Last year was a tough year, and 2009 might be even tougher. Nonprofits are hunkering down, trying to weather the economic storm that is dramatically reducing their revenues yet increasing demand for their services. Often one of the first functions to go is communications.
Despite the awful economic conditions, this is no time to [cut] back on getting your messages out to the public. In fact, it's more important now than ever before to let people know how and why you exist.
Here are some cost-effective ways to get your name and mission out to people during these tough times. Make them your 2009 New Year’ s resolutions:
1. Create brand ambassadors.
Turn everyone affiliated with your organization — employees, board members, volunteers and clients — into effective brand ambassadors.
Prepare them well. At the very least, develop and distribute to them the messages you want them to deliver about your organization to people they come in contact with during the course of an ordinary day, including friends, family members, co-workers at other jobs they may have, people they meet while traveling, etc.
Those messages should clearly and concisely tell people who you are, what you do, how you do it and why they should care enough to support you.
2. Make a special effort to speak to groups in your community.
As a leader of your organization, make appointments to speak in front of civic organizations, including your local Chamber of Commerce, Lions and Kiwanis clubs, church congregations, school PTAs, and anywhere else you can find an interested audience.
When speaking about what your organization does, broaden your message so that it goes beyond the services you provide to your direct client base. In a compelling, yet sensitive manner, explain how what you do effects and reflects on the entire community.
3. If you haven't already, make friends with your local media.
The media are always looking for "experts" to quote in their stories. Make your organization one of those reliable sources of expert information that the media can count on — especially when they are on tight deadlines. You'll make friends forever.
And don't overlook the smaller media outlets. Even the biggest cities have dozens of neighborhood publications and local cable outlets that are hungry for good human-interest stories.
4. Update your Web site.
Revisit your Web site to ensure it reflects the environment in which you are currently working, including the increased demand for your services, how that demand is being — or not being — met, how people can help, and the specific outcomes they can expect from their donations. Be as transparent and accountable as possible.
Despite the awful economic conditions, this is no time to [cut] back on getting your messages out to the public. In fact, it's more important now than ever before to let people know how and why you exist.
Here are some cost-effective ways to get your name and mission out to people during these tough times. Make them your 2009 New Year’ s resolutions:
1. Create brand ambassadors.
Turn everyone affiliated with your organization — employees, board members, volunteers and clients — into effective brand ambassadors.
Prepare them well. At the very least, develop and distribute to them the messages you want them to deliver about your organization to people they come in contact with during the course of an ordinary day, including friends, family members, co-workers at other jobs they may have, people they meet while traveling, etc.
Those messages should clearly and concisely tell people who you are, what you do, how you do it and why they should care enough to support you.
2. Make a special effort to speak to groups in your community.
As a leader of your organization, make appointments to speak in front of civic organizations, including your local Chamber of Commerce, Lions and Kiwanis clubs, church congregations, school PTAs, and anywhere else you can find an interested audience.
When speaking about what your organization does, broaden your message so that it goes beyond the services you provide to your direct client base. In a compelling, yet sensitive manner, explain how what you do effects and reflects on the entire community.
3. If you haven't already, make friends with your local media.
The media are always looking for "experts" to quote in their stories. Make your organization one of those reliable sources of expert information that the media can count on — especially when they are on tight deadlines. You'll make friends forever.
And don't overlook the smaller media outlets. Even the biggest cities have dozens of neighborhood publications and local cable outlets that are hungry for good human-interest stories.
4. Update your Web site.
Revisit your Web site to ensure it reflects the environment in which you are currently working, including the increased demand for your services, how that demand is being — or not being — met, how people can help, and the specific outcomes they can expect from their donations. Be as transparent and accountable as possible.
I have written for some time about problems caused by "mission creep" wherein a nonprofit constantly expands it's mission and goals because of the "need."
The result is easily apparent in a failing economy; whereas a well-defined and coherent mission with limited scope may maintain funding sources, even make a better case for it's funding during a recession, the negative "leverage"of substantially declining support combined with the increased resource needs of an expanded mission becomes all to evident when it happens.
So, getting out the message may not help a lot when the process includes a call for funding beyond what the organization can reasonably expect.
This is also the time for me to repeat the call for "Ten Year self sustaining fund raising projects" wherein ten percent of the funds raised each year are endowed into a long-term investment plan which has a goal of being a self-sustaining funding source for the organization and it's limited-scope mission. That program would ensure that limiting the mission and managing resources would allow the mission to be fulfilled each and every year, during and at the conclusion of the program.
Also, see an expanded version of this proposal at (if linknot highlighted,just http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/402630/a_new_non_profit_mission_stopping_mission.html?cat=48