Posts Tagged ‘non profit training’

Rethink your nonprofit marketing efforts

December 29th, 2009

A few weeks ago, the Sioux Falls Washington Pavilion of Arts & Science made headlines in South Dakota (look here) when it was announced that a $300,000 fundraising shortfall had placed the non-profit’s future on tenuous ground.  I read this announcement on the heels of a conversation with a friend who serves on a much smaller non-profit board (they have a part-time director).  Her organization is facing a much smaller but still daunting budget deficit, causing the organization to rethink how they raise money and do business in this down economy.   

There’s no doubt that both organizations should emerge from the crisis with refocused efforts.  But it’s caused me to question how non-profits in small, rural communities are doing?   The organizations I’m talking about (i.e. -libraries and museums) often operate on volunteer staff and probably don’t have a website, let alone a marketing plan. 

And that’s where the problem begins.  Nonprofit organizations in rural places play a critical role in the economic and social health of their communities.  But it’s been my experience that few operate with any type of plan, marketing or otherwise.  This leads to fragmented, unsustainable marketing efforts that hinder the organization’s performance.

If this description meets your non-profit’s practice, I’d encourage you to consider the following ideas for rethinking your marketing efforts. 

 

5 Ways to Jazz Up your Marketing Efforts

First, and most importantly, write down your goals and then match them to your marketing efforts. Goals will vary, but might include: fundraising, promoting organizational events, or building general awareness of your organization to name a few.  If your goals are written down you can use it to examine your marketing efforts and ask the question:  “Are the marketing strategies I’m spending time and money on helping me achieve our goals?” This is the start of a marketing plan, which doesn’t have to be complicated.  In fact, I have always advocated the simpler the better.  Just writing down your goals is a huge first step.

Second, get online with a blog… it’ll be better than a website.  Everyone knows how important it is for non-profits to build relationships.  Large non-profits often seek to hobnob with finance bankers and philanthropists, while small non-profits probably look more to the average citizen in their community; like the retired carpenter who can volunteer a little time for a construction project. 

Regardless of whom your nonprofit targets for relationship building, blogs are a great place to start because they make it so easy to share stories about your non-profit’s work. I think this is particularly important in rural areas where distance makes communications more difficult. 

But I can hear it already; “We don’t even have a website.  Don’t tell me about a blog!”  I understand.  But you need to understand that blogs are generally inexpensive and easy enough to use that most non-techies can manage them. 

Perhaps the key to nonprofit blogging is to get personal and let others know what you are passionate about.  Even if your goal is to promote your organization’s events, you can make it personal, so that readers get a feel for you as well as the organization.  And if you post regularly – that might mean once a day, once a week, or once a month – people will be more likely to come back to your site and stay connected to what you are doing. 

Third, think of Facebook as a place to create a sense of community.  Just over a year ago, I would have frowned on any recommendation for a non-profit in a small, rural community to create a Facebook Page because I didn’t see many older rural residents using Facebook.  That’s changed dramatically with Baby Boomers making up the fastest growing segment of Facebook users. 

Many non-profits have looked to Facebook as a fundraising tool, choosing to develop a strategy around a Facebook “fundraising” application. These tools make it easy for people to donate online. That’s great for some organizations that have an emotional cause that transcends geography and reaches a wide audience.  Most non-profits in our small, rural communities, however, are probably focusing fundraising on a smaller group of people who already have a connection to the community. 

Instead of asking for donations online, think about how you can use Facebook as a place where people can chat about how your organization is making a difference.  “Make meaning before money” is a common phrase used to describe online marketing efforts today, and it definitely applies to small non-profits using Facebook. 

When thinking about Facebook, you should also consider the following two recommendations.  First, chose either a Facebook page or a blog.  I say that only because most small non-profits don’t have time for both.  (But if you do chose Facebook, make sure you have a link to your Facebook page on your website.)  Second, think of your goals before deciding if and how you are going to use Facebook.  Although I suspect you can find a way to use Facebook effectively to meet most any goal, only you can decide that.

