I met Bill Wendel of Real Estate Cafe at an Inman Connect in New York City in 2005. During our conversation, I discovered Bill’s charitable streak. (It was hard to miss, being ten feet wide.) One might say that his menu of real estate services and commission rebate business model is a charity— during 2006, his Real Estate Cafe clients saved over $1 million, excluding their commission rebates.
Starbucks JoinRed Charity : Drink Coffee for Charity
Bill is always involved in blending charity into business. He recently told me about Starbucks JoinRed Program, where a portion of ALL coffee sales is donated to AIDS programs in Africa . Turning 1,000 cups of coffee into $1 Million for AIDS orphans :
Now through January 2, 2009.
The Starbucks Holiday beverages turn (RED)™ from November 27 through January 2. For every purchase of a (STARBUCKS)RED EXCLUSIVE beverage – Peppermint Mocha Twist, Gingersnap Latte and Espresso Truffle – at participating stores in the U.S. and Canada, Starbucks will contribute five cents to the Global Fund to invest in AIDS programs in Africa. Additionally, in honor of the 20th Anniversary of World AIDS Day, on Monday, December 1, Starbucks extended the five cent contribution to every hand-crafted beverage purchased at participating stores as a continued way to save lives in Africa.
Said Howard Schultz, Starbucks Chairman, President and CEO, “Now more than ever, it is important to continue to be a responsible global company. We have a deep partnership with coffee growing regions in Africa and are proud to partner with our customers to contribute toward an AIDS-free Africa.”
“All of these small choices, across millions of coffee purchases, will add a significant new contribution stream to the more than $115 million that (RED) partners have already generated to help buy lifesaving AIDS medicine for those living with HIV in Africa.”, said Susan Smith Ellis, CEO, (RED).
Have a Cup of Joe on Altos Research
The leader in local real-time real estate market statistics, Altos Research, decided to help the cause by donating $10 Starbucks cards to be used by its clients to discuss the real estate market over a cup of coffee. (It reminded me of this interactive marketing post).
I asked Scott Sambucci of Altos Research how it all happened:
The idea started with Bill Wendel and I exchanging some emails on Wednesday this week. Bill was asking about our market reports and if they were good conversation pieces for agents with their clients. He told me about his activity with the Starbucks program so I we got to thinking – “How could we get involved with this effort while supporting our clients with our product?” Idea came to us that we should give the agents a little angle to approach their VIPs or tough clients – “Meet me at SBUX to talk about the market, coffee is on me, and if nothing else, we’ll help out those less fortunate in Africa…” Talked to Mike about it and it was go-go-go.
I asked about their clients’ reception to the program.
We sent out the email last night at 8 PM PST and I had 10 responses within 10 minutes! They are just pouring in this morning – (guess I’ll be spending the weekend licking envelopes to get these cards out… Can’t wait to walk into my local Starbucks this afternoon to order a few hundred gift cards!)
I asked what value he saw in the donation.
We have the best customers in the business and we want to support them, while giving back. We’ve been very fortunate to have built a company from the ground up over a short time and we want to be able to give back a little and show our apprecation. This particular cause was selected because Bill exposed us to it, and as a national company, we know that all of our clients would be able to participate regardless of whether they are in Scottsdale, Charleston, San Francisco, or Fresno.
Get Your $10 Starbucks Card Today : Deadline is December 7, 2008
If you are an Altos Research client and would like to participate in the program, please reply to scott@altosresearch.com by Sunday, December 7, 2008. They’ll mail a $10 Starbucks card to you right way so you can schedule your meeting to help your business while giving something back.
This from Bill Wendel:
Any real estate company can participate in this open fund raising idea and adapt it to strengthen existing client relationships and build new ones?
Preliminary conversations have begun with another vendor, https://www.ratepoint.com, about how they can participate; more specifically, how conversations over coffee can help agents extend their listing contracts this month, rather than seeing them expire. My guess is that 15,000 listing contracts will expire across Massachusetts before the end of the year, so lots of conversations are going to be happening anyway. Why not do them over coffee, and contribute to the Global AIDS Fund at the same time through (Starbucks)RED.
Joe, if your readers would get involved, learn what others are doing, and share best practices, please invite them to visit or join http://changeagents.ning.com .
The Viral Marketing Potential of Twitter
Again from Bill Wendel:
If might add a note or two, I wrote Scott after he RT @guykawasaki blog post about Twitter:
http://twitter.com/
It caught my eye because I had just read Marc Davison’s blog post, The trouble with Twitter, and commented privately to him about the proposed campaign.
I hope Scott Tweet demonstrates the viral marketing potential of Twitter, and eager to see how others make similar posts as the ASAP: AIDS Shelter Alliance Partners campaign attracts other participants:
TIS THE SEASON
Since it is the gift giving season , you may want to think about how you can involve yourself in this or any other charitable project you support. Maybe there is a good cause in your local community that needs support– lend a hand, whether it’s virtual or physical. It’s good for the individual, good for the community, AND good for business.
Learn more about other aspects of the JoinRed Program here.
Technorati Tags: charitable marketing, JOINRED, Starbucks, Altos Research, Real Estate Cafe, Bill Wendel
