Marketing and Communications for a Not-for Profit

By CCVO Guest Blogger Caitlin Simpson, Communications & Marketing Coordinator at The Catalyst Group

Marketing and Communications have always been vital to an organization’s success. As ways to communicate in the modern digital world multiply, that importance is only growing. It’s crucial to generate awareness for your cause in order to garner support, and marketing is one of the vessels that gets you there.

Businesses and not-for-profits face the same struggles when it comes to marketing. There are a lot of agencies out there, so what makes yours stand out? Or, why should people donate to your agency rather than others? Whether small scale or large scale, marketing and communications should be a part of every not-for-profit’s strategy.

Marketing vs Fundraising

Just like marketing is not sales, marketing is not fundraising. Although, the two do work closely together. A marketer is responsible for making those connections, but not closing the deal. These connections are made through the promotion of programs and events, social marketing, community engagement, brand development, and raising the profile of your not-for-profit to keep it top of mind. Once the connections are made, they then move to other departments within a not-for-profit. For example, if a campaign caught the attention of individuals who are interested in volunteering it would go to your volunteer coordinator, if they’re interested in donating it would go to fund development, and so on. This is why a marketer can work with all the departments of the organization.

Define Your Audience and Target Your Content

To be successful at marketing in a not-for-profit, it’s important that you define and identify your audience. Audiences can vary based on campaigns or messages. One way to define an audience is to take a look at your current donors, current staff, and current clients, and create content that would appeal to them.

When it comes to campaigns, you can define your audience based on the goal of the campaign. An example of this would be if you were looking to engage prospective new staff members, then your audience could be university students. Alternatively, a campaign could go the other way where you consider your audience before the message. If your organization doesn’t have very many younger donors, you might structure a campaign that appeals more to that audience to attract them.

Once your audience is defined, make each piece meaningful and relevant to them, no matter what medium you are using. Create your content ahead of time and stay top of mind to your donors. Above all, never lose track of why you are doing what you are doing - you believe in the mission of the organization.

Storytelling

Not-for-profits have the power to combine the head and the heart to produce impactful storytelling. In a not-for-profit, most of your success stories are impactful for the public. It’s something you see every day, but not often something the public would see or know. Try asking your staff “What was something that happened in the last year that made you grateful for the work you do?” If you are a part of an agency that has exit interviews or follow-ups with clients, ask if you can use quotes from them (you can keep them anonymous as well). You know you do good work, but it’s about letting others know. The power of a human story is immeasurable.

Your Brand

Brand consistency is also crucial for awareness. Once you have your logo, colours, typeset, and other standards in place then you should not stray from there. It is confusing for the public and they will not identify with your brand if it is constantly changing.

Finally, always evaluate what you are doing. Are people responding? Is it working? Should you be using another medium? There are many free tools to evaluate including google analytics and social media analytics. You can also monitor donations, engagement, and more.

Remember to take pride in your work as you are letting other people know what your agency does, and bringing in more support for your programs.

Catalyst works extensively with not-for-profits and registered charities on all accounting related matters including bookkeeping, financial and tax reporting, audit support and senior financial professional outsourcing (CFO support).  They also host roundtable sessions to assist charities with their operations.

With a team of dedicated specialists in this area, Catalyst becomes a key member of the not-for-profit or registered charity’s team to align performance and organizational goals. There are several web-based programs that can assist in reporting requirements for a charity. Recently, Catalyst was named one of the fastest-growing cloud accounting firms in Canada; they would be thrilled to bring their knowledge in this area to your organization. 

Feel free to contact Caitlin at 403-750-7696 or caitlins@thecatalystgroup.ca.