National effort gains national sponsors.

National organizations pull in big-name corporate sponsors like Frito-Lay, 3M, and Amtrak. That's a lesson the Make-A-Wish Foundation relied on when the organization's first national effort started this past June that stressed the average person could help a child with a wish. The major sponsors started appearing to help the nonprofit as word spread about the national campaign.

"We drew in major sponsors because of Destination Joy," said Jennifer Maher, vice president of marketing and corporate alliances for Make-A-Wish in Phoenix, Ariz. "We didn't have a relationship with many companies so we were looking for that national alignment with a brand around the theme of joy."

Paulette Maehara shares those feelings. She is president and chief executive officer of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) in Arlington, Va. Two years ago, the AFP started to completely update the national Web site with those of the chapters so all chapters will have a certain look by early 2009.

"You have an ability to grab national sponsors if you have a national presence," she said. "If you're only doing business in one city, that might not be necessary, but if you're active across the country, then you can struggle without a national sponsor."

When Maehara worked with another organization, she encountered the situation where she attended a meeting with a potential sponsor to secure a grant. "If you see yourself coming one day and then the sponsor is visited by a chapter the next day, your organization looks silly," she said. "National sponsors know that the two people came from the same organization."

In the Make-A-Wish campaign, the vendor Digital Pulp Inc., aided the nonprofit by launching a new area on the site entitled, "Ways to Help." The section acts to centralize ways viewers can lend a hand. The sponsor is Disney.

The new section provides an easy access for local chapters to list their priorities. Viewers can type in a ZIP code to find the specific needs from neighboring chapters.

Make-A-Wish is eyeing a future advancement to give each local office a chance to participate in a regional Web site.

Donors face many choices and people often give to as many as 45 places, according to David Lawson vice president, market strategies for Kintera, Inc., based in San Diego. "In that environment, organizations need to decide who controls the message and how that message gets across all channels," he said.