If you work in nonprofit, what I am about to say is not news to you. Development staff in nonprofit, especially in small nonprofits, are stretched thin. An understatement, right? Believe me, I know. I’ve been there.
Many of our small nonprofits have a development staff of one or two. They are responsible for every part of fundraising including:
- donor stewardship
- grant & appeal writing
- acquiring sponsorship
- community partnerships
- volunteer organizing
- database management
- collaborating with operational staff
- and finally communications
Communications, on its own, can include website development, social media management, content creation, advertising, press releases, newsletters, event coordination, media relations, copywriting, and likely more. So, it is not that small nonprofits do not place importance on public relations and communications. They simply do not have time to make it a priority. As a result, we see spotty and half-hazard social media posts, lack of consistent branding, typos, no hashtags, bland/unedited photos, and so on. Fundraising, event attendance, and community engagement then suffer due to low awareness.
Nonprofit operations and development have a reciprocal relationship. Operations rely on development to fund their efforts, with more resources translating to increased ability to provide quality services. Development relies on operations to carry out the organization’s mission effectively so they can present results and justify their appeals and grant requests.
As an organization that relies on donations and community support, you cannot afford to miss out on outreach. Doing so means you also miss out on financial support which, in turn, means the quality of your operations suffer. Your social posts need to catch the eye of the casual scroller. Your website needs to engage and lead visitors to your donation page, your event’s landing page, or wherever you need them to be at a given time. Your communications should utilize effective storytelling and endear potential donors to your mission. Your board needs to be coached on how to speak about the ogranization while networking and fundraising. Your appeal letters should sound professional and tell donors what you’ve been able to accomplish with their support and the work that still needs to be done.
If you have found that other sources of marketing assistance are outside of your budget, if you just need help here and there to give your communications and fundraising a boost, we can help. Take a look at our services and use our questionnaire to tell us about your needs or schedule a call! Our passion is helping you tell your story and reach your community of support.