Meet the Cause Conference Bloggers

We are pleased to welcome our two guest bloggers, Heather Carpenter and Jessica Van Der Stad, as the guest bloggers for the AMA Cause Conference in March 10. You can keep up with their reporting on the conference live through these two blogs: AMA Cause Conference and Nonprofit Leadership 601. We hope that you will read and comment on their blog postings. Thank you to our guest bloggers!

About the bloggers...

Heather Carpetner, Nonprofit Leadership 601

Heather has served as a Nonprofit Manager, Researcher, Trainer, and Blogger to nonprofit organizations for over eight years. She earned her M.M. in Nonprofit Administration from North Park University in Chicago, Illinois and she currently pursues her PhD in Leadership at the University of San Diego where she serves as a Researcher at the Caster Family Center for Nonprofit Research. Heather teaches and presents on a variety of topics in the nonprofit sector, is an avid social media user and authors the well-known Nonprofit Leadership 601 blog.

Heather is also author and creator of three nonprofit management toolkits: Nonprofit Operations, Setting up a Nonprofit Office, and Starting a Nonprofit, and participates on a variety of national nonprofit committees including, but not limited to, the Nonprofit Sector Workforce Coalition, the Next Generation Leadership Forum and the Nonprofit Congress. Her current research interests include: nonprofit leadership, nonprofit workforce issues, capacity building for nonprofits, service-learning, nonprofit technology, and nonprofit education.

Her specialties include nonprofit leadership, nonprofit workforce issues, capacity building for nonprofits, service-learning, nonprofit technology, nonprofit finance and nonprofit education.

Jessica Van Der Stad blogging from the AMA Cause Conference Blog

• Resource & Sustainability Manger, ACCION San Diegov(twitter.com/ACCIONsd and facebook.com/ACCIONsd)
• Fundraising Chair, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention - San Diego Chapter (twitter.com/AFSPSanDiego and facebook.com/AFSPSanDiego)

Jessica’s passion for non-profit work developed while traveling and studying internationally as a student. While living in Lithuania, she volunteered in an understaffed state-run orphanage for babies under 3 years old. Through this experience Jessica realized that by doing little things with great love, anyone can make a BIG difference.

Shortly after earning a Bachelor's Degree in Interpersonal and Organizational Communication from Azusa Pacific University, Jessica set out to pursue a career doing what she loved, helping others. In 2009 she joined ACCION San Diego, a local nonprofit that works to create increased income and access to jobs for low-to-moderate income, self-employed men and women by providing small loans and business support services. There she developed a professional volunteer program, manages the organizational resource programs, and assists with grant writing and fundraising.

Jessica also currently serves as the Fundraising Chair for the San Diego Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). After losing her father to suicide in 2008, Jessica found an unyielding call to become involved in preventing suicide, educating the public about mental disorders, and reaching out to survivors of suicide loss and people at risk. Jessica is currently spear-heading the 1st-ever STRIKE OUT SUICIDE community bowling event to help raise funds to create a county-wide survivor outreach program.

In her spare time, Jessica can be found tweeting, updating Facebook, researching new social media activities to generate visibility for the organizations she works with, or just spending time with her two rescue dogs, Bruno and Marley.

Jessica is thrilled to have the opportunity to guest blog for the AMA Conference and encourages all blog-readers to comment, ask questions, and interact!

Community Partners are Key to Cause Conference Success

The AMA’s Cause Conference has grown to become the largest partnership conference on the west coast for nonprofits. But, as with any new event, it started small. So, how has this conference grown to be so popular? “Growth has been mostly organic by nonprofit and business support organizations and professional associations,” explains Parker Pike, founder of the Cause Conference. Each year, many San Diego organizations are approached that align with the conference’s target audience; executives in marketing, community relations, new business development, PR and advertising. The partnership, which requires no financial obligation, is an exchange of marketing resources to help both the conference and the Community Partner. “They help us spread the word to their members through their various marketing mediums.” In return, these organizations receive many great benefits surrounding the event, including media promotion, name inclusion on collateral pieces, and presence at the event. In addition, the San Diego AMA extends a discounted rate to the organization’s members to attend the conference.

