The answer to that question depends on your goals. Do you want to:

1. Raise money for an existing charity.
2. Start your own organization.

If you want to raise money for an existing charitable organization, you do not need your own 501c3. If you just want to encourage your readers to donate to a specific charity, it’s easy to link to the charities website or to provide donation information. If you’d like to get more involved, contact the charity and ask if you can volunteer or organize a fundraiser on its behalf.

If you want to start your own organization, determine if the organization will have fundraising needs. If you want to ask others to donate or apply for most grants, you will need either a 501c3 status for your organization or a fiscal sponsor.

If your organization/cause  has no expenses (for example: it consists of you organizing a monthly blog carnival or regular Twitter discussion using a specific hashtag), you may not need either a 501c3 status or a fiscal sponsor.

You might be wondering what a “fiscal sponsor” is.  A fiscal sponsor is a 501c3 that lends their legal status to your project. Obtaining and maintaining a 501c3 status is a lot of work. It requires a board and often an accountant, and it can be expensive to get started.

If you have a great idea but lack the funds to pay start-up costs, a “fiscal sponsor” may be the best option. There are different kinds of fiscal sponsorship: “projects” and separate entities. If you are incorporated/registered, you could qualify as a separate entity. Otherwise, a “project” may be a good option for you. You will want to define a formal agreement with your fiscal sponsor regardless. To learn more about “fiscal sponsorship,” check out the Fiscal Sponsorship Directory.

When our co-founder Debbie Bookstaber returned from her role as Cause Marketing panelist at BlogHer 2011, she had the non-profit Share Our Strength on the brain. This non-profit was a donor recipient of session sponsor Jimmy Dean Sausage.

Not long after returning home, Debbie started working with Little Miss Muffin, a company who ran television ads www.mylittlemissmuffin.com about their “muffin”dolls which made her think of all the kids who are hungry and need food (and would surely enjoy a muffin!)

After suggesting the connection, manufacturer Jay at Play International decided to support Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale® by donating 1% (up to $75,000) of all Little Miss Muffin Pop N Flip™ dolls sold in 2012.  Thank you, Jay at Play!

“Jay at Play wanted to give back to the millions of children who already love the brand Little Miss Muffin, so we decided to share our success with Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale,” said Joseph Sutton, Jay at Play managing director. “We are truly honored to show our support and help with the Great American Bake Sale’s mission.”

Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale^®, presented by Domino^® Sugar and C&H^® Sugar, and Duncan Hines^®, is a national effort that encourages Americans to host bake sales in their communities to support the No Kid Hungry^® Campaign, Share Our Strength’s^® national effort to end childhood hunger in America by 2015. Since 2003, more than 1.7 million people have participated in Great American Bake Sale, raising more than $6 million to make sure there is no kid hungry in America. Great American Bake Sale is supported by official bakeware partner Chicago Metallic, national television partner Food Network, national magazine partner Family Circle, and official baking ingredient partner Solo. Visit GreatAmericanBakeSale.org.

Little Miss Muffin arrives to you peeking out of her magical muffin cup. Pop her muffin top, flip the muffin cup inside out, and Little Miss Muffin becomes a soft adorable doll. With sweet expressive faces and bright smiles, there are ten Little Miss Muffin Dolls each with their own flavor to delight kids of all ages. They are available this holiday season exclusively at Toys”R”Us stores and ToysRus.com.

Shop and GIVE! It’s a win-win!

On July 31, P&G will distribute its brandSAVER coupon booklet in newspapers across and country and for each coupon redeemed, P&G will donate $.02 to Communities In Schools, the nation’s leading dropout prevention organization. The donation is uncapped – so the more you save, the more you give.

We hope you’ll join P&G and John Legend in helping to “School the Nation” and keep more than 1 million kids in school. Here’s how you and your readers can help!

• Use the tools in this digital toolkit to create posts about the program and encourage your readers to get involved.