Fourth, use YouTube to showcase projects you are working on.  Just the other day, I learned of how the Anaheim Ballet has been using videos to showcase their students practice and performances.  What a great way for interested parties to see what their work is about.  There’s nothing fancy about their efforts, and they are definitely not trying to create a viral video, which can be daunting. It reminded me of the efforts of Café au Play, a nonprofit seeking to create a third place coffee house with a place for children.  (I wrote about them about a year ago, and embedded their video below.)

 

 

My guess is that most small non-profit can rustle up a volunteer who enjoys doing a little video production. 

Fifth, get online and learn what others are doing and what the experts recommend.  What I’ve identified above is just a starting list.  I tried to keep it short because I understand what it’s like to serve on small town non-profit boards, and I know you don’t have the resources to do everything. 

Although I understand life in small rural communities better than most, there are people out there who focus solely on non-profit marketing, and they share some of their knowledge for free.  You need to turn to these experts for inspiration. Often what they talk about applies more to large non-profits for whom they hope to consult.  But I think innovative small town residents should filter through what they say to find new ideas that can be done by their non-profit.

Some of these experts include: 

There’s no doubt that the economy will create challenges for non-profit organizations, regardless of size.  But I hope that the non-profits in our small rural communities will do a better job of creating marketing plans and begin to embrace social media.  There’s something in it for everyone.

Photo Credit:  Annie Mole – Flickr  

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Posted in Community Development, Rural | Comments (8)

Live Blogging from Citibank

December 17th, 2008

Non Profit Training

I’m attending a workshop in Sioux Falls, SD today on “Adapting to a Changing Financial Reality For Non Profit Leaders,” sponsored by Citibank. The workshop facilitator, Kate Barr of the Nonprofits Assistance Fund in Minneapolis, has helped our group of about 60 participants discuss and generate some good ideas in these uncertain (OK, kind of scary) times.

The Big Announcement

We also heard some big news from our friend Bob Sutton of the South Dakota Community Foundation. Help is on the way for South Dakota non profits. The Bush Foundation of St. Paul, MN will make a $2 million grant to help build capacity for non profits of all kinds in South Dakota. Over the next two years, the money will be used by the SDCF to:

As Christine Sorenson filled us in, the SDNPA has had several fits and starts since it’s original founding in 1998. Christine and other volunteer board members were here today to restart the fire based on Bob’s big news. The plan is to put full time staff in place by 2011, with help from SDCF and the Bush funds. A website should be up soon at http://sdnonprofit.org.

Working With Generation Y

One conversation that popped up just before lunch centered on the differences in generations in the non-profit workplace. Since Mike has been blogging some good stuff about this topic, I thought I’d share some snippets:

Kate talked about how “young people” (she referred to a 23-year-old colleague in her office who emails her when they are sitting 10 feet from each other) just do things differently. She contends Millennials (also referred to as “Gen Y”) have a terrific ability to adapt quickly and easily to new situations and tools, and have learned a way to work (effectively multi-task) that is new to most of us.

“And that is exactly what we (non profits) will need,” said Kate, “The ability to truly handle multiple priorities at once in a changing world.”

Other comments about Gen Y and the future of non profits:

“Young people today want real responsibility. Give it to them, let them become the leaders.”

“(Millennials) have mastered such a different way to communicate. Though challenging for some of us, that’s quite an asset.”

My Take

Like Mike said in a recent post, I think the best way to communicate with each other is to just remember we are not “Millenials” and “Baby Boomers” and “Gen Xers.” We are human beings.

While I totally get what Kate is saying about the important role those multi-tasking youngsters will play/are playing in the leadership of non profits (and communities), it saddens me to think about the never-stop-switching, short-as-a-smurf attention span that is becoming the aspiration of good leadership. I deeply believe the best path to change is a relatively slow, focused one. What do you think? (Just click “Comments” to jump into the conversation.)

Props

Thanks to Citi for the great (and free!) learning today. The crowd was about 1/3 rural, and there was active networking going on. Also thanks to Kate for sharing her well of knowledge. She writes a helpful blog called Balancing the Mission Checkbook–good stuff for even the teeny-tiniest of non profits.

One more question: Did I unintentionally exclude myself from that “youngsters” category by referring to Smurfs? My favorite was the wise old Papa Smurf, but Smurfette was quite striking. :-)

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Posted in Gen Y, Rural, Training and Events | Comments (0)