Most companies, associations and entrepreneurs strive to build a solid position with their market.  Often the limitations reside in visibility and funding.

For many people the limitations stop them in their tracks. For others, they look for viable ways to achieve great visibility and secure funding.
Enter cause marketing, crowd funding, grants and sponsorships. Each has great benefits on how to achieve more market share, more funding and increased ability to serve a market.
Cause marketing or cause-related marketing is a type of marketing that involves the cooperative efforts of a for profit business and a nonprofit organization for mutual benefit. Cause marketing can also refer to any type of marketing effort for social and charitable causes.
Crowd funding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet.
Grants are financial awards usually given by the federal, state or local government to an eligible grantee. Government grants are not expected to be repaid by the recipient. There is often a lengthy application process to qualify and be approved for a government grant. Most recipients are required to provide periodic reports on their grant project progress.
Sponsorships involve a person or organization that pays the cost of an activity or event (such as a radio or television program, sports event, concert, etc.) in return for the right to advertise during the activity or event.
Sponsorships can also be a person or organization that gives someone money for participating in a charity event (such as a walk or race)
Another level of sponsorship is an organization that gives money to an athlete for training, clothes, equipment, etc., in return for the right to use the athlete for advertising.
The reality is that many people have a passion for the work they do but are limited for the reasons outlined above. I have effectively utilized cause marketing and sponsorships to grow my business.
A friend recently used crowd funding to publish her book.
Here’s a great example of someone who is getting very creative in how she can use her life’s work to give back. Fine artist Lorraine Lawson has been mentoring at risk teens for over three years teaching them how to channel their energy in very productive ways through art.
Up to this point her efforts have been self funded. In talking to Lorraine, it quickly becomes apparent how passionate she is to help as many at-risk youth as possible.
Lorraine also knows her current facility limits the number of teens she can help. The solution? A grant to that will enable her to expand the size of her gallery and increase the supplies she needs for the classes she makes available free of charge to the teens.
There’s just one catch. A prerequisite of submitting the paperwork is that she must have a minimum of 250 votes to support her cause. A vote is done by clicking a button on her page at Mission Main Street Grants website.
With that in mind she has been enlisting the support of friends, family and colleagues to get the word out.
Admittedly, there’s another reason I share Lorraine’s vision; she’s my sister. Ever since I can remember Lorraine has been passionate about art. Add to that her passion to help at risk youth and the combination is incredible.
With one young man she helped him channel his desire from painting buildings with graffiti to painting on canvas.
But again, she does need votes to qualify for the submission process. To vote go to: https://www.missionmainstreetgrants.com/business/detail/21834
To learn more about Lorraine go to http://onefineartist.com/
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