• Join GIVE Education at www.facebook.com/pgmygive for simple, shareable tools you can use to help the cause.

• One blogger who writes about GIVE Education by August 12, 2011 and includes the link to their post in the comments on this post or in our BlogFrog discussion board will be chosen at random by Bloganthropy.org to win an iPad 2! (Note: you must be 18 to enter. Open to US Residents only.)

Thanks for your support of programs that give back!

P&G sponsored the June 24 Bloganthropy Awards and the July Blogger of the Month to help support bloggers who are making strides for important causes. Bloganthropy would like to thank P&G for supporting Bloganthropy members by helping to spread the word about their cause efforts and how you can get involved. The Bloganthropy.org founders are not compensated by P&G for supporting GIVE Education, but P&G is providing the iPad 2 to the winner of this contest. We genuinely support the mission of P&G GIVE Education and hope you’ll participate.

Education is fundamental to providing equal opportunity and keeping the United States competitive in the global economy. Yet, too many of our children fall through the cracks. Every nine seconds, another student will drop out of school. And 2,000 schools are responsible for 50% of the nation’s dropouts.

With the help of P&G Give, we have been able to support and recognize the grass-roots, charitable efforts of the blogging community. So, we were happy to join with several Bloganthropy Advisory Board members and other Bloganthropy members to find out how P&G Give Education is partnering with Communities in Schools to make a difference in the lives of our most at-risk students. We were joined by the spokesman, the famous recording artist and philanthropist, John Legend. John Legend was on hand to sing his song, “Shine”, with the Sports and Arts in Schools Foundation choir from M.S. 390 in University Heights, Bronx.

During a blogger round table, John Legend, shared his passion for, and commitment to, education reform.

Some of the bloggers who spoke with John Legend have posted about their experiences:

Kimberly Coleman, of Foodie City Mom, writes: “On, the parent note, he mentioned something that really stood out…that parents (in poorer communities) need to have higher expectations for what their kids deserve education-wise. [...] Unfortunately, many parents in distressed communities are so consumed with just surviving – especially in this economy – that their kids’ education falls to the wayside.  That is where the “it takes a village” mentality comes in.  There needs to be people in the schools and community who care about all kids – not just their own.  John shared that in addition to his parent, it was the school officials – his guidance counselor, music teacher and gym teachers – who had the greatest impact on him. ” (Read the full post.)

Candace Lindemann: At my education blog, Naturally Educational, I posted:”The issue is a convoluted and messy one that does not have a simple answer. Wrapped up in issues of student performance are problems of health, pollution, race, economic inequality, urban planning, and much, much more. However, there are solutions. We know there are proven methods that can have a dramatic impact on drop out rates. As complex as the issue is, the answer may still be summed up in a word: community.” (Read the full post.)

Sarah Peppel of  also has photo and video of John Legend singing with the kids..

You can help raise a significant donation for Communities in Schools in two ways:

• On Sunday, July 31, the GIVE Education brandSAVER, featuring a note from John Legend, will be distributed in newspapers across the country, with discounts on trusted P&G products. For each GIVE Education brandSAVER coupon redeemed, P&G will donate two cents to CIS – allowing consumers to give back, while saving money. The P&G uncapped donation will be based on the number of coupons redeemed beginning July 31 – the more consumers save, the more they give.
• Watch a video featuring John Legend and CIS students on the P&G myGive Facebook page. When you watch, P&G will make an additional 25¢ donation to CIS (up to $10,000).

Disclosure: P&G Give Education reimbursed travel expenses for the area bloggers who attended the event. Bloganthropy is a non-profit (501-3c pending). The co-foudners of Bloganthropy do not take a salary or other compensation for Bloganthropy projects. All donations go directly to funding Bloganthropy awards and projects.

Asheville, NC (PRWEB) June 24, 2011

Susan Niebur, of the blog Toddler Planet, today was named the winner of the 2011 Bloganthropy Awards. The Bloganthropy Awards is a unique program that recognizes women bloggers who have made a difference by using social media effectively to support a good cause.

