Marketing 101: Sharing your impact, so donors take notice

First off, let me state the obvious. Nonprofit marketing is not the same thing as for-profit communications. You're not selling shoes. It's not about creating eye-catching jingles to sell a product. You know all that. 

However, many nonprofit leaders need help crafting a comprehensive marketing plan that shares their impact and causes donors to take notice. They either don't spend enough time crafting a strategy and instead post here and there on their social media when an event is coming up or when it's time to ask for money. Or, they feel lost, unaware of the best practices for nonprofit organizations.

So, here are our top nonprofit marketing tips:

Start With a Case Statement

Case statements are concise documents that share the compelling narrative of your organization and ask for support. The format can be either a brochure, a flyer, or a slide deck. Meaning what it looks like is less prescriptive and more dependent on your client's needs. But, all case statements will have these components, mission and vision, history, impact stories, urgency, and ways to give. 

Taking the time to put together a case statement forces you to think through those components, which you can use while crafting donor solicitations, talking with major prospects, writing grants, and more.

Determine your Platforms

You only need a presence on some of the social media platforms. Choose the ones where your donors spend the most of their time and focus your energy there. For some organizations, social media isn't where donors find their information, period, in which case the platform will be much more highly dependent on print media. Whatever you choose, don't stretch your energy too thin. Instead, get the biggest bang for your buck by putting most of your effort into the platform where your donors spend most of their time.

Communicate Consistently

You can define it consistently however you want. For some organizations, "consistently" might mean posting on social media three times a week, sending a monthly newsletter and an annual report. On the other hand, you might have more or less capacity at your organization, which is perfectly okay. All that matters is that your donors and volunteers know you have a regular schedule. You don't want to be the organization that doesn't post anything for two years and then posts several things at once regarding a fundraising ask.

Consider your Donors' Personalities

Write your communications speaking to your donors personally. As we all do, volunteers, stakeholders, and prospective donors have short attention spans. They also care about issues that impact them in their communities. Consider who your donors are, what messages speak to them, and how to center their interests in your narratives.

Honor your Clients' Dignity

You're not selling shoes! Instead, you are highlighting the impacts you make on real people's lives, and those people will likely see how you talk about them. It's essential for nonprofits to consider their clients when crafting messages and not exploit those individuals or exaggerate their services' worth. Spark group is particularly passionate about this topic. If you want to hear more, check out this podcast where Spark Group CEO Mary Gladstone-Highland talked about this exact topic with Holly Rustick from Grant Writing and Funding.

Develop a Marketing Calendar

Set aside time at the end of your fiscal year for the upcoming year to outline your marketing efforts. Doing this allows you to take a step back and look at the larger picture. For instance, you'll have the foresight to be able to take advantage of special months or weeks like volunteer appreciation week. Also, it allows you to give proper attention to events, program launches, and other critical organizational announcements you plan to make throughout the year. 

Marketing for your nonprofit doesn't need to be complicated, but it does need to be a priority. Today's donors expect to know what's going on with your organization. They expect to be able to find you on social media platforms or in their mailbox. Therefore, paying close attention to a comprehensive strategy goes a long way to helping you build relationships with your donors to increase your organizational impact.

If you're looking to develop a marketing strategy for 2023 and want some help contact us today.

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