CAECAY Marketing Plan Evaluates Our Impact on Support Charities

CAECAY Marketing Plan evaluates the Impact of CAECAY with Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim, Superstar Management, ¿eX-whY? and Nowtruth partner clients Matching Athletes, Entertainers, Celebrities, and Influencers on Support Charities Creating Opportunities and Alternatives for Youth.

CAECAY’s marketing plan aims evaluates the impact of matching athletes, entertainers, celebrities, and influencers with support charities that create opportunities and alternatives for youth. By leveraging the reach and influence of these individuals, the plan seeks to measure the effectiveness of their involvement in raising awareness, driving engagement, and generating support for these charitable organizations.

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CAECAY Objective:

The primary objective of this marketing plan is to assess the impact of matching athletes, entertainers, celebrities, and influencers with support charities on creating opportunities and alternatives for youth. The specific goals include:

a) Measuring the increase in awareness and visibility of the charities’ initiatives.

b) Evaluating the engagement and response generated by the target audience.

c) Assessing the growth in support, both in terms of donations and volunteer involvement.

CAECAY Target Audience:

The target audience for this marketing plan includes:

a) Existing supporters of the charities.

b) Potential donors interested in youth development and social causes.

c) Youth themselves, who can benefit from the alternatives created by these charities.

d) Fans and followers of the athletes, entertainers, celebrities, and influencers.

CAECAY Strategy:

a) Partnership Selection: Identify athletes, entertainers, celebrities, and influencers whose values align with the mission and vision of the support charities. Consider their credibility, influence, and ability to connect with the target audience.

b) Collaborative Campaigns: Design engaging and impactful campaigns that highlight the work of the charities, emphasizing the positive outcomes and alternatives they create for youth. Incorporate the personalities and unique talents of the selected individuals to maximize impact and resonance.

c) Multi-channel Approach: Utilize various marketing channels such as social media, television, radio, events, and print media to reach a wide range of audiences. Tailor the messaging to each channel and target audience segment to ensure maximum effectiveness.

d) Tracking and Analysis: Implement tracking mechanisms to monitor the impact of the campaigns. Evaluate key performance indicators (KPIs) such as increased brand awareness, website traffic, social media engagement, donations received, and volunteer sign-ups. Regularly analyze data to gauge the success of the campaigns and make necessary adjustments.

CAECAY Implementation:

a) Develop compelling campaign narratives that highlight the stories of youth who have benefited from the alternatives created by the support charities.

b) Create visually appealing and shareable content that resonates with the target audience.

c) Collaborate with the selected individuals to co-create and distribute campaign content through their social media channels, leveraging their existing fan base and influence.

d) Organize events and fundraisers that provide opportunities for the target audience to engage directly with the support charities and the partnered athletes, entertainers, celebrities, and influencers.

CAECAY Evaluation:

a) Conduct regular surveys and polls to measure changes in awareness, perception, and willingness to support the charities.

b) Monitor social media metrics, website analytics, and donation data to assess the impact of the campaigns.

c) Compare the performance of campaigns with and without the involvement of athletes, entertainers, celebrities, and influencers to gauge their effectiveness.

d) Seek feedback from the support charities, individuals involved, and the target audience to identify areas of improvement and potential future collaborations.

CAECAY with Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim, Superstar Management, ¿eX-whY? and Nowtruth partner clients Matching athletes, entertainers, celebrities, and influencers with support charities has the potential to create significant positive change for youth by raising awareness, driving engagement, and generating support. By implementing this marketing plan and evaluating the impact of their involvement, we can measure the effectiveness of such collaborations and continuously improve strategies to maximize the benefits for the support charities and the youth they serve.