An astrophysicist who has worked for NASA and mother of two young boys, Niebur has battled inflammatory breast cancer four times, surviving countless surgeries, intense radiation and chemotherapy. Through her blog, Susan has spread awareness about the disease, “the cancer that kills without the lump,” and has lead thousands of women to join the Army of Women, a movement founded by the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation and the Avon Foundation for Women that provides women afflicted with breast cancer access to potential research studies and participation in treatment trials. Susan sits on the board of the American Cancer Society, is active in its More Birthdays campaign, and has been featured by media across the country.

Niebur received an honorary plaque and a $2,000 cash prize for her cause-focused social media accomplishments.

The Bloganthropy Awards ceremony was held in Asheville, NC in conjunction with the popular Type-A Parent Conference, and was presented by Bloganthropy.org, a non-profit organization that combines the power of social media with the resources of corporate giving. GIVE Education, one of Procter & Gamble’s social sustainability programs partnering with Communities In Schools to help keep more than one million kids in school, is the 2011 award sponsor. In 2010, Procter & Gamble sponsored the first annual Bloganthropy Awards through its GIVE Health initiative. The Bloganthropy Awards presentation ceremony sponsors include: MAM USA, Toy State, Backyard Safari Outfitters, Music Together, Fairy Tales Hair Care and Corolle.

Candace Lindemann, co-founder of Bloganthropy, says: “The Bloganthropy Awards enable us to applaud the work of these powerful women and to inspire others to make a difference using social media.”

“We are delighted to honor Susan Niebur and her blog, Toddler Planet,” adds Stephanie Azzarone, president, Child’s Play Communications. “Susan has shown great dedication to informing and advocating for cancer patients and survivors over the years and it is our pleasure to recognize and help support those efforts.”

In addition to Niebur, the following finalists were recognized for their unique contributions to the blogosphere. They are:

Lydia Yeung, Ever Ours; Henny Vallee and Lucia Dinh Pador, Utterly Engaged

After the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011, Lydia Young, Henny Vallee and Lucia Dinh Pador mobilized to raise money in support of Japan disaster relief efforts. To date, For Japan with Love has raised more than $66,000, with all proceeds going to Shelter Box USA, a charity that provides shelter, water, blankets and other emergency supplies to families affected by disasters around the globe.

Andrea Roberts, Reece’s Rainbow

Andrea Roberts is the proud mother of 9-year old Reece, who was born with Down syndrome. Out of appreciation for the support they received following Reece’s 2002 birth, in 2004 Andrea and her husband founded Reece’s Rainbow—an outreach program for families with kids born with Down syndrome at an Atlanta, Georgia hospital. In 2006, Reece’s Rainbow expanded to encourage the international adoption of orphaned children with Down syndrome, through grants totaling $1.5 million.

Jess, A Diary of A Mom

The mother of two daughters, one autistic, Jess uses her blog as a forum to unite the widespread autism-support community, whose goal is to improve the lives of the 1 in 110 children living with autism. In April, 2011, at President Barack Obama’s personal invitation, Jess attended an autism conference at the White House as a parent advocate and continues to garner support nationwide for autism awareness.

Melissa Ford, Stirrup Queens

The mom of twins conceived through fertility treatments, Melissa Ford started the Stirrup Queens blog as a result of her own personal struggle with getting pregnant. Stirrup Queens serves as a meeting place and resource for individuals and couples dealing with infertility, prematurity and pregnancy loss. She has been invited to speak at a congressional briefing on infertility and has met with Congressman to discuss the Family Building Act.

“Through the Bloganthropy awards, we hope to increase the reach of these inspiring and highly effective bloggers by promoting their projects and connecting them with corporate sponsors that can further support their causes,” says Debbie Bookstaber, co-founder of Bloganthrophy.org

About Bloganthropy.org
Bloganthropy.org aims to empower bloggers to become philanthropic leaders in their communities. The annual Bloganthropy Awards recognize those who have made a difference by using social media to effectively promote a cause or charity.

