside the city that were already serving a population of over 1 million people before the arrival of thousands of earthquake victims fleeing Port-au-Prince.

I cannot imagine feeling more humbled, more proud, or more privileged than I am to be able to contribute to the work of Zanmi Lasante. I hope that all of you who have supported Partners In Health and Zanmi Lasante at this critical time feel the same way.

With profound thanks,

Andrew Marx
Director of Communications
Partners In Health

The old soda wars used to involve the “man on the street” blind taste test ads. Today, Pepsi is seizing the social media moment and engaging the public to do good. Since women make 80% of the consumer decisions, are the majority of socially responsible consumers and lead the use of social media it seems that Pepsi is targeting the woman consumer.

Their new campaign “be sociable, have a Pepsi” speaks right to the heart of what women want – a company:

1. with a social conscious that does good;

2. that taps people’s collective creativity; and

3. that connects people to each other.

You can see the campaign at: refresheverything.com.

Stuart Elliot, in today’s New York Times, covers the Pepsi push: ”Pepsi-Cola is formally introducing on Monday an ambitious campaign named the Pepsi Refresh Project, aimed at doing well by doing good. The brand is dedicating at least $20 million through the end of the year for donations to local organizations and causes proposed by the public in realms like health, arts and culture, the environment and education.”

As part of the campaign consumer will be asked to vote for causes they like.

I predict that this is the future for corporate social responsibility. Gone are the days when it will be just enough if corporation give to causes. Now, because of social media, consumer will expect to have a say on where the dollars go.

Stoneyfield Farms has been an innovator in this field and for years has been engaging their customers in voting where part of their “Profit for the Plant” gets invested.

This is going to be a campaign to watch. I can’t help but think their female CEO, Indra Nooyi, had a lot to do with it.

Stay tuned…

Lisa and I meet regularly with many nonprofits who tell us that increasing the number of 20-something donors — the next generation of philanthropists — is a major priority.

But how to reach them? A report by Radar Research and PopSugar Media that delves into the influence and consumer habits of Gen Y women sheds some light.

Many of the findings reinforce other research we’ve seen on why women are the #1 target audience, whether you’re selling a product or promoting a cause. Once Gen Y women believe in a brand, for example, 61% report they “share it with as many friends as possible.”

Gen Y women are also big on authenticity. They’re less likely be persuade by celebrities and “experts” and more inclined to trust friends, families, bloggers and others within their networked community (this may include tweeters they’ve never met) to be more unbiased and honest. In the words of one survey subject, “I like to see what everyday people like.”

Little wonder then, that:

• 2 in 5 Gen Y women rely on online user reviews to learn more about a brand.
• Gen Y women are twice as likely to use online social networks to share their recommendations than Gen X women.
• Twice as many Gen Y women say they discovered a new brand from a friend’s status update, compared to Gen X women.
• Gen Y women are twice as likely to rely on blogs to help them decide what to buy.

Establishing a dynamic presence on Facebook and connecting with influential bloggers are certainly ways for cause-driven organizations to walk the millennial walk. But even your web site can also be a place to showcase the voices and faces of funders who can provide real ‘yelp’-style testimonials about the work you do. (If you’re wondering if a yelp for nonprofit actually exists, it does: Greatnonprofits).

Is there an outreach tactic or campaign you’ve done that has successfully connected with Gen Y women? We’ve love to know about it.

Forget “Supermom.” Meet the “Real Mom.” That’s the message behind a recent white paper by Advertising Age and ad giant JWT.

According to authors Marissa Miley and Ann Make, today’s younger generation of Real Moms (Gen Xers and millennials) are similar to their have-it-all Super Mom predecessors insofar as they’re just as busy in their roles as “chief operating officer of the home.” The difference is, they’re more realistic about the push-and-pull dynamic of their multi-tasking lives and less beholden to perfection. Call it the New Pragmatism.

While the paper, which is based on a survey of 870 men and women, is ostensibly geared to consumer marketing, it has important insights for cause-driven communicators, too. Take, for example, these findings into What Real Moms Want:

Put family first: In today’s overscheduled world, Real Moms feel responsibility to create family time. Next time you want a mom to give money or take action for your cause, think about how you can turn your “ask” into an teaching moment for her children by creating kid-friendly content on your web site. That way she can do double duty: do good and pass along values while spending time with her kids.

The New York Times recently reported a recession-related lifestyle trend: Americans are buying less stuff—and doing more stuff together with their families. For nonprofits have an experiential activity they can offer as an entry point to their issue, this represents a big opportunity.

Be more than just mom: Real Moms want to be good caretakers. But they want to have an identity outside that, too. I have a 30something friend and new mom of twins who is hyperconscious about not becoming “one of those moms” who talks about her kids to the exclusion of all else. She also relies on Facebook to stay connected with friends.

For nonprofits, this is a reminder that the causes we support are one way we project our unique identity: they are an extension of our personal brand because they show the world what we care about (think Leonardo DiCaprio and the environment or Lance Armstrong and cancer). Social networking sites are ideal places to connect with Real Moms and encourage them to share their causes with others.