To enjoy these benefits, join CAECAY’s “ICONS CHARITY REGISTRAR”, go to“Matching Charitable Philanthropic Organizations with ICONS”:  https://caecay.org/matching-charitable-philanthropic-organizations-with-icons/ or “Matching ICONS with Charitable Philanthropic Organizations”:  https://caecay.org/matching-icons-with-charitable-philantropic-organizations/ pages to complete the requisite form and submission. Are you interested in growing your business?
We are offering a FREE Business analysis and will discuss your needs for an overall Strategic Plan including a Website upgrade with a national media campaign, after you have completed the Strategic Planning Client Questionnaire on our website and schedule a meeting to contract our services and move forward to SUCCESS!
We can mount a media campaign for you with events and advantages your business offers to potential clients as the centerpiece of that effort. This could not only provide exposure and build your new brand, but could also build your business development with corporate sponsors, business partners, non-profit organizations and donors.
You could be your own special BRAND within and without the business campaign! This will not detract from the business campaign in any way and inevitably lead to other business opportunities, and a very effective social position that will allow you to achieve more business goals!
We will be integrally involved in creating the campaign concept with you as both a separate branded entity and the business brand. We would develop them within the overall brand platform and defining a tangible brand experience across the myriad offerings of the business services and social activities. Our work will touch on all aspects of the business as a brand, and the brand’s physical presentation; client offerings; programs; events; promotions; Web site; marketing; advertising; publicist; social media managements; sponsorship vehicles; and creation of “your business Community” through multi-channel strategies for both traditional and new media to engender an engaging, interactive and sustainable customer experience.
We will to develop and create expedient, viable, replicable solutions to optimize your bottom line, raise your public profile and social perception while increasing the satisfaction quotient for your customers.
From the great success that we have had with our Free Food Programs established in the 1950’s by my Parents, Aaron and Margaret Wallace, we have since been instrumental in the founding and supplying of other free food service organizations around the country.
With the demand for our help in creating these organizations being driven by the skyrocketing need for the services, we have decided to open up our efforts to all interested in starting a food pantry for the needy.
We can provide access to the training necessary to qualify your organization and partner you with the local organizations and businesses that can support your efforts. Contact us and we will help you through the RED TAPE and push your program to success!
We were honored in Miami, Florida and Port Au Prince, Haiti last month for the Relief Missions that we have sent to Haiti since the earthquake and are currently up for an EMMY with “OUT. The Glenn Burke Story”, have already won several honors for it and expect more.
Special “Thanks” to all that have supported our efforts over the years!
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CAECAY’S ICONS CHARITY REGISTRAR

CAECAY’S ICONS CHARITY REGISTRAR

Congress of Athletes Entertainers and Celebrities Creating Alternatives for Youths

Welcome to the Congress of Athletes Entertainers and Celebrities Creating Alternatives for Youths (CAECAY), CAECAY’s ICONS CHARITY REGISTRAR, at the CAECAY.ORG website.

In today’s digital age, the power of personal branding has never been more apparent. For student athletes, entertainers, celebrities, and influencers, the ability to monetize their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) has become a game-changer. A world of opportunities has opened up in NIL. Leading the way in this transformative landscape is the Congress of Athletes Entertainers and Celebrities Creating Alternatives for Youths (CAECAY). With over 50 years of experience and a commitment to empowering individuals, CAECAY, in collaboration with esteemed organizations and personalities like the Aaron & Margaret Wallace Foundation (AMWF), Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim, Superstar Management, Ex-why AdVentures, and Nowtruth, is poised to revolutionize the world of NIL monetization.

CAECAY works with the Aaron & Margaret Wallace Foundation (AMWF), a 501(c)(3) public charity that was founded in 1957, in collaboration with Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim, Superstar Management, ¿eX-whY? AdVentures and Nowtruth. This strategic union assist professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers in fulfilling their philanthropic aspirations and charities in fundraising fulfillment using celebrities. The AMWF, Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim, Superstar Management, ¿eX-whY? AdVentures and Nowtruth strategic union accomplishes this mission with it’s unique offering of superior attributes for providing professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers, and celebrity like organizations, with Brand Ambassadors, endorsements, partnerships and sponsorships, advertising, marketing, sales, promotional, strategic media and social media campaigns, with expert advice and services in Motion Picture, Television, Video, Radio, Audio, Print Commercial/Ads, Social Media, Podcast, Blog/Vlog, Web Ads that include state of the art technology and a 501(c)(3) platform from which they can conduct their charitable events. In addition to these services, CAECAY also provides professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers with processing and fulfillment services to help them meet the numerous requests for assistance that they receive from charities each year.