But it’s not just the promotion that intrigues the partners. USD’s Institute for Nonprofit Education and Research has been a Community Partner for the past four years. “We believe in the conference’s goals to assist nonprofits with their marketing and to teach people new ways to reach audiences and to inspire them to support their organizations,” suggests Laura Stein, Assistant Director for the Institute for Nonprofit Education and Research. The 2010 Cause Conference will focus on the latest marketing and fundraising information to help nonprofits reach new heights despite the recession. It will include topics such as partnerships, social media, public speaking, return on investment, and marketing leadership. “This is a well-organized, engaging and stimulating event. I enjoy catching up with many of my nonprofit colleagues and meeting some new people, too. I believe this conference is time well-spent for any nonprofit professional.”

The 12^th Annual Cause Conference Community Partners:

• Academies for Social Entrepreneurship
• Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP)
• BIOCOM
• International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)
• Net Impact
• SANDAN
• San Diego Direct Marketing Association (SDDMA)
• San Diego Grantmakers
• The San Diego Foundation
• San Diego Social Venture Partners
• Stay Classy
• TechAmerica
• United Way of San Diego
• UC San Diego Extension
• USD/SOLES Institute for Nonprofit Education and Research
• Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN) San Diego

For more information about the AMA San Diego 12th Annual Cause Conference visit the conference website at www.sdama.org/conference.htm. You can also follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn (members only), and Twitter!

5th Annual Parker Pike Nonprofit Marketing Scholarship

The San Diego American Marketing Association would like to announce the return of the 5th Annual Parker Pike Nonprofit Marketing Scholarship.

As in previous years, the $1,000 scholarship will be awarded to a San Diego County college student who has demonstrated exemplary application of business and marketing practices to help a local, regional or national nonprofit organization that is a legally recognized, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization.

The 5th Annual Parker Pike Nonprofit Marketing Scholarship is due by 5pm on Friday February 19, 2010. Winner will be notified via personal phone call from selection committee member by March 5th, 2010. Winner will be invited to attend and be recognized at the 12th Annual Cause Marketing Conference at USD on March 10th, 2010.

Please help us spread the words about this great opportunity to all students on your campus. Thank you very much for your help.

To download the application, click here: 5th Annual Parker Pike Nonprofit Marketing Scholarship application.

Keynote Spotlight: Lead or Disappear

The top 10 questions that every non-profit needs to answer to survive.

About the Keynote Session:

If you have a great cause but too little support something is wrong. What most potential corporate partners and individual donors say is that too many non-profits are unfocused and undisciplined. Will presents real case studies from 2009 with clients who created a potent strategy and a compelling message to turn donor support into an investment instead of a gift.

About the Keynote Speaker:

Will Marré is the co-founder and former president of the Covey Leadership Center where he translated the concepts of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People into powerful leadership courses taught to millions of executives worldwide. Today Will is an evangelist of socially strategic enterprise that transforms Corporate Social Responsibility into Corporate Social Opportunity.

Will has been a business leader and consultant for 25 years to world leading companies such as Disney and Procter and Gamble. Now he is on a mission bringing his experience, vision and personal fire to the world to create a future of sustainable abundance.

Will is passionately helping organizations improve the quality of their people’s lives and accelerate economic and social improvement throughout the world. Using cause marketing with New York Stock Exchange companies to develop social-eco commerce, Will co-founded the Seacology Foundation that has saved nearly 200,000 acres of fragile island eco-systems and rainforests and 2 million acres of coral reefs.

Will is currently on the advisory board of the Human Performance Institute, a new Johnson & Johnson company dedicated to improving health and life satisfaction measures throughout the world. GE has also tapped Will to help them communicate the “green” value of their revolutionary organic LED lights. His personal passion for sustainable business innovation is also helping the renowned Grameen Foundation lift 100’s of millions of people out of grinding poverty through micro-credit.

In 2004 Will founded The American Dream Project to ignite leaders of the future to develop and find the ideas, tools and relationships they need to create the next chapter in American and world history. Will recently received an Emmy Award© for writing the learning documentary “Reclaiming Your American Dream” that continues to air on Public Television stations around the country.

Will is dead serious with a humorous style. He connects up-to-minute research with clear insights into a river of powerful ideas. As a leadership expert and an unrelenting advocate for a sustainable future, Will always brings his original ideas, unconventional views and infectious passion.

Will currently serves as Consulting Director of the Corporate Responsibility Forum at the University of California San Diego linking civic, non-profit and the business community into a common vision of the future for the San Diego California region. Will serves on the leadership faculty of UCSD extension, the visiting Scholar of Social Enterprise at Clemson University and is a former Leadership Scholar in Residence of The University of San Diego.

