Guidestar Survey: 2010 Started Poorly

Guidestar, a nonprofit organization that provides information on charities and pushes for transparency so donors can make informed decisions on giving, published a report on a survey taken during the first five months of 2010. The Effect of the Economy on the Nonprofit Sector was the result of a survey of more than 7,000 nonprofit professionals. More than half were executive directors or presidents of nonprofit organizations. The survey found that,

40 percent of participants reported that contributions to their organizations dropped between Jan. 1 and May 31, compared to the same period last year;

8 percent indicated that their organizations were in imminent danger of closing;

63 percent reported a total increase in demand for their organization’s services between Jan. 1, and May 31 compared to the same period last year.

What does this mean for nonprofit marketing and communications professionals?

1. Don’t expect your organization to give you additional funding for projects.
2. Look for ways to cut costs.
3. Look for ways to increase communication and engagement without spending funds.
4. Leverage staff communication efforts with the assistance of a volunteer marketing/communications committee.

Those are just four ideas. Do you have any additional suggestions? Leave a comment and join the conversation.

"Non-Profit Communications Are Boring"

Marketing and communications resources are everywhere on the Internet. But rarely do you find content that smacks you between the eyes when it comes to the most fundamental of tools–writing.

Another find in Guidestar’s March Newsletter was the article, The Dance of the Four Veils. It’s an excerpt from, “Seeing through a Donor’s Eyes: How to Make a Persuasive Case for Everything from Your Annual Drive to Your Planned Giving Program to Your Capital Campaign,” by Tom Ahern.

“For the most part, nonprofit communications are boring,” he writes. “Not on purpose, mind you. Still, they are almost always uninteresting, my vast exposure to them suggests. And why? Because they swaddle themselves in one or more of the following interest-draining veils.”

The four are:

1. They reject any mention of conflict.
2. A tendency to prefer weak, bland words to bold, vivid words.
3. Faint (if any) appreciation for the emotional basis behind all human response.
4. Jargon.

The article prompts one to conduct a quick mental review of recent fundraising brochures and annual reports. Competition for donations will be won by communicators who are the best story tellers. Avoiding the four veils is the first step. I’m looking forward to reading the book.

Non-Profits Can’t Ignore Social Media

From the Guidestar Newsletter comes an interesting article from Paolina Milana of Marketwire: Tips for Entering Your Nonprofit into the Social Media Environment.

Milana makes a strong case that social media is here to stay and non-profit organizations need to take advantage of its potential. He reviews a lot of fundamental areas of strategy and setting goals. But it’s a great article to pass along to an executive director who doesn’t have a clue about what social media is or how your organization can benefit from the new territory.