The dust has barely settled in the Komen/Planned Parenthood debacle, but the one thing that is clear is Komen - founded in 1982 - has in one brief moment, jeopardized thirty years of positive brand-building; Komen's brand today is just not the same brand it was only one week ago. And if you care about the causes Komen supports, this is not a good thing. The lessons for other organizations to absorb are numerous. The story begins just days before Christmas where, as The New York Times reports, Komen informed Planned Parenthood (PP) of their decision - one which they had actually been discussing for months. At the same time they notified PP, Komen decided not to speak of the decision - not to other grantees, not to their donors and not to the media. Komen's strategy was if they didn't speak … Continue Reading
Six Pillars of Jewish Day School Marketing
by Chuck English Recent studies make it clear that marketing Jewish day schools - particularly those that are non-orthodox, is perhaps more challenging than ever. So, after directing the marketing and communications activity of Associated Hebrew Schools in Toronto for the past six years, I gave some thought to what has accounted for our success. Here, then are my six pillars of successful Jewish day school marketing. It all starts with numbers. Even the most creative marketing efforts won’t be effective without a wide array of reliable data. You need a demographic and attitudinal profile of parents - current, new and prospective. You need to know what’s going on in your catchment area in terms of real estate and business. It’s important that you do your own surveys and access other … Continue Reading
For Whom Do You Write While Cultivating Donors?
by Jo-Ann Mort and Judith Wineman Our approach to every client project - development planning, donor outreach, media relations - is to create the singular message that defines the organization and tweak it for individual situations. It’s vital that an organization be branded with a clear set of messages that define the group in all aspects. These messages can be multi-purposed for various needs, re-crafted for different audiences by tweaking them and they can be delivered using varying methods. Message creation is a living process and is perhaps the most vital time for development and communications professionals to work together. In challenging economic times, we cannot afford to lose the impact of emotional connections in our messaging. Communications professionals can help frame the … Continue Reading
How to Use Strategic Communications for More Successful Donor Cultivation
by Jo-Ann Mort and Judith Wineman When a client hires us, the first thing we try to explain is that cultivation is more than an ask, and developing well designed, targeted materials and messaging are key to building a permanent and sustainable donor base. Raising money is a goal, not a step. Cultivation is about building relationships. As the saying goes: “people give to people.” One good donor relationship can easily lead to three more, but one donation is never a promise of another. As alluring as a one-time gift is, it’s the long-term investment that best aids an organization. That’s where the communications piece comes in. There are timeless tools that are used and will never go out of style. Communications professionals can help development professionals with the best scripts to … Continue Reading
How to Integrate Development and Communications Priorities
by Jo-Ann Mort and Judith Wineman Too often, communications and development staff don’t coordinate efforts, or see the link in their work. Add to that a somewhat different mindset especially regarding pace of work, and unfortunately non-profits often miss out on useful opportunities that can be forged by balancing communications and development priorities. While it’s true for instance that communications efforts - especially media outreach - sometimes appear frenetic with the 24/7 news cycle and urgent deadlines to a development specialist who is focused on cultivating donor prospects over the long term, the fact is, being in sync with the communications strategy can "earn" the development staff new prospecting opportunities. Some of the pay off is obvious. Good press coverage impresses … Continue Reading
Money and Message Go Hand-in-Hand
[We welcome Jo-Ann Mort and Judith Wineman who will be contributing regularly to eJewishPhilanthropy about communications and development strategies for non-profits, foundations and donors.] Money and Message Go Hand-in-Hand Strategies for Effective Communications and Resource Development by Jo-Ann Mort and Judith Wineman In today’s economy, nonprofit organizations need to have all the tools they can find to sustain their organizations. And it’s most impactful if all of the tools available to a nonprofit sync together, especially regarding outreach. That’s why every successful development plan needs a communications strategy. A successful nonprofit will be one that communicates its fundraising needs and efforts to donors, prospects, and those able to influence the outcome that … Continue Reading
Embedding Communicators in Your Nonprofit
by Sarah Durham A decade ago, a typical nonprofit staff person with ‘communications’ in their job title would have spent much of their time writing press releases and facilitating media coverage. As things happened at the organization, a communications staff person was briefed so they could write something about it for the newsletter, annual report, etc, or pitch a story to a journalist. It didn’t matter if they weren’t a part of the original discussion as they were the people who had time to read, edit, and approve whatever was written before it went out. As people become more actively engaged with your issues and work online, communicators have to be seamlessly embedded throughout the organization, and the broadcaster/writer/editor role is changing. Why? Because communicating … Continue Reading
Creating a Marketing Committee
by Hannah Brazee Gregory When a nonprofit does not have a significant internal marketing capacity and doesn't have the budget for outsourced help, a volunteer committee may seem like the answer. And it very well could be. But that decision needs to be carefully thought through, taking into consideration the pros and cons. Before diving in, ask yourself these questions: Who will lead the committee? Do you have a member on your board of directors who is a marketing professional and who can chair the committee and hold its members accountable? Typically, a nonprofit's marketing committee includes one board member who also chairs the committee. This is important to ensure the efforts are lead by someone with a true understanding of your organization and a vested interest in the … Continue Reading
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