Will’s new book SAVE THE WORLD AND STILL BE HOME FOR DINNER was released in September 2009. His daily blog, “Ten Years to Save the World” is at thoughtrocket.com/blog. You can also follow Will on Twitter (@willmarre) or Facebook.

Location and Time:

8:15 - 9:00 a.m. in the Main Theater

To register for the AMA Cause Conference on March 10th click here!

Session Spotlight: More than a Mission - Marketing to the Savvy Donor

About the Session:

Savvy donors are focusing on more than your mission when they make the decision to support a non-profit. This requires demonstrating an effective use of resources, technology, and creativity in operational strategy. This panel of experts will share examples of nonprofits reducing expenses, joining forces with others (like in Balboa Park with combined back office successes and plans), merging with others, using technology to be smarter and faster, and how they research non-profits.

About the Moderator:

Professor John Burnett has spent 41 years trying to mold the minds of young men and women. In his tenure at five universities, and several visiting positions, he has witnessed the evolution of college students majoring in Marketing and has come away with a startling conclusion, i.e., except for technology, they still exhibit a wide range of commitment and maturity. The major challenges remain; to teach them to think, become introspective, plan for the future, share their insights and concerns with others, and find their talents and passions.

Because he tries to practice what he preaches, his own evolution has had several profound changes. As a young professor he engaged in the traditional rituals related to “publishing and not perishing.” His dissertation was on the effectiveness of fear appeals in a health care context. His interest in advertising was born through a tangential relationship with the industry. As a child and high school student he was able to visit and work at the Leo Burnett agency [his grandfather and Leo were cousins]. Since then his research and writing interests have focused on advertising. In 1979 he wrote his first book, Promotion Management, and followed it with, Advertising: Principles and Practices, which is now in its eighth edition and a world-wide best seller. He has also written thirteen more books across a variety of topics, including principles of marketing, crisis management, marketing communications, and marketing for nonprofits. His 60+ articles in both academic and trade journals have considered various topics over time, but most recently he has researched the areas of nonprofit marketing, strategic branding, and marketing to the homosexual market segment.

During the mid- phase of his career, he added consulting and executive training to his resume. Especially beneficial was his alliance with AT&T. From 1982 to 1992, he taught in their executive training program in Basking Ridge, N.J. Courses included a three–day workshop on marketing communications, a two-day workshop on strategic branding, and a two-day workshop on services marketing. Attendees were middle managers working in both the B-to-B and the consumer side of the business. He also was hired to work as an outside strategic planner by AT&T to partner with several ad agencies that had contracts with AT&T. During this period in his life, he did training and consulting for IBM, Johnson & Johnson, the Dallas Mart, First Data, the Hawaiian Tourist Bureau, Lubbock General Hospital, Scott & White Clinics, Miller Brewing, and several other smaller organizations.

The year 1988 served as the next major change in John’s career. In that year the Burnett family suffered a major crisis. As part of the recovery process, he became interested in two new opportunities. First, after reading many self-help books on surviving personal crisis, he posited the hypotheses that crisis management, as presented by business, had a great deal of overlap with the personal crisis process. Consequently, he began writing a business book that outlined a proactive process for identifying, mitigating, and resolving business crises. In turn, he created a half-day seminar on how businesses can implement this proactive crisis management process. This crisis seminar was presented to organizations such as Colorado Mental Health, LeGrand Hart Public Relations, and Coors. He also realized the need for nonprofit organizations to learn more about strategic marketing. Another book emerged, Nonprofit Marketing Best Practices, published in 2007. In turn, he has developed a half day workshop on Marketing for Nonprofits, which he has taught all over the world

Today, Dr. Burnett offers both for-profit and nonprofit seminars to interested businesses, both large and small, that have an appreciation for strategic thinking. Nonprofits in which he is a Board member or has created a marketing plan include; Colorado Neurological Institute, Arapahoe House, Center for Hearing, Speech and Learning, National Pain Foundation, Central City Opera, Colorado Mental Health, and the Brain Injury Association of Colorado. He also engages in the legal community both as an expert witness and consultant.

John is married to Nancy, a psychotherapist, and has three adult children. He received a BS in Marketing from Southern Illinois University, as well as a MS in Economics. His doctorate is from the University of Kentucky.