CAECAY further meets its mission by increasing the accessibility of charities to professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers, and the tremendous benefits that such access can provide to charities. This goal is primarily accomplished through CAECAY’s “ICONS CHARITY REGISTRAR”, with the “Matching Charitable Philanthropic Organizations with ICONS” or “Matching ICONS with Charitable Philanthropic Organizations”, which ever applies to you.

CAECAY has also donated at no charge to the charity, autographed memorabilia by the professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers experiences that the charities then use to raise funds for their programs. Since its inception, CAECAY has worked with charities from around the corner to around the world, that help the poor and disadvantaged, youth, assist those afflicted by disease, aid veterans injured by war, social justice, and homelessness.

To join CAECAY’s ICONS CHARITY REGISTRAR, go to “Matching Charitable Philanthropic Organizations with ICONS”:  https://caecay.org/matching-charitable-philanthropic-organizations-with-icons/ or “Matching ICONS with Charitable Philanthropic Organizations”:  https://caecay.org/matching-icons-with-charitable-philantropic-organizations/

The Mission of CAECAY is “To unite the goodwill of professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers with the generosity of their fans to assist people in need” which it achieves by assisting professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities, influencers and related organizations in fulfilling their philanthropic aspirations.

Since it’s inception, it has also been a primary goal of CAECAY to increase the accessibility of charities to professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers and the tremendous benefits that such access can provide to them. This is primarily done with our Brand Ambassadors, endorsements, partnerships and sponsorships, advertising, marketing, sales, promotional, strategic media and social media campaigns, with expert advice and services in Motion Picture, Television, Video, Radio, Audio, Print Commercial/Ads, Social Media, Podcast, Blog/Vlog, Web Ads.

One special feature we can provide is donating autographed memorabilia for fundraising purposes through CAECAY’s ICONS CHARITY REGISTRAR. Join CAECAY’s ICONS CHARITY REGISTRAR at “Matching Charitable Philanthropic Organizations with ICONS”:  https://caecay.org/matching-charitable-philanthropic-organizations-with-icons/ or “Matching ICONS with Charitable Philanthropic Organizations” https://caecay.org/matching-icons-with-charitable-philantropic-organizations/

Athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers, and their agents, are often inundated with requests from charities to assist them with their fundraising efforts. These requests often include requests for autographed memorabilia, lending the professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers’s name to the charity, or making a personal appearance on behalf of the charity. Furthermore, they are also often asked, by both charities and individuals, to provide autographed memorabilia and/or to meet seriously or terminally ill individuals.

In most cases, professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers are all too willing to sign a photo for a fan, especially one who is ill, or provide a charity with various autographed memorabilia for their fundraising efforts. However, given the active and lucrative memorabilia market that exists today, these professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers want to make sure that these items are going to fans or charities and not to unscrupulous dealers and individuals.

To assist professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers, and their agents, in meeting these many requests, CAECAY provides celebrities with a service whereby CAECAY represents the philanthropic interests of the professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers; effectively becoming their “philanthropic agent”. The celebrities and their agents direct any charitable requests they receive to CAECAY, where CAECAY processes and fulfills these requests on behalf of the professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers. Requests for autographed memorabilia are screened to ensure that the items will be utilized for charitable purposes and, if approved, the requests are fulfilled with items that have been purchased, autographed by the professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers.

Requests for the use of a professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers name, image or likeness, or for a personal appearance by a them, are scrutinized against criteria set forth by the professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers. If the request meets these criteria, CAECAY forwards the request to them for their review.

CAECAY does not charge professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers or those receiving memorabilia for this service. However, these professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers appear at CAECAY fundraising events that help raise the funds for CAECAY’s programs.

Many charities do not have the constituency or the access to professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers to garner much, if any, support from them. To assist these charities, CAECAY’s ICONS CHARITY REGISTRAR utilizes CAECAY’s relationships with the professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers it works with to provide some assistance to these charities. CAECAY can provide autographed memorabilia that charities can, by applying directly to CAECAY, have donated to them for utilization in their fundraising efforts.

Athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers often seek to utilize their professional success to fulfill their philanthropic aspirations but often find the myriad of state and federal statutes that regulate charitable organizations both overwhelming to them and beyond the expertise of their traditional advisors. Additionally, those who do manage to navigate these regulations are often surprised to find that there are many ongoing responsibilities required to maintain such a charitable organization.