About Child’s Play Communications
Child’s Play Communications specializes exclusively in public relations, social media and word-of-mouth communications for products and services targeted to moms. Based in New York City, the agency has launched an exciting array of proprietary services to engage this influential market through traditional media, online and in-person, including the award-winning Team Mom™, the agency’s own network of mom review-bloggers. Recent company awards have included Bulldog’s PR Innovation of the Year and Social Media Innovator of the Year. For additional information, please visit our Web site, our blog, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

About GIVE Education
Through the GIVE Education program, P&G is teaming with Communities In Schools to help fight the dropout crisis and keep more than one million kids in school. The program encourages consumers to help keep kids in school through the redemption of P&G brandSAVER coupons and use of social media tools designed to inspire others to support the cause. For each July 31 P&G brandSAVER coupon redeemed, two cents will be donated to Communities In Schools – one of the nation’s leading dropout prevention organizations, and one that is proven to increase graduation rates and decrease dropout rates.

GIVE Education is part of P&G’s myGIVE program, a social sustainability platform designed to inspire and enable people to use their everyday purchases to touch lives and improve life. To learn more, visit.http://www.facebook.com/pgmygive.

The Bloganthropy Awards at the Type-A Parent Conference were made possible by the following sponsors:

For the second straight year, Procter & Gamble is sponsoring the Bloganthropy Awards, this time through its Give Education program. The company will present a total of $5,000 to the winner and finalists.

The winner will be announced at a special event taking place Friday, June 24th, at the Type-A Parent Conference in Asheville, NC. The Bloganthropy Awards presentation ceremony sponsors include: Corolle Dolls MAM USA, Toy State, Backyard Safari Outfitters, Music Together, Fairy Tales Hair Care and Bigjigs Toys.

“We received more than 100 entries for this year’s Bloganthropy Awards,” says Stephanie Azzarone, president, Child’s Play Communications. “Narrowing down the list of accomplished women was incredibly difficult. The five finalists are all passionate activists who make a significant impact.”

“Bloganthropy.org’s goal is to encourage bloggers to rally support for good causes through social media,” explains Debbie Bookstaber, co-founder of Bloganthropy.org. “The finalists for this year’s Bloganthropy Awards are catalysts for positive change.”

Candace Lindemann, co-founder of Bloganthropy.org, adds: “The Bloganthropy Awards enable us to recognize bloggers who are making a difference in their communities by giving voice to issues that matter to them and resonate with others.”

The first annual Bloganthropy Award was presented in 2010 to Katherine Stone, publisher of the blog, Postpartum Progress, the most widely read blog on post-partum issues in the U.S.

The 2011 Bloganthropy Awards finalists are:

Susan Niebur, Toddler Planet
An astrophysicist and mother of two young boys, Susan has battled inflammatory breast cancer four times, surviving countless surgeries, intense radiation and chemotherapy. Through her blog, Susan has spread awareness about inflammatory breast cancer, “the cancer that kills without the lump,” and has lead thousands of women to join the Army of Women, a movement founded by the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation and the Avon Foundation for Women that provides women afflicted with breast cancer access to potential research studies and participation in treatment trials. Susan sits on the board of the American Cancer Society, is active in their More Birthdays campaign, and has been featured by media across the country.

Lydia Yeung, Ever Ours; Henny Vallee and Lucia Dinh Pador, Utterly Engaged
After the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011, Lydia Young, Henny Vallee and Lucia Dinh Pador mobilized to raise money in support of Japan disaster relief efforts. To date, For Japan with Love has raised more than $66,000, with all proceeds going to Shelter Box USA, a charity that provides shelter, water, blankets and other emergency supplies to families affected by disasters around the globe.