About the Panelists:

• Jim Farley, Leichtag Family Foundation
• Duane Trombly, San Diego Social Venture Partners
• Christy Wilson, Rancho Santa Fe Foundation
• Rory Rupert, Balboa Park Cultural Partnership

Location and Time:

4:00 - 4:45 p.m. in the Main Theater

To register for the AMA Cause Conference on March 10th click here!

Session Spotlight: Social Media Success Stories

About the Session:

Everybody is talking about social media these days - Facebook, Twitter, blogs. Social media can be very beneficial for your non-profit, or it can take up one of your most precious resources: time. In this panel session, you will get a solid overview of how to use social media to market your non-profit, plus you will hear from three San Diego non-profits on how they are successfully integrating social media into their marketing plans.

About the Moderator: Becky Carroll
Becky is founder of Customers Rock!/Petra Consulting Group, a consultancy focused on engaging customers through conversation, social media, and WOW customer experiences. Her client roster includes several Fortune 100 companies such as Electronic Arts, Hewlett Packard, Fujitsu, Verizon, and Ford in addition to top executives, small businesses and non-profits.

Becky is the author of the business blog Customers Rock! (http://customersrock.net), listed in the top 5 of the Top 50 Customer Service blogs and among the Top 25 Marketing blogs. She also writes the blog Teaching Social Media (found at http://teachingsocialmedia.blogspot.com). She is a contributing author on the social media business books Age of Conversation and Age of Conversation 2. She is a regular personality on The Big Biz Show, a nationally-syndicated radio program, discussing topics related to marketing, social media, and customer service, and has also appeared with The Big Biz Show on WealthTV.

Becky teaches the “Marketing via New Media” class at UC San Diego Extension and sits on the Network Solutions Social Web Advisory Board. She also has her own internet radio show, Customers Rock! Radio, heard on wsRadio.com and via iTunes.

Becky is a regular keynote speaker and panelist at industry conferences and webinars on the topics of customer loyalty and social media including BlogWorld, SxSW Interactive, and Customers 1st. Additionally, Becky’s expertise has been sought out as a judge for several awards, including the Association of Support Professionals Top 10 Websites Awards, the Service and Support Professionals Innovator Awards, San Diego American Marketing Association’s Marketer of the Year Awards, the MI:6 Video Game Marketing Awards, and the Web Marketing Association’s Web Awards.

Previously, Becky served as Director of Social Media for social media advertising company Brickfish and was a Senior Consultant for industry-leading Peppers & Rogers Group. Additionally, she worked at Hewlett Packard for 14 years, capping her tenure as Director of Marketing for the UK and Ireland. She began her career at the NASA/Ames Research Center. Becky holds a BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from UC Berkeley, and an MBA in Marketing Management from California State University.

Location and Time:

1:50 - 2:40 in the Main Theater

To register for the AMA Cause Conference on March 10 click here!

Keynote Spotlight: Breakthrough Nonprofit Branding - The new nonprofit imperative

About the Keynote Presentation:

A select group of nonprofit organizations, of all sizes, are moving beyond traditional thinking about brands and branding. They are strategically and purposefully building and managing their brand. In the process, they are adding significant value and establishing a strategic competitive advantage that is powering substantial short and long-term growth. Identifying how your organization will stand out in the cacophony is vital in today’s environment and essential in differentiating, strengthening and creating value for the organization. This keynote will equips your nonprofit and your company– whatever your size, with the principles and practices to build and strengthen its brand in the community with the ultimate goal of creating a stronger cadre of supporters, achieving significant community impact, raising more funds and making a greater difference.

About the Keynote Speaker:

Jocelyne Daw is international recognized for her pioneering work in cause marketing and a sought after expert on business-community partnerships, community branding and integrating marketing and fundraising for significant results. A well-known speaker and consultant, Jocelyne has embraced a steadfast commitment to strengthening nonprofit organizations and businesses work in the growing field of community engagement. She has been retained by many leading nonprofits and companies both in Canada and the United States to provide strategic counsel that propels their work. Jocelyne is the author of "Cause Marketing for Nonprofits: Partner for Purpose, Passion and Profits” and the soon-to-be released book, coauthored with Carol Cone, "Breakthrough Nonprofit Branding: The Seven Principles to Power Extraordinary Growth."

Location and Time:

1:00 - 1:45 in the Main Theater

To register for the AMA Cause Conference on March 10, click here!