CAECAY provides these professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers with professional advice as to how they can best achieve their philanthropic aspirations; explaining to them the details of what is involved in establishing and maintaining their own foundation, as well as several other options that are available to them. CAECAY provides these services to professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers free of charge.

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Often, professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers want to assist certain charitable causes but do not want to establish their own foundations. Furthermore, whereas they are lending their name, image, likeness and reputation, to any such charitable endeavor, they want to ensure that it is conducted professionally and with the utmost integrity.

CAECAY provides these professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers with a 501(c)3 non-profit forum from which they can conduct charitable events such as concerts, celebrity golf and tennis tournaments, basketball games, hockey games, softball games, and casino nights. CAECAY also assists these professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers with Brand Ambassadors, endorsements, partnerships and sponsorships, advertising, marketing, sales, promotional, strategic media and social media campaigns, with expert advice and services in Motion Picture, Television, Video, Radio, Audio, Print Commercial/Ads, Social Media, Podcast, Blog/Vlog, Web Ads in conducting these events by preparing a budget, retaining the services of a production company, and soliciting sponsors and participants.

For its services, CAECAY retains a small portion of the proceeds to fund its charitable work and donates the remaining net proceeds to the charity, or charities, that the professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers event was created to support.

While many of the services that CAECAY provides are designed to assist professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers in fulfilling their own philanthropic aspirations, CAECAY does currently provide charities that are not directly supported by a professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers, especially small ones, with various autographed memorabilia for use with their own fundraising efforts. The autographed memorabilia that CAECAY provides is from professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers and the donation of this memorabilia is worldwide.

If you are a charity and would like CAECAY assist you in securing a athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers, and/or with Brand Ambassadors, endorsements, partnerships and sponsorships, advertising, marketing, sales, promotional, strategic media and social media campaigns, with expert advice and services or to donate autographed memorabilia to your organization for its fundraising efforts, please join CAECAY’s “ICONS CHARITY REGISTRAR”, complete the Online request form for “Matching Charitable Philanthropic Organizations with ICONS” or “Matching ICONS with Charitable Philanthropic Organizations”, which ever one applies to you. Print and sign it, then please submit the Application, along with the additional information that is required, in accordance with the Instructions. Please note that CAECAY’s ability to fulfill your request is subject to the availability of autographed memorabilia at the time of your application. Furthermore, you must apply at least six months before your fundraising event to receive a donation.

If you are interested in any of the other Services that CAECAY offers, please Contact CAECAY directly at CAECAY@CAECAY.org.

To join CAECAY’s “ICONS CHARITY REGISTRAR”, go to“Matching Charitable Philanthropic Organizations with ICONS”:  https://caecay.org/matching-charitable-philanthropic-organizations-with-icons/ or “Matching ICONS with Charitable Philanthropic Organizations”:  https://caecay.org/matching-icons-with-charitable-philantropic-organizations/

Fee Schedule

FREE/Small Fee: CAECAY represents the philanthropic interests of the professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers; effectively becoming their “philanthropic agent” FREE or for a small fee depending on the labor intensity needs of the client. The celebrities and their agents direct any charitable requests they receive to CAECAY, where CAECAY processes and fulfills these requests on behalf of the professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers. Requests for autographed memorabilia are screened to ensure that the items will be utilized for charitable purposes and, if approved, the requests are fulfilled with items that have been purchased, autographed by the professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers.

Service Fee: For its services, CAECAY retains a small portion of the proceeds from the events we work on to fund its charitable work and donates the remaining net proceeds to the charity, or charities, that the professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers event was created to support.

Sliding Scale: Small business charities pay an amount that is calculated based on their size, ability to pay, and needs being Local- City, County; State; Regional; National, or Worldwide for our services, CAECAY retains a small portion of the proceeds to fund its charitable work and donates the remaining net proceeds to the charity, or charities, that the professional athletes, entertainers, celebrities and influencers event was created to support.

Hourly Rate: Based on our FULL SERVICES to the clients.