Andrea Roberts, Reece’s Rainbow
Andrea Roberts is the proud mother of 9-year old Reece, who was born with Down syndrome. Out of appreciation for the support they received following Reece’s 2002 birth, in 2004 Andrea and her husband founded Reece’s Rainbow—an outreach program for families with kids born with Down syndrome at an Atlanta, Georgia hospital. In 2006, Reece’s Rainbow expanded to encourage the international adoption of orphaned children with Down syndrome, through grants totaling $1.5 million.

Jess, A Diary of A Mom
The mother of two daughters, one autistic, Jess uses her blog as a forum to unite the widespread autism-support community, whose goal is to improve the lives of the 1 in 110 children living with autism. In April, 2011, at President Barack Obama’s personal invitation, Jess attended an autism conference at the White House as a parent advocate and continues to garner support nationwide for autism awareness.

Melissa Ford, Stirrup Queens
The mom of twins conceived through fertility treatments, Melissa Ford started the Stirrup Queens blog as a result of her own personal struggle with getting pregnant. Stirrup Queens serves as a meeting place and resource for individuals and couples dealing with infertility, prematurity and pregnancy loss. She has been invited to speak at a congressional briefing on infertility and has met with Congressman to discuss the Family Building Act.

About Bloganthropy.org
Bloganthropy.org aims to empower bloggers to become philanthropic leaders in their communities. The annual Bloganthropy Awards recognize those who have made a difference by using social media to effectively promote a cause or charity.

About Child’s Play Communications
Child’s Play Communications specializes exclusively in public relations, social media and word-of-mouth communications for products and services targeted to moms. Based in New York City, the agency has launched an exciting array of proprietary services to engage this influential market through traditional media, online and in-person, including the award-winning Team Mom™, the agency’s own network of mom review-bloggers. Recent company awards have included Bulldog’s PR Innovation of the Year and Social Media Innovator of the Year. For additional information, please visit our Web site, our blog, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

P&G’s GIVE Health program is giving clean drinking water to people in need and offering a simple way that you can help! Visit GIVE Health on Facebook to learn more and then look for P&G brandSAVER coupons on your local June 5 newspaper. For each coupon redeemed, P&G will donate one day of clean drinking water ($.02) to the P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program.

Plus, P&G is donating a day of clean drinking water for every new like, comment and share on the GIVE HEALTH Facebook page through Sunday June 5, 2011.  It’s such an easy way to make a difference, and we hope you’ll help.

I didn’t set out to become a blogger activist – or even to become a blogger for that matter. I didn’t have a plan or an objective but just six months after my first post went live on my own little part of the internet located right in the middle of the British countryside, I was on my very first trip to the US – to Chicago – to BlogHer ‘09.

At a time when bloggers are trying to define what it is they “do”, adding charity into the mix creates another layer of complexity.

What factors might bloggers consider in deciding whether or not to use their influence for a charitable campaign?

Who is Benefiting?

Most of the bloggers with whom we spoke immediately focused on the question of who is benefiting from the campaign.

In a small survey of blogger members of Collective Bias, bloggers’ expectation of payment increased significantly if the campaign involved corporate branding or linking to corporate sites or microsites, versus linking directly to the benefiting charity. One blogger responding anonymously added, “Anything that promotes a corporation in any way should be paid for. They can’t just say it’s for charity and get free advertising.”

The Goodness of Our Hearts

A smaller number of bloggers surveyed believed that any campaign in support of a charity should be done on a volunteer basis.  One blogger explained, “I think working with charities should be done from the goodness of our hearts. I consider it a form of volunteering and people don’t get paid for that (even if they use their professional skills to do so).” And while 100% of the respondents had volunteered without pay to help with a corporate charitable campaign, only 56% had ever received payment to promote such an effort.

