of influential people.   In my corporate consulting days most of the partners sat on the boards of various charities with other business executives. Youll also want to volunteer your time in a position that will show your talents and skills.   Criterion # 3 - If you are sponsoring a charitable event, try to choose one in which your target market would participate. For instance, if you run a senior living community, consider getting involved with charities for retired veterans. If you manage a sporting goods store, consider sponsoring a little league baseball team.   Criterion # 4 - Does that charity promote a religious, political, or social agenda that is questionable or controversial in any way? The last you want is your business reputation to be soiled by associating with a controversial charity. In addition, make sure you check out the charitys history to be sure it has a clean slate.   Use Publicity to Associate Your Name With That Of the Charity   Linking your name with the charitable cause is an important part of charitable marketing. Even if you are participating in a charity for altruistic reasons, theres no reason why you should not benefit from the resulting positive exposure. Here are some ideas to maximize your exposure:   1. Publicize your donations of goods or services to charities by sending press releases and photos to the local media.   2. Include your charitable involvement in your marketing materials such as newsletters, brochures, signs, displays, advertisements, and commercials.   3. Get involved with high-profile causes that attract the medias attention.   4. If you have given significant support to a program, ask that it be named after you or the name of your business.   5. Give away information about your charity as a part of your business transactions such as placing pamphlets in your retail outlets, having employees wear clothing or pins and buttons publicizing your charity, or placing charity information with your product when it ships.   6. Lastly, be sure to ask your charity to recognize your support in their publicity efforts.     Market Your Products and Services To The Constituencies of Your Charity   Most charities have thousands, even millions of people that either belong to the charity or who have some type of affinity with your charity. These people make excellent prospects for your products or services because of your indirect association with them.