Percentage: Based on our FULL SERVICES to the clients.
Hourly Rate against a Percentage: Based on our FULL SERVICES to the clients that will pay an hourly fee that is applied to the percentage fee return.

Celebrity Supporters Can Bring Visibility to Charities — but Careful Screening Is Crucial

Celebrities and charities can make a productive marriage — with the famous satisfying their desire to help society (and perhaps burnishing their public images at the same time) and the organizations enjoying greater visibility and often an increase in donations. But when the parties are mismatched, the pairings can also result in splits as acrimonious as any high-profile Hollywood divorce — with potential hazards for charities that have pinned too many of their hopes on a star.

Public figures, say charity managers and fund raisers, are particularly good at drawing attention to an organization’s mission and giving a boost to fund-raising efforts. But nonprofit leaders still advocate screening celebrities carefully to make sure their aims and those of a charity overlap, and clearly communicating both parties’ expectations.

Many public figures want to share their good fortune with worthy organizations. A lot of celebrities are good people, they have good hearts and good souls.

An example, several popular young singers, including Alicia Keys and Gwen Stefani, organized a remake of the Marvin Gaye song “What’s Going On,” which was eventually released to benefit several organizations. It was really impressive to see how blessed they felt they were for having been given the gift of celebrity. It helped them cope with their celebrity status for having received the wealth they have received. These are people who want to use music to change the world

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That’s a more idealistic view.

The Personal Touch

Celebrity involvement often takes the form of public-service announcements or the occasional personal appearance to help a fund-raising event attract more people and garner more news coverage. For some organizations, that is all the lift they need.

You should alway plans something special for Special Events. You not only want a top-notch performer, but you want to get them to spend a little time with the donors and volunteers. If they can really engage beyond what they do on stage, that’s an asset to any organization.

Have them attend a reception, then perform, before or after dinner. After the performance, the celebrities posed for photos with major donors. Often, it is in that post-performance schmoozing that is most beneficial to the charity. The celebrity is able to have a positive impact if they spent time with attendees to talk to them after each photo. It is very real and very generous. The celebrity always kept exclaiming how excited they were about the mission. The celebrity really saw what was happening and was eager to support it.

We believe that the celebrity personal touch will help strengthen the relationship with its supporters for the future. It’s not always the immediate that’s apparent. With the photos, the conversations, make a long-term impression with the donors. It’s just another reason to enjoy coming to the office.

When celebrities make personal connections to their charities, their commitment deepens beyond a general wish to do good. Their working-class roots or religion can enhance their desire to help. During the corporate tour, they should met the group’s executive director that can lead to a kinship and bonding with their clients from the beginning. They may really appreciate the people there by striking up friendships with several of the employees, and they look forward to seeing each other.

Preparing Stars to Shine

No matter how strongly a public figure believes in a charity’s mission, it’s vital to prepare them for their inevitable role as the group’s public supporter.

The media turns out when you have celebrity participation. It becomes your job, when there’s a celebrity who might get targeted by the media, to make sure they have the knowledge that they need. Failing to do so can cause embarrassment — for the celebrity, who may look foolish or naive in front of the press, and for the organization, which can be trivialized or misrepresented.

When prepping famous supporters, give them its mission statement, and offers them a “sound bite” or one-line summary of the organization’s work that they can repeat to the press.

We also work hard to identify one or two standout accomplishments that are easy for people to remember. There’s no need to weigh them down with data: Bear in mind that celebrities and their talent for communication can be a great asset, and that the media is often only looking for one or two quick statements about what you do and how successful you are.

In addition, celebrities take corporate tours to learn about its programs firsthand. While the organization does not have a single designated celebrity spokesperson, it has been the recipient of a broad range of participation from famous supporters in both its programming and fund-raising efforts — and that helps when dealing with the news media. Where possible, you want people to be able to speak about their own impressions and time spent with you.

Telling celebrity supporters about an organization’s work is important, but as public figures find out about the charity, the charity should also gauge their willingness to commit both time and money to the cause to help celebrities set up charitable foundations.

The best way for a charitable organization to get the maximum benefit from their relationships with celebrities is to inform the would-be supporters, as clearly and simply as possible, what will be expected of them. They’re pulled in a million different directions, and focus is a problem.