Courtney Velasquez, who owns Detroit Mommies and currently serves as the Community Director of Collective Bias, received a stipend for her involvement with two ConAgra-sponsored campaigns, Child Hunger Ends Here and No Kid Hungry.  Velasquez acknowledged that brand trips can be a lot of work for the blogger: “[The Child Hunger Ends Here trip] was super cool because we got to meet movie stars in L.A. but it was a lot of work, too. We were doing physical labor while we were there.”

Steff Childs, Director of Corporate Communications at ConAgra Foods, agreed: “As we were planning the program, we determined that a small compensation was appropriate as we truly value our blogger partners for their influence and the role they played in the campaign. This was an extended partnership that ran for months and by enlisting their help, we provided the bloggers with a stipend to compensate them for their time involved in the program, which included coordinating a local fundraising rally.”

Although Velasquez believes the stipend is justified to cover her childcare costs, time away from work, and the considerable effort she put into the campaign, she says she would have supported the campaigns without monetary compensation: “It is the charity; it’s not the company. If it is for children and hunger, I’m there.”

And it is clear that ConAgra has found a passionate advocate. Instead of organizing just one rally, Velasquez lead five and continues to be an activist in her local community. Velasquez is a savvy blogger and social media professional and acknowledges that “there is something in it for [the corporations] and I know that.” Still, she explained, “Because [ConAgra] does the charity work they do, they hold a place in my heart now.”

Follow Your Heart

What about working directly for charities? If a charity has the budget to pay a public relations firm, should they expect pro-bono work from professional bloggers?

For bloggers who are concerned about being viewed as professionals, Christy Matte, of QuirkyFusion.com and MorethanMommy.com, offered this advice: “Try to ignore who is getting paid for what, because a non-profit has a limited budget. Instead, look for a non-profit that wants to build a relationship with you and who you feel is making a positive difference in the world.”

Shilonda Downing, the founder of Virtual Work Team who blogs at Virtual Assistant Blogs, urged bloggers to “follow their hearts.” While she believes “there is nothing wrong with expecting to be paid for promoting a charity event or organization,” she added, “if [bloggers] feel a real connection to an event and have the time, by all means do a portion or all of the work for free.”

Volunteer Work, Media Coverage, or Paid Work?

The nature and level of the blogger’s involvement is also a factor in determining whether or not payment is expected.  This is still a controversial topic in the blogging world and a number of categories of work came up in conversations with bloggers.

For non-profits, corporations, and public relations firms that view bloggers as media,  the idea of paying bloggers for coverage is a foreign concept.  Christy Matte explained, “Non-profits frequently ask bloggers to cover their news/events, which bloggers often look at as pro-bono work. In fact, the non-profits are treating bloggers like media, whose job it is to put the news out there. ”

Matte suggested that bloggers consider what they normally write about on their site: “For example, if a blogger normally talks about charitable campaigns or ways to shop for good on their blog, it seems a bit silly to refuse to do it for free simply because someone else asked.”

Stephanie Azzarone, President of Child’s Play Communications, also encouraged bloggers to support causes in which they believe: “If bloggers feel a cause is a worthy one they should post about it. If they don’t, then they shouldn’t.  Simple equation. If they have historically supported a specific cause, it is fair for a company or an agency or the organization itself to approach them for assistance in further promoting that cause.  Really, why not put in a little more effort to make an even bigger splash for something you genuinely believe in?”

Beyond Editorial

Some campaigns involve much more extensive branded promotion however.

Kimberly Coleman, founder of and lead blogger for Mom in the City and an advisory board member of Bloganthropy, said, “In my opinion, if companies are requesting anything beyond editorial coverage for branded campaigns, then they should be paying bloggers.  I have done unpaid charitable programs in the past and (given a charity that I’m passionate about) I might do one in the future. However, I think that companies should monetarily compensate bloggers for their time and energy.”

