The Landscape of Cause Marketing Compliance

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The Landscape of Cause Marketing Compliance

Legal compliance in cause marketing isn't a box to check before the fun part starts, it's part of what makes a partnership work. Join us with Perlman & Perlman for a primer on the legal principles behind corporate-nonprofit campaigns, plus the regulatory updates every partnership builder needs to know, including what's happening with the 2026 tax shift.

Date

October 22, 2026

Time

1:00 PM ET

Duration

60 min

Speakers

2 Speakers

Corporate-nonprofit partnerships live and die by the fine print, and the rules keep evolving. This session gives you the legal grounding to turn compliance into a core part of strategic development for your next collaboration, not just a hurdle to clear.

This session is built for newcomers and seasoned pros alike. We’ll cover the core legal principles behind cause marketing campaigns, plus recent updates reshaping the regulatory landscape.

Good campaign design starts with understanding the rules. You’ll learn how to weigh different campaign options and use alternative or complementary collaboration models to get there. By the end, both corporate and nonprofit partners will be ready to manage compliance risk, build campaigns that meet both sides’ goals, and land on more than one path to “yes.”

Meet the Speakers

The experts leading this conversation.

Karen Wu

Perlman & Pelrlman, LLP

Partner

Karen I. Wu is a partner at Perlman & Perlman, LLP, a nationally recognized law firm serving the nonprofit and social enterprise sector. Karen leads the firm’s Washington, DC office. Karen advises nonprofit organizations on corporate governance, federal tax law compliance, and charitable fundraising regulation. She also counsels a broad range of for-profit businesses, including Fortune 500 and start-up companies, on emerging issues involving corporate philanthropy, cause marketing, and technology-driven fundraising, including corporate sponsorships, commercial co-ventures, social media campaigns, and charitable fundraising platforms. Karen is a frequent author, blogger, and speaker on legal issues affecting the philanthropic sector.

Ceena Johnson

charity: water

General Counsel

Ceena Johnson is the General Counsel at charity: water, a nonprofit bringing clean water to communities worldwide, where she provides practical legal counsel that enables partnerships and protects trust. With nearly a decade of nonprofit in-house experience, she guides charity: water's legal, risk, and governance work, including the charitable fundraising and partnerships that keep its mission moving forward. Ceena leads charity: water's legal function with an eye toward building the same rigor and trust the organization brings to every partnership it enters.

Key Takeaways

What you will walk away with after this session.

The core legal principles behind commercial co-ventures and other cause marketing campaigns, and how they apply to real partnership decisions.

How to use alternative and complementary collaboration models to find more paths to "yes" with a corporate or nonprofit partner.

What's changing in the regulatory landscape right now, including the 2026 tax shift and other recent developments you need to plan around.