Permission to indulge/be imperfect. The new, pragmatic mom is open to brands that give her permission to be imperfect without feeling guilty. Frit-O Lay has cashed in on this phenom (which they dub “permissible indulgences”) with its 100-calorie-a-pack snacks.

I’m from a family of immigrants that derives intense pleasure from saving money by spending less. My mom practically levitated off the ground when she found a pair of pants discounted from $138 to $21 at an after-holiday sale a few weeks ago. Bargain hunting is our excuse to indulge our inner clothes horse.
The edge that nonprofits have on all this is that they can offer permission to indulge through giving back.My mom, for example, would never buy expensive chocolates for herself: too extravagant. But if I get them for her for Mother’s Day and part of the proceeds go to the Global Fund for Women, it’s all good.

The author, Jocelyn Harmon, Director of NonProfit Services at Care2.com, riffs on a radio spot she hears  featuring Smart Cookies, five women who got their finances in gear thanks to American Express:

“Call American Express self-serving.  Call them insincere.  But also call them smart.  By fueling a full-scale marketing campaign with women, for women, Amex is transforming a traditionally male-focused industry – financial services – into an accessible arena for women. And they’re likely to see their profits increase from connecting with one of the biggest consumer markets in the U.S. – women.”

Nonprofits need to learn to do the same, Jocelyn points out, along with some eye-opening stats and best practices from The She Spot and Marti Barletta’s  book, Big Economic Opportunity in Marketing to Women (Marti was a huge source of inspiration and wisdom for Lisa Witter and me when we were writing our book).

We’re looking forward to Part 2!

While the campaign didn’t target women explicitly, it did tap into two truths: One, men generally hate going to the doctor. Two, when it comes to health matters, women are usually the ones driving the train forward, whether it’s for themselves or their loved ones.

In fact, women make more than 80 percent of all health-related decisions. That goes for what kind of cold medicine to buy to determining whether a doctor’s visit in is order. What this means for health-related nonprofit organizations, foundations and social marketing campaigns  is the subject of Fenton’s forthcoming guide: “She Decides: The Secret to Effective Health Campaigns.”

The guide spotlights ideas and best practices for reaching this critical audience, whether it’s to shape policy or inspire healthy behaviors. Stay tuned for the official release later this month!

Fr. Left to right: Alex McCord and Simon van Kempen (“The Real Housewives of New York City”); Brooklyn Borough President Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and Deputy Borough President Yvonne Graham; and Nicole Brewer and Damien Gurganious (“Biggest Loser: Couples”)

(Thanks to brooklynheightsblog.com for the foto!)

The campaign, which invited the public to nominate and vote for the “small business story that most inspires them,” wrapped today with the announcement of the winner: Sacred Wind Communications, a telecommunications outfit based in Albuquerque that is working to wire Navajo lands with telephone and Internet access. The company will receive with $100,000 in grant and marketing support.

“Shine the Light” is a great example of a campaign that was not overtly marketed to women as the target audience, but nonetheless capitalized on a number of marketing principles and tactics that appeal to them:

1. You decide: The entire contest was driven by public input, from nominations to voting for the winner – the principle of putting women in CONTROL in action.

2. iVillage: This women-oriented online entity, which NBC acquired in 2006, was responsible for creating the online community platform; it also hosted the campaign web site (http://shinealight.ivillage.com) and promoted the campaign heavily.

3. All-female judging panel: Coincidence or not, all three judges were women: Talk Show Host and Entrepreneur Ellen DeGeneres, Fashion Designer and Entrepreneur Diane von Furstenberg, and MSNBC’s Small Business Expert JJ Ramberg. They winnowed the nominees to three finalists.

4. Social media: The corporate sponsors of the contest offered promotional tools like widgets and badges on the campaign web site that people could easily use them to CONNECT and spread word of mouth through their networks on Facebook and MySpace.

The campaign smartly tapped into the growing trend among women entrepreneurs, who make up the fastest-growing segment of U.S. small businesses. What’s more, businesses owned by women of color are growing three times faster than all U.S. firms, according Center for Women’s Business Research.

When Lisa and I were promoting The She Spot, one perceptual hurdles we had to overcome was the notion that, if a campaign doesn’t hang out a big banner marked “women”, it somehow doesn’t “count.”

Shine a Light proves that you don’t need to call out your target audience in boldface to hit the mark. In fact, there are many instances when doing so isn’t the strategic thing to do. The winner of the contest, for example, wasn’t a woman. That wasn’t the point. It was about getting brand exposure among the audiences that mattered most.

This year the Women in Communications association celebrates 100 years! I’ll be keynoting the conference today in my hometown of Seattle.

One bit of information I’ll be sharing (in the spirit of storytelling) is that my parents first new I was going to do something with communications when I would purposely get lost in grocery stores so I could say my name on the loud speaker to find my parents.

How did you first know you were interested in communications?