Nonprofit Advocacy: How to Develop Strong Messaging

that Reaches your Audience

Nonprofit Advocacy

• The potential to double response rates when connecting a fundraising ask with a nonprofit advocacy initiative are well documented.

• A recent study found donors are seven times more likely to give when the ask is coupled with an organization’s advocacy messaging.

• This remarkable increase in the probability of a donation is encouraging, but the competition for donor dollars is still very stiff.

• Nonprofit advocacy must pay special attention to messaging.

• In particular, you need to differentiate your organization from the others.

• Your constituents will often rely on a few communications when deciding on contributions.

Nonprofit Advocacy

Multiple Messages.•Many solicitations include multiple messages.

•A wide range of statements become problematic when they don’t relate back to the organization’s mission statement.

•They can become confusing to the donors and, in a worst-case scenario, decrease donations.

•It’s critical all nonprofit advocacy messaging ties back to the organization’s mission statement.

Nonprofit Advocacy

Misaligned Organizational Messaging. 

•Another disconnect often occurs in messages from within the same nonprofit advocacy but to different audiences. For example, different people within the organization may create different messages to prospects, donors and to the public.

•The result? A misalignment in organizational messaging.

•Having different messaging can cause major issues for nonprofit advocacy.

•Messages must be consistent and aligned around one central principle – the organization’s mission statement. That doesn’t mean the message needs to be identical; but it needs to be consistent.

Nonprofit Advocacy

Regulating Stakeholder Messaging.•Nonprofits have multiple stakeholders who deliver messages on their behalf.

•Unlike printed material, it’s more difficult to control the messaging of various stakeholders such as board members, employees, volunteers and others.

•Although you may not be able to control every message delivered by your stakeholders, you can work with them to improve message consistency.

•Through education, you can show the important role everyone plays in fundraising and nonprofit advocacy.

•You can also illustrate the negative impact improper messaging can have on donations. 

Nonprofit Advocacy

Using New Messaging Channels. •Today’s donors get their information from a variety of sources, including social media and mobile marketing.

•If you use only traditional channels to deliver your message, you could be missing out on reaching a significant portion of your target audience.

•As with all marketing communications efforts, you want to know your audience and reach them through the vehicles they use.

Nonprofit Advocacy

At IPM Advancement, we understand nonprofit advocacy and fundraising are simply different ways of mobilizing constituents to fight for your

cause.

Using multi-channel Internet, phone and mail strategies, we expertly align your mission with constituents who want to support your cause.

In today’s economic climate, we know nonprofit advocacy strategies need

to yield solid results.

That’s why we always use best practices to make sure you get the highest response rate from your advocacy appeals.

About the Author

Edward Phillips, MBA is Chief Creative Officer of IPM Advancement, a leading non

profit fundraising company.

Visit us at http://www.ipmadvancement.com

or call 623-687-3908 for more information about Nonprofit Advocacy.