Session Spotlight: Building Partnerships on Purpose

Sponsorship Accountability…Beyond the Proposal - Cracking the Corporate DNA Code to Cultivate Effective Cause Marketing Strategies

About the Session:

New times require new models and new responses…If partnering with corporations is a critical link in your cause marketing value chain, this session will uncover what it takes to craft effective strategic partnerships with corporations, and give you the inside scoop on what drives their decisioning. This will be followed by a panel discussion with several corporations sharing how they align issues, focus giving, evaluate potential partners and deliver results to their stakeholders in these unprecedented times.

About the Moderator:

NEVILLE BILLIMORIA, Senior Vice President of Membership/Marketing & Chief Advocacy Officer, Mission Federal Credit Union

Neville is an effective communications and values leader, with more than twenty five years experience growing organizations through external marketing, media, and sales effectiveness as well as internal organizational alignment, corporate communications, and leadership development. In his current role, Neville has accountability for a strategic array of crucial member-focused and outward facing functions including; leading and managing the Marketing, Community Relations, Business Development and School Business Services departments for San Diego’s 2nd largest Credit Union with over $2B in assets serving more than 137,000 members. This includes shared responsibility with the CEO for promoting Mission Federal Credit Union’s public image and brand. As Chief Advocacy Officer, Neville interacts with a host of external constituencies including the financial industry as a whole, the credit union movement in particular, media, public relations, the educational community, and the greater community of San Diego. Neville also founded and serves on the MFCU Community Foundation Board of Directors. His span of control includes all outward facing areas with annual budget accountability for Membership/Marketing and the 501 3c Charitable Foundation exceeding $3 million. Neville also teaches at UCSD where he serves on a number of Boards including the UCSD Alumni Board.

The Panelists:

• Joanne Pastula – CEO, Junior Achievement
• Ed Wallace – VP Community Affairs, Sony Electronics
• Kelly Prasser – Regional Manager of Corporate and Community Relations, Sempra Energy

Location and Time:
11:15 a.m. - 12:00 p.m in the Main Theater

To register for the AMA Cause Conference on March 10 click here!

Session Spotlight: Adding Power and Value to Your Partnership Proposals

About the Session:

Partnerships (not sponsorships), social enterprise, collaboration, cause marketing, and ROI continue to be the talk of nonprofits as traditional funding sources continue to shrink and change.

Learn first-hand strategies to help your nonprofit differentiate your proposals, key steps in preparation and how to predict your success. Presentation covers brief history of Cause Marketing and mega trends making partnership marketing one of the most important strategies for both companies and nonprofit leaders.

What you will receive:

• Ready to use cause marketing plan template for you to use today
• The San Diego Nonprofit Valuation survey to help you place a dollar value on your nonprofit’s recognition benefits for prospective companies.
• Sample proposals to give you new ideas to approach companies.

Seminar goals include:

• Tools to help you make more effective proposals
• Determining your ROCI (Return on Community Investment) Many companies overlook proposals unless ROCI is provided.
• Steps for conducting your nonprofit “resource audit” to differentiate your nonprofit.
• Key information to help you calculate your true market value of your proposals.

Learn how to predict the success of your proposals – when to “go”, when to stop.

About the Speaker:

Parker Pike, Marketing Manager, UCSD Extension – Business, Science & Technology
Program Manager, Step Up San Diego, UCSD Extension Responsible Enterprise Forum.
Parker has 39 years experience in marketing consulting, advertising, market research, customer relations, retail marketing, and promotion management. He has helped support the programs of many national businesses, while his primary devotion has been to small and mid-sized businesses, non-profit organizations and public agencies.

Parker is Marketing Manager for the Business, Science and Technology programs for UC San Diego Extension, the self-funded $33 million continuing education division of UCSD. His work supports growing business building relationships with a wide variety of professional associations, companies and media companies.

Two years ago he laid out the initial strategies for Step Up San Diego, a regional initiative bringing together the business and nonprofit sectors. He has primary responsibility for coordinating the largest media collaborative in San Diego history, a multi-institution educational alliance and programs that help socially responsible companies save money and increase visibility for their community support programs.

He was President of Catalyst, a San Diego based consulting company that specializes in building partnership programs for companies, non-profits and media organizations. He is a Past President of the American Marketing Association – San Diego Chapter. He was also the first Marketing Director for the Birch Aquarium at Scripps, Community Relations Director for the San Diego Union-Tribune and Marketing Director for America’s Cup Services.

