Children may shriek, women may wail, but as we speak, Mo’bretheren worldwide are laying down their follicles for a cause. For thousands of men, the penultimate month of the year has officially been redubbed Movember, a full month of confronting men’s health issues – like prostate cancer – full in the face.

Like so many other great ideas, Movember was born at the bottom of a pint glass. A few guys in Australia had the inkling that moustaches could become the new “ribbon” for men’s health issues, a subject that often goes overlooked or otherwise neglected. Since then, men the world over have been steadily documenting mo’ growth on personal or team pages to raise donations. In Canada alone, Movember has gone from 2,000+ participants and $545K in donations to a 2010 year-to-date total of 107,710 participants and $8.8 MM in donations. That being said, what makes Movember such a successful not-for-profit model?

To start, let’s classify what “success” for a not-for-profit look like. I’d argue that the three primary pillars would be participation, awareness and fundraising. Of course, you need the first two (engaged participants and awareness around the issue) to make the third (donation) successful. Here are a few things are helping to raise mo’ awareness:

Stay true to one target
Like any good brand/cause/trend/fad that appeals to a younger consumer, Movember focused on key influencers to their target – younger, urban, creative males – precisely the type that would embrace the challenge of bringing moustaches back. Unite this with creative feel and tone for campaign elements and events and you find yourself with a cache of ’staches that is tough to sniff at.

Employ unconventional tactics to raise awareness
Movember has eschewed lapels – the preferred message carrier of the lions’ share of other not-for-profits. Instead, they own the faces of all their participants for the entire month of November, driving unbelievable amounts of word of mouth. Not only that, but the ability to groom your own facial hair puts an additional, customized spin on the program, opening up inexhaustible avenues for ’stache play for those who prefer more of a Hogan over a Dirty Sanchez.

Give an emotional reason to quickly engage with the cause
For many of the men I spoke to, Movember means having fun with their sense of masculinity. The fact that sponsorship raised one for a good cause was secondary – but a natural output. Tepid participants still help Movember reach objectives by raising awareness. Every time you look in the mirror, you are reminded of the cause. (So is your girlfriend, but that’s an incidental point.)

Allow for dynamic participation
A proven model for causes like MS and Breast Cancer, Movember relies on a team dynamic for fundraising. Individuals and corporate teams have fun and raise sponsorship money collectively. Collective and individual growth is a daily conversation and demonstration – both at the office and online through channels like the Movember Mo’gress app. Even if you can only achieve creepy pre-teen growth, you’re still championing the cause.

Embrace online and social media to help get the word out to others
This is point-of-entry to any not-for-profit, but Movember has a built-in shareability that makes it undeniably powerful in the space. Mo’gress is not only the property of a sponsorship page – it exists on Facebook, Twitter, avatars, t-shirts and videos as naturally as you please. Spreading the word is uncomplicated, fun, and abundant.

The ’stache may be an old-school accessory, but there is no arguing that Movember is a hyper-current, sexy case study for any not-for-profit. Participants and message recipients look forward to good, clean unshaven fun in the name of a great cause.

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If you are participating in Movember as a “grower” (or even if you aren’t), you can do your part to raise awareness and donations for Movember by pledging to donate to a friend or team through their mospace, or through third-party campaigns like Budweiser’s ‘Stache for Cash app that donates $1 to Movember for every pic you ’stache.