Stephanie Azzarone also drew a distinction between editorial coverage of causes and events and other types of promotional work: “I don’t believe that bloggers should be paid for simply posting about a cause, just as I don’t believe they should be paid for posting about a product, unless there is an established, ongoing ambassador relationship with a brand. Host a twitter party or a live event and invite all your social media friends? Then the blogger should get paid. Serve as an ongoing ambassador for the company’s cause? Think about who is benefiting most – the corporation or the cause itself. Then make a choice: Do it for free out of your personal passion for the cause — or request payment. Either, in fact, is reasonable.”

John Andrews, Founder and Managing Partner of Collective Bias, which hires bloggers for many types of campaigns, does not believe that the charitable element alters blogger compensation: “Anything that you are going to ask someone to do as a marketer that you would normally pay people to do, you should pay a blogger to do.  I don’t think it changes that dynamic. Cause marketing activities for a brand [are]  another piece of learning about the brand, just as any other part of the brand’s story.”

When Lines Blur

The title “blogger” encompasses a wide range of people, including amateurs who journal for their own growth and established professionals who have added blogging to their list of services, and everything in between.  When a regular contractor is asked to donate some of his or her services for a client’s charitable campaign, the line between volunteer work and paid work may become fuzzy.

Teajai Stradley is the Internet Idea Girl. When Bob Cook Homes, a long-time and valued client, signed on as the primary builder for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in Wichita KS (will be aired April 17 on ABC), Stradley was more than happy to donate some of her time. “They were working for free, they didn’t even have to ask me to do the work pro-bono. I was on board immediately.”

Soon, though, she was working overtime to support the project and it was not always easy to draw the line between her paid work and her charity work.  Stradley explained, “I am sure there is a way you could be very firm, the PR agency on the project sure was. But it came off as cold and callous. Everyone was pitching in where needed but when you get someone who is towing to a line it really rubs people the wrong way. It’s a charity – be charitable.”

Creative Compensation

Compensation may sometimes take other forms besides cash.

Christy Matte said that non-profits on a budget can sometimes offer bloggers access to resources: “Bonus points if they will link back to your site, offer you some other perks, or maybe let you use a spare desk now and again.”

Pro-bono work for a non-profit can also be a way to build a portfolio. Stephanie Azzarone explained, “Bloggers should keep in mind that even if they are not compensated for promoting a cause, they (as well as the charity) still benefit. Pro-bono participation, if significant, gives bloggers greater visibility and positions them in a positive way, increasing their standing both among peers and among companies and agencies.”

John Andrews pointed to the “Bag It Forward” campaign for Elmer’s (for which I served as an ambassador). This initiative not only compensated bloggers but also gave them the opportunity to purchase and donate supplies to a family in need in their own communities. “In that process,” Andrews explained, “the leaders  were catalysts for that community. The work they invested was earning them something for a cause they are passionate about.”

Charity Begins at Home

Companies look at the bottom line when considering which charities to support and several professional bloggers and marketing and public relations specialists suggested that bloggers learn to do the same.

Ultimately, it comes down to learning to say “no, thank you” if you do not have the time or the campaign is not right for you. Matte noted, “Bloggers are often expected to do a wide variety of things for free. That doesn’t mean that a blogger should feel obligated to do so.”

John Andrews suggested that bloggers take a page from the most successful corporate charity campaigns and consider if the project is a fit.  “If it is not aligned with your philosophy or your brand…[you're] doing all this good work, which is great, but how does it reflect what is going on with the brand?”

Closely aligning your blog with a particular charity or cause not only makes sense for building a brand, it can help bloggers establish boundaries to protect their time.

Shaping the Future

Corporations know the value of cause marketing and we are likely to see more of it in the future. Moms and millennials, the same groups most likely to turn to blogs for product advice, are also the ones who place the highest value on product associations with charitable causes. According to the 2010 Cone study, 92% of moms want to buy a product supporting a cause (versus 81% average) and 93% are more likely to switch brands (versus 80% average).

There is a natural synergy between social media and cause marketing.  Bloggers who work with brands and are passionate about causes may want to consider how charity efforts fit into their own goals.