Twelve years ago, Parker founded the American Marketing Association’s Cause Conference.

Parker has a marketing degree from the University of Notre Dame, MBA from Northern Illinois University and Masters in Advanced Management from National University.

Time and Location:

10:20 - 11:05 a.m. in Breakout Room

To register for the AMA Cause Conference on March 10 click here!

Session Spotlight: First Impressions - Making the Most of Those Crucial First Meetings

About the Session:

Whether you work for a nonprofit or a corporation, it’s critical to be prepared and understand a potential partner's needs before you sit down for a first meeting. Unfortunately, corporations are often disappointed when nonprofits that seemed to have great partnership potential present them with “fundraising problems” rather than marketing solutions. And nonprofits often find that corporate executives have little knowledge of their issues and have unrealistic expectations of what the ROI they can expect. This session helps “set the table” for all.

About the Speaker:

Scott has been practicing cause related marketing for nearly 20 years and is a co-founder of the SDAMA Cause Conference. As a co-founder of Allison & Partners, he oversees client service, major client initiatives throughout Southern California. He has developed strategies for clients including Hyundai North America, Hasbro, Boost Mobile, Vitamin Shoppe, HOK, YouTube, Sony, Bing, SeaLife, LA Sparks, and Homegoods. Mr. Pansky is very passionate about entertainment and education and has served as the immediate past President of the Entertainment Publicists Professional Society overseeing more than 500 publicists in Los Angeles and New York and is currently the President of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Partnership Council. In addition, he sits on the board of the Los Angeles March of Dimes. Scott has worked with numerous non-profits developing initiatives for Children Affected by Aids Foundation, Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, The Daniel Pearl Foundation, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, 4-H Council, Women’s Heart, Goodwill Industries, Camp Fire Boys & Girls, The Alzheimer's Association, and United Cerebral Palsy Associations among others. Scott is a national speaker on cause-related marketing and will be teaching workshops this year for IEG in late March and the Cause Marketing Forum in early June. He has taught cause marketing and public relations, at UCLA for nearly 10 years and has a course coming up this April.

Time and Location:

10:20 - 11:05 a.m. in the Main Theater

To register for the AMA Cause Conference on March 10 click here.

Session Spotlight: From Jitterbug to Twitter - How Generational Motivation Impacts Marketing

About the Session:

Want to explore what makes each generation tick so you can market, sell and work more effectively? Which social networking channels are most effective and for which generation? Sherri Petro of Workplace Evolution shows you how you can increase your generational understanding to market more effectively. Learn solutions other organizations are implementing by leveraging their knowledge of generational thinking. Sherri will share proven tips on how to decrease misunderstandings and increase communication.

Participants will have a better understanding of why each generation thinks the way they do, how to integrate better marketing and sales solutions and create better ways to communicate.

Learning Objectives:

1. Defining the generational mix.
2. Exploring each generation’s motivating factors and the consequences on their buying decisions
3. Sharing best practices to increase communication, market better and sell more.

About the Speaker:

Sherri Petro, President of VPI Strategies and founding partner in Workplace Evolution, has been consulting for 10 years in the for-profit, non-profit, and government sectors after a 16 year corporate career. She creates more financially sustainable organizations. Sherri is acutely aware of generational misunderstandings that result from different belief structures and lack of coherent communication. She is sharing the motivations of each generation to create better targeting, messaging and connecting as you market, sell and motivate others to buy. Her diverse professional background includes customer service, operations, administration, sales, marketing and strategic planning. Sherri earned an MBA from Pepperdine University and BA in Psychology from Youngstown State University, magna cum laude.

Time and Location:

9:05 - 9:50 a.m. in the Main Theater

To register for the AMA Cause Conference on March 10, click here!

Session Spotlight: Teaching Them The Basics - Helping Them Understand

How to Manage Your Organization’s Marketing Expectations

About the Session:

While marketing professionals understand the principles of marketing, public relations and social media, it can often be difficult to translate them to the rest of the organization. All too often misconceptions and assumptions made by organizational leaders, staff and volunteers can create inefficiencies, contradictory messages and unmanageable marketing goals.

This session will provide concrete techniques for you to create a greater understanding of marketing basics and generate manageable marketing goals within your organization. It also includes a panel of experts in the fields of marketing, public relations and advertising to ensure you are on top of the latest marketing trends, which you can bring back to your organization as you build a new level of knowledge and commitment.