One way to determine a celebrity’s long-term commitment lies in the bottom line. It’s absolutely critical that celebrities donate money. Why should I, as someone who makes hundreds of times less, donate if they don’t? Sure, their time is important, but the public might well say, “If you won’t put up a dollar of your money, why should I?” Yes, their time is valuable, but the fact that they are celebrities is what enables their time to be valuable. Giving shows a stronger commitment.

Despite this recommendation, many charities do not require monetary donations from their celebrity supporters. As with non celebrities, a strong financial commitment to a cause usually accompanies in-depth involvement. But in the case of famous people, one-time associations are often likely to result in the celebrities receiving honoraria of their own with a donation to the celebrity’s foundation.

Some organizations are so in need of visibility — and grateful for celebrity help — that they shy away from also requesting donations. It can be such an ordeal, in terms of scheduling, to get them to participate in different kinds of things that take a back seat. Perhaps you’re a small, poorly funded nonprofit doing advocacy. Certainly, we could all benefit from more money. But you have to be careful about not over asking including requests for financial aid.

Avoiding Controversy

Having a famous supporter onboard can give a nonprofit group wide visibility. However, that spotlight can grow uncomfortably hot if the celebrity becomes embroiled in a public controversy or personal scandal. And even the most wholesome of public figures may become burdensome to a charity if they lack commitment — or bring unreasonable demands.

Careful screening has helped prevent some charities from entering into relationships with troubled celebrities. United Way of America, for example, has for 30 years been served by supporters who play in the National Football League — an organization that, despite its members’ popularity, has in recent years seen some of its athletes embroiled in substance abuse, and accused of domestic violence and even murder. However, the charity has not been tarnished by some football players’ brushes with the law because the league does its own careful choosing of its representatives. To be recruited by the league and the teams for United Way work, the players need to be model citizens who believe in and exemplify through their citizenship the type of message that we’re trying to deliver through the campaign.

Without a group like the National Football League to pick the most likely prospects from its own ranks, however, the process becomes akin to hiring a staff member. You need to talk to a wide spectrum of people and really need to do a thorough background check.

There are a few basic “red flags” to heed. It’s common sense that if someone is not getting back to you in a timely manner, that’s a good indication of how business is going to go. If they’re uncomfortable talking about their own charitable commitments, that would also be a red flag, because if they’re noncommittal about where they’re donating their own money, it would indicate that they’re not really giving.

Even well-intentioned celebrities can become so high-maintenance that their demands outweigh the benefits of their support. The need to make both sides’ expectations clear at the outset. Up front, ask what they would be looking for in return, are they expecting travel expenses for themselves, a significant other, a whole entourage? If they need first-class accommodations for a dozen people, it’s a real test of their commitment to you. And if you get more involved with them later on, it’s just going to get worse, not better. And if you’re trying to raise money, it can cut into that.

Some non-profits has seen first-hand the trouble that can come from dealing with the associates of celebrities being sued for activities of a fund trustee, lawyer, the stars, former employers, for claims that they sabotaged the relationship with the entertainers and suggestion that they hire a friend of the entertainer as a fund raiser even though they had no experience in the field.

Non-profit charities have learned over the years that philanthropy needs to be treated like a business, and you’ve got to know who you are working with, whether the people you are hiring or doing business with are celebrities or not.

Another pitfall for the relationship between public figures and charities can come when an artist’s marketability stands at odds with a charity’s message. The Global AIDS Alliance’s “What’s Going On” project has originally been intended as a campaign solely to benefit international groups that fight the disease. But when, after September 11, record companies and others feared its AIDS message would be irrelevant in the wake of the terrorist attacks, the song was released to benefit the September 11th Fund as well.

However, some artists who were involved in the project when it was intended to benefit AIDS charities were upset that the money generated would now be split with another cause. And other artists feared that the song’s antiwar lyrics would trigger a backlash among fans eager to retaliate for the terror attacks. The artists might have been antiwar, but their audiences at that time might not have been. The controversies, he says, hurt both the song’s fund-raising efficacy and its anti-AIDS educational message.

People who are involved in celebrity, advocacy, and cause-related work, monitor what’s being said about them, and if they get a negative response from their audience, they modify their advocacy. Their power is only in their ability to maintain a following. If they don’t have people buying their CDs, they don’t have a way of helping any cause. They won’t do anything to compromise it.

