Last year, Sesame Street debuted a new Muppet named Julia, a 4-year-old girl with autism. The children’s show did a lot of research to accurately and sensitively portray Julia, and she wound up being a huge hit.

Now, the show, through the Sesame Workshop’s Sesame Street Yellow Feather Fund is expanding its autism awareness efforts with a new Kickstarter campaign. “The program has launched its first-ever crowdfunding campaign, which will fund an autism initiative to tackle bullying prevention,” writes Melissa Locker in a new post for Fast Company.

“An estimated one in 68 children in the United States is on the autism spectrum. While the diagnosis is common, public understanding of autism is not,” says the Kickstarter page. “Research shows that children with autism are five times more likely to be bullied than their neurotypical peers.”

If you’re wondering why a show that airs on HBO needs to crowdfund, keep in mind that Sesame Street is owned and controlled by a nonprofit organization, and PBS and HBO are merely distribution channels.

A Rock Band’s Membership Group

Introducing Cherry Tree.

We've been hard at work on a new community for our fans – a place where we can connect directly with you, and somewhere we can give back to everyone. Today we're pleased to offer initial sign-ups for Cherry Tree.

More info at https://t.co/VysPuSuCPG pic.twitter.com/FqF7gmE2eJ

— The National (@TheNational) April 9, 2018

We’re all familiar with fan clubs, but popular rock band The National is taking fan engagement to the next level.

Yesterday, The National announced the launch of a membership community called Cherry Tree. “[It is] a place where the band can connect directly with, and give back to each of them,” says the website.

Membership benefits include exclusive content, ticketing priority, content just for subscribers, and more. The annual membership fee is $50.

Other Links of Note

Telling members what you want them to know isn’t the same thing as telling them what they need to hear. Amanda Kaiser explores the difference.

More and more people are using their smartphones to donate. Here’s how to generate loyal mobile supporters from the Bloomerang blog.

How does your group handle negative social media comments? M+R shares a cheat sheet for responding to tough situations.

(Sesame Workshop)