About the Moderator:

Deirdre Maloney is the principal of Momentum, LLC, a nonprofit marketing and management consulting firm that provides effective strategies and implementation for organizational success. Deirdre´s clients include The San Diego Foundation, I Love a Clean San Diego, and the HeadNorth Foundation. Before establishing Momentum, Deirdre served as the executive director of a multi-million dollar nonprofit organization for seven years. She has served on a number of boards, including her current position on the San Diego Chapter of the Association of Nonprofit Professionals. Deirdre also spent several years as a broadcast news producer and holds her Masters Degree in Public Administration.

Panelists Include:

• John Burnett
• Indra Gardner
• Chris D’Eon

Time and Location:

11:15 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Breakout Room

For more information on how to register for the AMA Cause Conference 2010 click here.

Speaker Spotlight: Scott Pansky

About the Session...

First Impressions: Making the Most of Those Crucial First Meetings

Whether you work for a nonprofit or a corporation, it’s critical to be prepared and understand a potential partner's needs before you sit down for a first meeting. Unfortunately, corporations are often disappointed when nonprofits that seemed to have great partnership potential present them with “fundraising problems” rather than marketing solutions. And nonprofits often find that corporate executives have little knowledge of their issues and have unrealistic expectations of what the ROI they can expect. This session helps “set the table” for all.

This session will be held in the Main Theater at 10:20 a.m.

About Scott Pansky...

Partner and Co-Founder, Allison & Partners

Scott has been practicing cause related marketing for nearly 20 years and is a co-founder of the SDAMA Cause Conference. As a co-founder of Allison & Partners, he oversees client service, major client initiatives throughout Southern California. He has developed strategies for clients including Hyundai North America, Hasbro, Boost Mobile, Vitamin Shoppe, HOK, YouTube, Sony, Bing, SeaLife, LA Sparks, and Homegoods.
Mr. Pansky is very passionate about entertainment and education and has served as the immediate past President of the Entertainment Publicists Professional Society overseeing more than 500 publicists in Los Angeles and New York and is currently the President of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Partnership Council. In addition, he sits on the board of the Los Angeles March of Dimes. Scott has worked with numerous non-profits developing initiatives for Children Affected by Aids Foundation, Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, The Daniel Pearl Foundation, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, 4-H Council, Women’s Heart, Goodwill Industries, Camp Fire Boys & Girls, The Alzheimer's Association, and United Cerebral Palsy Associations among others. Scott is a national speaker on cause-related marketing and will be teaching workshops this year for IEG in late March and the Cause Marketing Forum in early June. He has taught cause marketing and public relations, at UCLA for nearly 10 years and has a course coming up this April.

Corporate Partner Honored

Many congratulations to San Diego AMA Cause Conference partner, Mission Federal Credit Union and TRICIA LINK!!!

PR News All-Star Awards Honors Mission Federal Credit Union’s Tricia Link as a 2008-2009 National Community Relations Professional of the Year

San Diego – Mission Federal Credit Union is proud to announce that Tricia Link, Vice President of Community Relations and External Affairs, has been honored as a 2008-2009 National Community Relations Professional of the Year in the annual PR News PR People All-Star Awards. The winners were announced by PR News on December 1, 2009 at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. According to PR News, this was the most competitive field of entries to date, with more than 1,000 nominations representing the best-of-the-best from top global and national companies. Tricia and Mission Federal were the only winners from a non national or global, locally-based company, and the only credit union represented.

“We are proud to have Tricia as part of our team and are thrilled that she has been recognized with this prestigious honor by her peers for her outstanding community partnering achievements on behalf of Mission Federal Credit Union,” said Neville Billimoria of Mission Federal Credit Union. “The community giving, cause marketing, and nonprofit partnerships that Tricia has put in place for Mission Federal Credit Union continue to reinforce Mission Fed's proud position as a community partner of choice within the San Diego community, in which our employees and member-owners take great pride. The fact that several of our community nonprofit and media partners helped nominate Tricia for this honor makes it even that much more meaningful."