Advocacy is a risk for people. The primary objective is to sell records. They are marketers. If they try to integrate the marketing of their cause, and if there’s some kind of push-back, they might retreat, they might modify how they relate to the cause.

A key point of any long-term association, understand celebrities who are not fully committed to a charity’s mission may lend their support only until it becomes inconvenient for them. An organization needs to figure out from the start why famous people are willing to help.

Is there a personal connection, do they really believe in it to the very core of their being, or is it a way for them to get publicity? Because if it’s the last one, it’s never going to work out. Once the need for publicity runs out, they’re going to be gone. About Abdul-Jalil

ESPN’s Keith Olbermann Knocks Gay Jason Collins STRAIGHT!

ESPN’s Keith Olbermann Knocks Gay Jason Collins STRAIGHT!

Keith pays tribute to the first openly gay player in one of the four major sports. And it’s not Jason Collins. On “Olbermann”, Keith talked about Glenn Burke, the LA Dodger who was the first openly gay athlete in major sports over 30 years before Jason Collins, and he hits a sweet spot. It’s personal, rational and ends with a shocking twist.
Glenn Burke, the Real First Openly Gay Athlete in Professional Sports
Glenn Keith
“If I can make friends honestly, it may be a step toward gays and straight people understanding each other. Maybe they’ll say, ‘He’s all right, there’s got to be a few more all right.’ Maybe it will begin to make it easier for other young gays to go into sports.” Glenn Burke
Those are the words of Major League Baseball’s first openly gay player. While the national media covers Jason Collins‘ first minutes on the court as an openly gay professional basketball player and the NFL network constantly breaks down rookie Michael Sam‘s combine stats, we forget about the ORIGINAL sports pioneer.
Glenn Burke played 225 games in the majors as a Dodger and as a member of the Athletics, with 523 at-bats, a .237 average, two home runs, 38 RBIs and 35 stolen bases. While those numbers remain far from stellar, he contributed as a spirited member of the locker room, well liked by his teammates.
Dusty Hi 5 Glenn aft HRMajor League Baseball didn’t either know how to deal with his sexual orientation or chose not to. The media wouldn’t touch the story until years after he left the game. Glenn Burke was a trailblazer who arrived on the scene long before our culture knew how to embrace him.
Over the next few weeks, forgive me if I seem apathetic towards media reports about the progress of Mr. Sam or Mr. Collins in their Collins Big Herorespective sports. We live in 2014. A player’s sexual orientation shouldn’t have any bearing on how well they throw a ball or how much weight they can lift. While they may have overcome hardships in their quest to seek a career in professional sports while maintaining their authenticity as a person, it pales in comparison to Burke’s journey more than 35 years ago. Most of us have come a long way since then, although you wouldn’t know it by the actions of a few knuckle-draggers.
I would write more about it, but wordsmith and sports personality Keith Olbermann eloquently sums it up better in 5 minutes than most professional journalists could with an entire novel.
The next time you read or hear a story about a gay athlete, remember outfielder Glenn Burke.
If you have any interest in learning more about his journey, check out his story from the 1982 issue of Inside Sports chronicling Burke’s time as a professional baseball player. Heartbreaking, courageous, inspiring and tragic… all words to describe the tale of professional sports’ first openly gay athlete.
Watch “Olbermann” weeknights on ESPN2 at 11pm ET

Marshawn Lynch’s Quiet Power Behind Seahawks’ Super Run

EDITOR’S NOTE: Michael Silver wrote this piece after an exclusive interview with Marshawn Lynch last week, when the running back wasn’t sure if he would attend Super Bowl XLVIII Media Day. On Tuesday, Lynch did indeed appear at the event to briefly speak with the assembled media before spending some additional time with NFL Network’s …
Continue reading Marshawn Lynch’s Quiet Power Behind Seahawks’ Super Run

“How a Grieving Family Saved A Troubled City with A Martyr”

“How a Grieving Family Saved A Troubled City with A Martyr”
http://youtu.be/NbXiNSQZcsU

The year 2009 began with a tragedy at an Oakland BART station. Shortly after 2 a.m. on New Year’s Day, BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle shot and killed 22-year-old Oscar Grant II, of Hayward, on the platform of the Fruitvale station after responding to reports of a fight on a train.