Do you volunteer for corporate charity campaigns? Do you expect to be paid when promoting a company’s charitable campaign? How would you like to see these campaigns including bloggers? Which campaigns have you seen that are effective?

Photo credits: Big Idea Poster; do it pro bono; Donating is Fun; Money at Hand

In 2010, Bloganthropy.org launched the the Bloganthropy Awards with Child’s Play Communications. Bloganthropy.org empowers bloggers to become philanthropic leaders in their communities. Child’s Play Communications, which supports Bloganthropy’s goals, specializes in connecting companies with moms through public relations, social media and word-of-mouth communications.

Katherine Stone, the blogger behind Postpartum Progress, was the recipient of the first Bloganthropy Award. Bloganthropy.org co-Founders, Debbie Bookstaber and Candace Lindemann, along with Stephanie Azzarone, Founder and President of Child’s Play Communications, presented the award in August 2010 at an event hosted by Child’s Play.

Following the birth of her child, Stone’s own feelings of fear and isolation prompted her to create Postpartum Progress, now the most widely read blog in the United States on postpartum depression and other mental illnesses related to pregnancy and childbirth. She received an honorary plaque, a cash prize and a $1,000 donation to her cause. In addition to Stone, four finalists were acknowledged for their unique contributions to the blogosphere. They were: Kristine McCormick, Cora’s Story; Maggie Ginsberg-Schutz, Violence Unsilenced; Debbie Dubrow, Michelle Duffy, Pam Mandel and Beth Whiteman, Passports With Purpose, and Megan Jordan, Velveteen Mind. All were featured on Bloganthropy.org.

“It is remarkable what bloggers can accomplish in raising awareness for meaningful causes,” added Debbie Bookstaber, co-founder, Bloganthropy.org. “We look forward to once again acknowledging these talented women.”

“We are so impressed by bloggers who use social media to do good,” said Stephanie Azzarone, president, Child’s Play Communications. “Through the Bloganthropy Awards, we can help recognize and reward them for those efforts.”

Bloganthropy, in conjunction with Child’s Play Communications, will announce the 2011 Bloganthropy Awards winner  on Friday, June 24^th in Asheville, North Carolina, at a special event held during the Type-A Parent Conference. Parenting bloggers from across the country attend the conference.  

Bloganthropy founders Debbie Bookstaber and Candace Lindemann, along with the Bloganthropy Advisory Board, Child’s Play Communications president, Stephanie Azzarone, and the company’s Team Mom™ blogger-network Director, Marie Baker, will consider all qualified candidates and select the winner.

The deadline for nominations is Friday, May 6, 2011. To nominate a blogger for the Bloganthropy Awards, please visit: http://www.bloganthropy.org/awards/blogger-of-the-year-nomination-form/.

2010 Bloganthropy Awards  sponsors included Procter & Gamble’s Good Health, as well as industry leaders such as Baby Boom, The California Strawberry Commission, Cold Stone Creamery, Cuisinart, Giddy Up, Hershey’s, Kraft, K’NEX, Nickelodeon,  Summit Toy and Toyota.

To become a Bloganthropy Awards sponsor, please contact Julie Livingston at (212) 488-2060 x 12 or jl@childsplaypr.com.

About Bloganthropy.org

Bloganthropy.org aims to empower bloggers to become philanthropic leaders in their communities. The annual Bloganthropy Awards recognize those who have made a difference by using social media to effectively promote a cause or charity.

About Child’s Play Communications

Child’s Play Communications specializes exclusively in public relations, social media and word-of-mouth communications for products and services targeted to moms. Based in New York City, the agency has launched an exciting array of proprietary services to engage this influential market through traditional media, online and in-person, including the award-winning Team Mom™, the agency’s own network of mom bloggers. Recent company awards have included Social Media Innovator of the Year (2010) and PR Innovation of the Year (2009).  When it comes to marketing to moms, Child’s Play Communications is the agency to call. For more, visit www.childsplaypr.com.