Martin Luther King’s passion, focus and ability to motivate like no other spurred me to ask nonprofit bloggers to share their dreams for their cause, organization or the sector for the January Nonprofit Blog Carnival. I had no idea what my request would motivate and I’ll be sharing these passionate, additive, innovative AND doable dreams for us tomorrow. But first, my dream…
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fundraising
Guest blogger Kimberlee Roth, one of our team’s valued writers, has written for the Chicago Tribune and The Chronicle of Philanthropy among other publications. She provides writing and editing services to universities, health systems and other nonprofits.
Whether told through gestures, symbols or spoken words, carvings on a cave wall or YouTube videos, we humans have used stories as a communications strategy for thousands of years. It’s intuitive in many respects to tell a story.
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This fresh take (view video here) on the Salvation Army’s decades-old kettle campaign motivated two dozen folks to give in the few minutes I was standing there. That’s far more than I’ve ever seen respond to the traditional Salvation Army holiday bell ringer.
Relevance is the path to your marketing success in 2012. And I urge you to follow the Salvation Army’s lead in keeping in touch with their supporters and prospects, and responding to their wants, needs and preferences.
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A spa for your intellect, creativity and spirit…
Register now for NTEN’s Nonprofit Technology Conference (NTC) and we’ll finally have a chance to meet in person! More importantly, you’ll have the opportunity to nourish and energize yourself talking with–and learning from–some of the most creative, passionate folks in the nonprofit world!
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This is the beginning of the end…of the year. The time for you to bear down and give birth to the most compelling fundraising campaign you have in you! So get to it.
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Thanks to guest blogger, Kimberlee Roth, one of our team’s valued writers. Kim has written for the Chicago Tribune and The Chronicle of Philanthropy among other publications, and provides writing and editing services to universities, health systems and other nonprofits.
I harbor no ill will toward opening messages. In fact, I believe they can be an important component of a nonprofit’s annual report. When done well–well being the operative word–they provide context for the rest of the publication. They personalize it and make it more immediate, and they help point readers to key information and calls to action.
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Our daughter Charlotte is a dedicated Brownie and I was wowed by the Girl Scouts’ high-impact fundraising as I tackled her Brownie re-registration forms this weekend.
The Girls Scouts did a great job in ensuring I couldn’t complete the form until I read their moving request for a donation to help other girls join, which was stapled on top of the registration form:
We need YOU — our inner circle of Girl Scout Families — to help us give girls access to life changing experiences that inspire them to do something BIG!
I promise you it’ll be an incredibly worthwhile three hours when you do.
In Breakthrough E-Newsletters: 5 Steps to Shaping E-Communications that Connect, you’ll learn everything you need to get a high-impact e-newsletter going for your nonprofit, or to strengthen the one you have.
You’ll learn how to:
- Define realistic goals for your e-newsletter and who you have to reach to achieve them
- Shape the right approach—content, style, how much interactivity with readers
- Design the most effective delivery—frequency, “look and feel”
- Master the mechanics—opt-in vs. double opt-in, list management, in-house vs. outsource
- Promote your e-newsletter to get the most from your effort
Best of all, you’ll walk out of the workshop with a practical, doable plan for your e-news launch or revision, ready to be implemented!
Register right now; just a few seats left.
P.S. Get more in-depth case studies, templates and tools, and guidance for nonprofit marketing success — all featured in the twice-monthly Getting Attention e-update. Subscribe today.
We’re thrilled to welcome back guest blogger, Kimberlee Roth, one of our team’s valued writers. Kim also writes for the Chicago Tribune and The Chronicle of Philanthropy among other publications, and is author of Surviving a Borderline Parent.
Still not entirely convinced annual reports present opportunity over drudgery? Many nonprofits are bridging print and digital content in creative ways that make their annual reports interactive, engaging and attention-grabbing.
Of course there are some caveats. But first, a few options for adding a third dimension so that “same old” becomes a thing of the past:
1) Print with online clone: Sure, you can create a PDF of your print content and put it online, but why not add clickable links in the PDF to make the report more interactive? Or explore some newer tools, such as treesaver and issuu that allow you to create sleek online, magazine-style publications with your content.
2) Print teaser and online complement: For its 2010 report, Partners in Health sent out an eight-page summary that points recipients to the full 40-page report (PDF) on its website.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute sent out a large, tri-fold brochure with summaries of its “top 10″ stories. The full interactive report lives on the HHMI website, with a PDF option, too.
Getting Attention reader, Tara, of the Watershed Agricultural Council shared how WAC has shortened its print edition and uses issu for the digital version. WAC also includes an online supplement in PDF for additional information.
The Kellogg Foundation recently added QR, or quick response, codes to its report to connect print stories with online video. Communications manager Rebecca Noricks explains.
3) Digital only: VolunteerMatch went digital in 2009 and presented its entire report in Prezi, a novel presentation application. (Think PowerPoint meets kaleidoscope.)
Excited? Great. But not so fast:
In With the Old
A recent Chronicle of Philanthropy article pointed out that the move to digital reporting can be steep.
One way to manage costs is to look at what (well-done!) multimedia content you already have–videos, podcasts, photo-slideshows–that can be repurposed.
Strategy First
It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of cool new tools, but always go back to your communications strategy. Ask yourself:
- Who are your audiences?
- What messages are trying to send to each?
- What are the best ways to deliver? (QR codes won’t fly unless your audiences use smartphones (a lot); a direct mail report isn’t going to impress most Millennials.)
Preserve Prose
Photos and videos may be worth 1,000 (written) words, but don’t slash the text from your report. Clear, concise writing is critical–it sets the stage and gives context to your messages. Without it, disparate pieces of multimedia content can feel disjointed and confusing. Compelling prose ties the piece together and keeps audiences focused right where you want ‘em to be: on your messages, mission and impact.
How is your organization thinking about approaching its next annual report? Please share your experiences and ideas here.
Join Kivi and Me for this Free Webinar
Learn How to
Set the Big-Picture Marketing Goals that
Take You Where You Want to Go!
My friend and colleague Kivi Leroux Miller and I have heard so many of you say that your marketing isn’t all it could be. And worse, you don’t know where to start to fix it.
You’re frustrated by how hard you’re working without generating the results you expect, and that your organization needs. Aargh!
So we’ve decided to show you exactly where to start, with setting your goals, in this free 30-minute webinar.
Register Now – Seats are Limited
Monday, May 2, 2011
3:00 – 3:30 pm ET (12:00 – 12:30 pm PT)
When Kivi and I first put our heads together on how to team up to help nonprofits strengthen their marketing impact, marketing planning was at the top of our list.
Join us for this free 30-minute webinar to learn how to set clear marketing goals for your organization. They are the first crucial step towards an ambitious but fully-doable nonprofit marketing plan.
Register now for this free webinar on Monday, May 2, 2011, at 3:00 pm Eastern (Noon Pacific).
Seats are limited so register today.
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