"The Cause Marketing Halo Awards demonstrate the good that can be done when businesses and nonprofits team up," said David Hessekiel, president of Cause Marketing Forum, Inc. (CMFI), the program's organizer. "It's a competition in which we all win." Cause marketing is the strategy of building mutually beneficial alliances between companies and causes.

"In 1990, cause marketing spending was a bit more than $100 million — this year it is forecast to top $1.3 billion," said Hessekiel. CMFI produces an annual conference, workshops, teleclasses, and causemarketingforum.com, a website offering free resources to businesses and nonprofits interested in developing such programs.

"I'm proud to be one of Hyundai's 700 dealers across the country committed to supporting pediatric cancer research and care," said Peter Lanzavecchia, owner of Burns Hyundai in Marlton, NJ, and a member of the national Hyundai Hope On Wheels Advisory Council. "Through the Hyundai Hope On Wheels program and our partnership with CureSearch, not only are we helping to find a cure for childhood cancer, we're also celebrating treatment milestones in the lives of these brave young people battling, and beating, this disease."

"CureSearch is very proud to be associated with Hyundai Motor America and deeply grateful for the company's ongoing commitment to helping our organization reach the day when every child with cancer can be guaranteed a cure," said Paul T. Burke, president and CEO, CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation. "Being recognized with a Halo Award offers CureSearch and Hyundai a platform to showcase our incredible work in front of corporate America and shine a national spotlight on the number one disease killer of children — childhood cancer."

The Cause Marketing Forum also announced that The Home Depot and KaBOOM! each received Cause Marketing Golden Halo Awards for their leadership in this fast-growing field.

Sixteen category-specific awards were given to 2005 campaigns. The winners were:

Best Environmental/Wildlife Campaign
Gold: "Iams Home For the Holidays," Iams Pet Food and Helen Woodward Animal Center
Silver: "AT&T's My SBC eBill Paperless Program," AT&T and National Arbor Day Foundation

Best Health Campaign
Gold: "Cook for the Cure," KitchenAid and Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
Silver: "Luna/Breast Cancer Fund Partnership," Clif Bar and the Breast Cancer Fund

Best Social Service/Education Campaign
Gold: "Jones New York In The Classroom," Jones Apparel Group and four education groups
Silver: "Save Our History," The History Channel and American Association for State and Local History

Best Joint Message Promotion
Gold: "Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery," Energizer and International Association of Fire Chiefs
Silver: "Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil," ALDO Group and YouthAIDS

Best Print Creative
Gold: "Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil," ALDO Group and YouthAIDS
Silver: "Jones New York In The Classroom," Jones Apparel Group and four education groups

Best Transactional Campaign
Gold: "Music Rising," Gibson Guitar, Guitar Center and MusiCares
Silver: "Cones for Kids," Easter Seals and Friendly Ice Cream Corporation

Best Cause Marketing Event
Gold: "Hyundai Hope on Wheels," Hyundai Motor America and CureSearch
Silver: "The World's Largest Ice Cream Social," Cold Stone Creamery and Make-A-Wish Foundation of America

Best National/Local Integration
Gold: "Jones New York In The Classroom," Jones Apparel Group and four education groups
Silver: "Get Tied to the Cure," Ford Motor Co. and Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation

Learn more about CauseCentric Branding