Messaging for Nonprofit Organizations

Jane LumpOctober 24, 2011

Four primary sources of non-profit fundraising

Source: Giving USA

Year over year change in giving

Fundraising vs. Financing

A financial plan, unlike a fundraising plan includes ALL activities that bring money in the door (individual donors, foundation grants, earned income, corporate sponsorships, government contracts, loans, etc.)

Supports the short AND long term goals of the organization

Funds the programs AND infrastructure of the organization.

It includes money-securing activities that are in line with, not opposed to, the core competencies of the organization

Think Triangle

Your Audience

Receiver

Your Audiences

Where are they coming from?

7

Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project

Older teens (15-17)

Generation Y (18-28)

Generation X (29-40)

Trailing Boomers (41-50)

Leading Boomers (51-59)

Matures (60-69)

GenerationNext

(16-25)

Beware of generalizations—Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are both Trailing Boomers, born within 60 days of each other in 1946.

Generation Y (18-28)

Generation X (29-40)

Trailing Boomers (41-50)

Leading Boomers (51-59)

Matures (60-69)

I want to make a difference—tech entitled

I want to strike a balance—flexibility matters

I don’t trust institutions—it may get worse

I respect experience—not authority

I respect authority—money is recognition

8

Different values, different needs

“Personalize” Your Audiences

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Your Brand

Sender

Your Brand

If you build it, will they come?

“I reckon about 20 percent of a brand is it’s physical attributes, like a logo, color, letterheads. The rest is all about behavior. Employees bring a brand to life: they are it’s ultimate custodians.”

--Ian Buckingham, Interbrand

Great Brands tell a story. . .

According to Mark Thomson, “Today’s branding remains rooted in design . . . While this is the historical root of our industry, its strategic core lies deeper.

A brand both defines who you are and what you do

It expresses this role through language, design, actions, and behaviors.

Like hand in glove, the definitional and expressive elements of a good brand story fit each other snugly

He says, “Unfortunately, branding today sometimes feels like a glove without the hand; not much to hold onto when it comes to making introduction and forming relationships.”

What is your story?

Where would you find it today?

If you asked various stakeholders, would their definitions agree?

Who should be involved in the definition?

What’s easier, to pull it out or to push it in?

Discover & Align

ABC Org

Your Content

Message

Your Content

The Role of Interpretation

• Information relayed from the Information relayed from the eye accounts for only 20%eye accounts for only 20%

• At least 80% depends on At least 80% depends on information information already in therealready in there——the preconceptionthe preconception

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdcATR7AxMU&feature=player_embedded

Choose your media

Communication

Your Media

How people learn about their local community

This just in. . .The State of the Web: Mary Meeker

Socialize Your Audinece

Social media isn’t a magic bullet

Social media is a category of media options that are a good fit for certain audiences

Using social media strategically can have great benefits

Social Media and Nonprofits

Facebook’s Average User

Has 130 friends on the site

Average user sends 8 friend requests per month

Spends an average 15 hours and 33 minutes on Facebook per month

Visits the site 40 times per month

Spends an 23:20 minuts on each visit

Is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events

Users that access Facebook on mobile devices are twice as active on Facebook compared to non-mobile users

Strategies for effective Facebook wall posts

Posts made between 8 PM and 7 AM receive 20% more user engagement.

On Wednesdays, fan engagement is 8% above average.

Posting one to two times per day produces 40% higher user engagement.

Posting one to four times per week produces 71% higher user engagement.

Posts with 80 characters or less receive 66% higher engagement. Very concise posts – those between one and 40 characters – generate highest engagement.

Ask questions to spark dialogue – “question” Posts generate Comment rates double that of “non-question” Posts.

Fill in the blank Posts receive 9 times more Comments than other Posts.

Growth of LinkedIn

March 22, 2011 

Social Media and Networking for Employment

Among LinkedIn members. . .

8 million+ technologists 6 million+ sales professionals 7 million+ small business owners 4 million+ engineers 4 million+ IT professionals 2.5 million+ finance professionals 2 million+ CxOs 1.4 million+ accounting professionals 1.4 million+ creative types

So, how do you start?

Basic Communication Elements

Signage

Business cards

Facebook Page and LinkedIn Profile

Web site

Newsletter template

“Leave behind” flier/brochure

Stationery Note cards Traditional stationery Electronic templates

Prioritize and Conquer

FEASIBILITY

VA

LUE