During her tenure in overseeing and revitalizing strategic community partnerships at Mission Federal Credit Union, Tricia has created and implemented key community outreach campaigns, including: the national and international award-winning “I'm Thankful for My Teacher” campaign, the Padres Community Home Run Challenge, Mission Possible Star 94.1 Community Outreach of Care radio and web campaign, Mission to Educate KPBS radio and TV campaign, San Diego Zoo social media click-through campaign, groundbreaking Mission 4 R Schools donation campaign, Mission 4 Monarch Holiday Gift Card Campaign, the Mission Federal Memory Walk held in Balboa Park every October to support Alzheimer's awareness, education and research, the Mission Federal ArtWalk and Mission 4 ArtReach companion initiative, held every April in San Diego’s Little Italy community, and the inaugural Mission 4 Monarch School holiday gift card donation drive occurring right now in Mission Federal's 20+ branch network.

During 2008-2009, Tricia spearheaded Mission Federal's million-dollar plus commitment to community and cause marketing partnerships benefitting the San Diego community, in addition to her role as executive director of the Mission Federal Community Foundation, which provides hundreds of thousand additional dollars in grant support for financial literacy and educational programs throughout San Diego. Ms. Link also serves as the public spokesperson for the brand, appearing regularly as a community affairs and philanthropic expert on local network affiliates such as NBC 7, Fox 5, CW 6 and KUSI 9 television morning news shows. Ms. Link is also a sought-after expert panelist and guest speaker for the American Marketing Association, Nonprofit Management Solutions, San Diego GrantMakers, and other organizations. Ms. Link serves on the Boards of the Great Friends Foundation, Kids Included Together, and on the Advisory Boards for BearArts Foundation, ForBenefit Enterprise, and San Diego Unified School District, and is an active community volunteer focused on serving at-risk underserved children and families as well as supporting the SPCA’s pet adoption efforts.

The PR News PR People All-Star Awards is an annual award open to all public relations, marketing, and communications professionals in the United States and globally to recognize significant achievements made by the outstanding nominees within their respective disciplines.

About Mission Federal Credit Union

Mission Federal Credit Union is a progressive member-owned organization providing high quality financial and related services to meet the needs of a growing and diverse membership base. With nearly $2 billion in assets, 22 branches, and 138,000 members, Mission Federal is the second largest credit union in San Diego County. Mission Federal enhances the lives of its members through education and lifelong financial services. In addition, Mission Federal contributes to hundreds of non-profit educational and community organizations. To learn more, visit www.missionfcu.org

Call for Volunteers!

Looking for an opportunity to learn more about cause marketing for nonprofits?

The San Diego American Marketing Association is calling for volunteers for the 12th Annual AMA Cause Conference on March 10th from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. For full conference details visit the AMA San Diego Cause Conference website: http://www.sdama.org/conference.htm. Volunteers are invited to attend the conference when they are not volunteering and lunch will be provided!

Volunteer responsibilities including registration, greeters, parking lot coordinators, and more. In order to best prepare our wonderful volunteers for the day-of conference there will be a walk-through on March 9th from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at USD’s Joan B. Kroc Institute. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please complete this survey and include your contact information as well as the position(s) in which you are interested: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/volunteersignup. The volunteer coordinators will contact you after you have completed the survey. If you would like to speaker to Janet or Frank, the volunteer coordinators, please see below for their contact information.

This year’s AMA Cause Conference will be using social media to promote and provide more information about the conference. Be sure to visit us on our blog, Facebook Group, and on Twitter – you can find all the links on the Cause Conference main page: http://www.sdama.org/conference.htm. We are also encouraging all of our participants this year to tweet and blog from the conference – we hope you will join us!

Thank you for your interest in being a 12th Annual Cause Conference volunteer – your participation will truly make it our most successful year ever!

Janet Robertson & Frank Scarpaci 310-717-6023 mobile

More about the conference…

San Diego’s nonprofit sector has proven its resilience after a year impacted by the economic recession. As we look to 2010, brighter days of growth and impact are on the horizon for San Diego’s nonprofit sector. As organizations emerge from this past year with new lessons learned and an emphasized set of priorities, the opportunity to move ahead and reach new heights is now.

The 12th Annual AMA Cause Conference will help marketing and other nonprofit professionals find new ways to reach audiences and inspire them to action. Featuring renowned speakers and innovative approaches, the 2010 AMA San Diego Cause Conference will provide staff, volunteers and board members with unique opportunities to learn, brainstorm, and network with others who are committed to strategies that will ensure a brighter tomorrow. To read more, visit the San Diego AMA website: http://www.sdama.org/conference.htm