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Fire up your Board!

August 4, 2010 By Sandy
Gail Perry teaches at VFRI

I had the privilege of hearing my friend and colleague Gail Perry present at the Virginia Fund Raising Institute recently.  Gail is a wonderful speaker and has a way of making her audience feel at ease so they can soak up all the information she shares.  I thought I’d share some of my notes from her presentation called “Fire Up Your Board!”

1. Help Board members reconnect with their passion for your organization.  Give them opportunities to practice talking about the organization and their experiences.

2. Redefine fundraising into friendraising.  So many Board members don’t want anything to do with fundraising.  Help them see that you are simply connecting people with the work you are doing through their gifts.  You’re developing friends who will be there to stand beside you for years to come.

3. Put them to work in easy, no-ask jobs.  Give your Board tasks to do that count as fundraising, but don’t require them to ask anyone for money.  Examples include inviting friends for a tour of your facility, calling to thank donors, and talking to friends in the checkout line at the grocery store about your mission.

Gail said, “We all get the Boards we deserve.”  Translation:  we get out of our Board what we put into it.  Don’t expect people to show up to sit on your Board and already know how to be a great Board member.  It won’t happen.  You must support people and teach them how to be a great Board member.

Thanks for a great presentation, Gail!

Filed Under: Board of Directors Tagged With: , ,

Mind gone blank? 12 ideas to get you thinking about blog content

July 22, 2010 By Sandy

Have you started a blog for your nonprofit organization and then got stuck trying to come up with content?  If you don’t consider yourself a writer, it can be daunting to pull something together a couple of times a week.  Here are some ideas for content:

  • Tell stories about people you are helping.  A story ALWAYS works!  Remember to keep it short and compelling.
  • Re-use stories from your print newsletter.  Don’t worry – people won’t remember them.
  • Re-purpose information from email blasts.
  • Listen to what front-line staff are talking about and write about that.
  • Invite guest bloggers in – clients, staff, Board, volunteers, and donors.  Be specific with them when you ask.  Ask them to write a short paragraph or two of 250 words MAX.
  • Ask questions in blog posts and invite readers to comment.
  • Post summaries of events or activities with photos.
  • Summarize press releases or link to current news stories.
  • Report back from an event or conference.
  • Highlight the expertise of staff or volunteers
  • Tell about the work of volunteers, the impact they’re having or the number of hours of time that have been donated.
  • Share a couple of pertinent statistics of your work (for example “our animal shelter saw a 10% increase in adoptions this month”).

Once you get in the habit of writing these short blog posts, it will become easier and you’ll get ideas for content in lots of places.  I have several clients who are telling part of a story in their print newsletter, then telling the rest of the story on their blog along with photos or video.  It’s a great way to encourage people to visit and read the blog.

Filed Under: Website/Internet Tagged With: ,

What every nonprofit should know about marketing

July 8, 2010 By Sandy

I interviewed Kivi Leroux Miller today about her new book “The Nonprofit Marketing Guide.”  There were several nuggets of wisdom that popped out of our conversation, and I thought I’d share them with you.

Tell stories.  Learn how to tell a story about a person your organization has helped.  A good story has a beginning, a middle, and an end.  The story should be about the person, not about your organization.

Lose the jargon.  Keep all your communications simple and easy to understand.  Your donors don’t know your industry slang and acronyms.

There’s no such thing as the general public when it comes to marketing.  The general public includes everyone.  But you don’t need to reach everyone.  You only need to reach those people who are likely to support you. You must identify the specific groups of supporters who are out there, and craft your message to them.

Be clear about your message.  Don’t try to cram too much into it.  And include a call to action.

When deciding how best to reach your audience, first consider their preferences.  If most of them are hanging out online, then you might be able to completely ditch your print newsletter.  If not, then don’t try to force them online, because it won’t work.

I encourage you to get a copy of “The Nonprofit Marketing Guide.”  It’s easy to read (my copy is already marked up, tagged, and dog-eared!) and is full of practical ideas you can implement right away.  Get yours at Amazon.

Filed Under: Communications/Public Relations, General Fundraising, Marketing Tagged With: ,
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