Cause Marketing: Cause Marketing is the art of combining your commercial brand with a non-profit issue. Cause marketing campaigns have years of history and range from relatively superficial tactical partnerships, to long-term, strategic alliances that penetrate deeply into business and nonprofit organizations.

Don’t forget to provide some backup for your holiday charity initiatives this year. The news is filled with reports of charities that are unable to meet demand, because people just aren’t as interested in giving when they’re worried about the future.

Bridge Street Centre in Alabama, US, is doing a great job of pushing its charity this year. This Saturday, it’s kicking off its “Be a Santa to a Senior” initiative. The shopping center has pulled in a little star power to back it up: when shoppers drop off a donation that will help seniors meet their basic needs this holiday, they get an autograph from a member of the Rockettes, as well as a picture with her. There will also be snacks and drinks on hand to make the drive more festive.

How is your mall pushing its charity initiatives this holiday season?

This week, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. The rest of the world might also benefit from some time spent with family, with good hearty food and a reminder that there are things to be thankful for.

But while we can be thankful with or without a holiday, it’s the day after Thanksgiving that US malls and retailers look forward to (and that mall employees dread). On Friday, shoppers will be out in force, looking for crazy deals and huge discounts to kick off the Christmas shopping season. Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year, and the sales are enough to bring the shoppers in.

But in a nice touch, The Summit in Nevada, US, is giving a little bit back to its shoppers. Shoppers who aren’t already in line for a doorcrasher elsewhere in the mall can line up in the morning for a gift – a mystery gift card that will be worth anywhere from $10 to $500. For shoppers on a budget, that might be the detail that drives them to The Summit over other area malls.  It will certainly help spread a little good will and cheer on a busy, stressful day.

The weekly open market may not be a major competitor to the shopping center, but there’s no denying its growing popularity. They spring up in urban centers everywhere, modelling themselves on the Portobello Road Market, and they draw hundreds or thousands of locals and tourists. Local artisans and entrepreneurs man booths and sell their wares, and shoppers spend hours looking for great deals and unique gifts.

So The Shops At Prudential Center has given itself a great weekly draw over the holidays by hosting the Prudential Center Artisan Market every weekend over the holidays. The market is organized by the directors of the wildly popular SoWa Open Market, which, being an outdoor market, is closed for the winter.

With more and more consumers being driven to shop locally, the market gives shoppers the chance to shop with their consciences at the mall.

Macerich has partnered with the Step Up Women’s Network this year to bring a number of great events to its malls. The network works to strengthen community resources for women and girls, and the Step Out, Step Up events with Macerich malls bring women together to help out other, less fortunate women in their communities.

This month, the malls are hosting “Step Out, Step Up – It’s a wrap!” The malls are providing gifts for women facing economic challenges this winter, and they’re looking for help in wrapping those gifts. The volunteer wrappers will enjoy snacks and warm beverages, free bags, door prizes and discounts, along with the company of other local women. The 64 malls involved hope to wrap over 40,000 gifts at the event.

St. Lawrence Centre in New York, USA, is preparing their 2009 events calendar with a little help. Local high school students have formed an advisory board to help the shopping center plan teen-friendly events. The students, members of a public relations class, have already come up with a number of great ideas to get their peers into the mall, including Rock Band and Guitar Hero competitions, a prom fashion show, and teen-oriented charity events.

The initiative was planned by mall manager Tiffany Joy Greene, who hopes to keep the center’s activities up to date with current teen trends. With many malls working to limit teen activity with curfews and clothing bans, it’s refreshing to see one working with teens to tap into that market. Hopefully this cooperative spirit will be rewarded.

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