“Make no mistake about it Oscar Grant was Murdered, Executed by a BART cop!” That was the echoing sentiment boiling up from among the justifiably angry, restless community of Oakland and the surrounding communities that spread world wide as video of Oscar Grants execution was blared over and over on television screens all around the world. It had become the quintessential poster for the ultimate example of Police misconduct and abuse- a lawless execution as the Black victim lay face-down on the ground, hands behind his back, shot, then handcuffed as he dies- all caught on cameras for the world to see!

Also caught on camera for the world to see was the public reaction to the execution that led to violent protests, as the public “showed their outrage” with the costly destruction of property to areas around town.

The gunman police officer was allowed to go free, traveled outside the state of California until he was charged with murder and appended in Nevada after National public protest forced the District Attorney to file criminal charges. His attorney has argued he meant to fire his Taser gun when he shot and killed Grant.

Fruitvale Station
In the early hours of Jan. 1, 2009, Oscar Grant III, unarmed and lying face down on a subway platform in Oakland, Calif., was shot in the back by a white Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer. The incident, captured on video by onlookers, incited protest, unrest and arguments similar to those that would swirl around the killing of Trayvon Martin in Florida a few years later. The deaths of these and other African-American young men (Mr. Grant was 22) touch some of the rawest nerves in the body politic and raise thorny and apparently intractable issues of law and order, violence and race.

Fruitvale Station, Michael B. Jordan and Ariana Neal play father and daughter in this debut feature by Ryan Coogler, which opens on Friday in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Mr. Jordan plays Oscar Grant, who was killed by a Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer.
Those matters are hardly absent from “Fruitvale Station,” Ryan Coogler’s powerful and sensitive debut feature, which imaginatively reconstructs the last 24 or so hours of Oscar Grant’s life, flashing back from a horrifying snippet of actual cellphone video of the hectic moments before the shooting. But Mr. Coogler, a 27-year-old Bay Area native who went to film school at the University of Southern California, examines his subject with a steady, objective eye and tells his story in the key of wise heartbreak rather than blind rage. It is not that the movie is apolitical or disengaged from the painful, public implications of Mr. Grant’s fate. But everything it has to say about class, masculinity and the tricky relations among different kinds of people in a proudly diverse and liberal metropolis is embedded in details of character and place.

Before Jason Collins

Before Jason Collins
The world is throwing a parade for Jason Collins, the 7-foot free-agent NBA center who came out last month. He was hugged by Oprah, celebrated by “Good Morning America,” and congratulated by President Obama.

But nobody seems to remember baseball’s Glenn Burke, who tried to come out nearly 40 years ago and was stuffed back in.

“How’s Jason Collins going to talk about being the first?” says Burke’s agent, Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim. “Glenn Burke was the first. And he wasn’t any free agent, either. He was in the lineup.”

Glenn Burke was a barrel-chested jokester, a singing, dancing, one-man cabaret. His teammates called him King Kong. In high school, the 6-foot Burke could dunk two basketballs at once, in street shoes. He roamed center field for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Oakland A’s in the late 1970s.

Burke was the pulse of the clubhouse. He wore a red jock. He’d jump in the backs of pink Rolls-Royces after games. He invented the high-five (with Dusty Baker). Oh, yes, he did.

He was as out as an athlete could be in the mid-1970s. It wasn’t that he was flaunting it. It was that he couldn’t keep it in.

“When we’d land at airports,” remembers Davey Lopes, the Dodgers’ second baseman. “There’d always be guys waiting for Glenn. We’d go our way and he’d go off on his merry way. We’d go to clubs and women would hand him their numbers. But he’d never call ’em. Didn’t matter to us. We loved him.”

In the famous 1977 Dodgers-Yankees World Series — starring Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munson, Steve Garvey, and Ron Cey — only one rookie cracked either starting lineup: Glenn Burke.

“Nobody tripped that he was gay,” says Burke’s longtime pal, Doug Harris, who produced the documentary “Out” about Burke in 2010. “The people who tripped off it were the Dodgers [management]. They didn’t want to talk about it. He was trying to tell the reporters, but they said they couldn’t write that stuff.”