Cause marketing is a partnership that can go to seed if one of the partners loses sight of the fact that the arrangement is supposed for the benefit of both.

At the Bridge to Integrated Marketing and Fundraising conference earlier this year in National Harbor, Md., Mary McGowan, chief executive officer of WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease, explained how her organization’s cause marketing partnership with clothing retailer Burlington benefited by leveraging mutual assets.

Examples from the partnership:

• The organization’s “WomenHeart Champions,” a national program including Spanish-speaking “Champions.”
• A grassroots network for women living with and at risk for heart problems.
• Platforms for engaging women.
• An English-Spanish Red Bag of Courage® nationwide program. More than 1,800 bags were distributed in 2012, the pilot year.
• 526 Burlington stores across the country serving as a platform for heart health screenings and distribution of information by “Champions.” A total of 545 women received in-store screenings during National Women’s Health Week in May of 2012.
• Point of sale (POS) promotions to support WomenHeart in February and March of 2012. Approximately 1.5 million bookmarks listing heart attack signs were distributed in February and March of 2012.
• Burlington’s large Hispanic-American female customer base.
• Continuous outreach to new customers.