In this addition of #TBT we jump back to September 2013 . Susan Griffin, Founder and CEO of our firm, is one of the past presidents of the Fundraising Executives of Metro Louisville (FREML). As part of the 30 year anniversary last year, many of them gathered to be honored for their hard work by the organization. She was flattered to be invited to participate and is proud to be part of Louisville fundraising industry. Still today Susan and Liz are dues paying members of FREML.
I love a good Infographic. I saw this on Charity Digital News and just had to share it.
Check out this infographic which highlights the key findings of Nonprofit Marketing Guide’s 2014 Nonprofit Communications Report, which surveyed over 2,100 nonprofit professionals.
The eyebrow raising highlights for me were 31% of professionals do not have time to create a clear communications strategy even though the #1 communications goal is to acquire new donors. Reminds me of a quote by Ben Franklin, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!”
I also loved seeing that the Executive Directors think In-person communication is the #1 effective vehicle for communication. In our experience, at Griffin Fundraising and Marketing, non profits who take the time to communicate their needs to interested donors face to face are the most effective in raising funds during a capital or major gifts campaign.
Lastly, I wish more non profits would experiment with LinkedIn. I happen to think that social media site has loads of potential, especially for the Development Officer within Non Profits. It’s a great way to connect with donors, research potential new donors and corporations.
What do you think? Do these numbers mirror your non-profits communication goals and challenges? Or is this a bunch of bologna?
We are less than two weeks away from 2014. The year of the horse. Happy New Year….almost.
It’s a clean slate. A chance to restart, dream BIG and make progress towards goals. So I have to ask, is your non-profit organization ready for January 1, 2014? If not, these three To Do’s should give you a good place to start.
The First 3 To Do’s to Prepare for 2014:
To me, this is the FIRST place to start when planning your goals for 2014. Maybe you just finished your annual end of the year ask campaign or your year end report. If not, dig through your files and find that wish list, prioritized goals sheet, strategic/marketing or development plan from way back and review it. Sit down with individual staff members to review their goals from 2013 and then set new ones for 2014. Ask the Board of Directors about their goals and new initiatives from 2013 to 2014. It’s a great opportunity to showcase their wonderful accomplishments and motivate for the new year.
Three different categories should immediately jump out at you when you look back:
You’ve reviewed previous goals. You know where you’ve been and have a better idea of where staff and the board want to go. Now, set your goals with your staff and volunteers. Remember, this is a fresh start. Dream big and aim high! These goals should be 
challenging but attainable.
Don’t forget to make a plan to hit those challenging but attainable goals. Add action items to each goal during each season or quarter. For example, what three action items can be done during the Spring to attain the overall goal? By breaking each goal down into smaller action items throughout the calender year makes them more attainable and “do-able” for busy volunteers and staff members.
You’ve reviewed and you’ve set new challenging but attainable goals. Now what? I’d shout it from the roof tops!
It’s not easy to look back and then set new goals for staff and volunteers AND keep the ship sailing forward. This is a busy time of year with holiday parties, shopping, end of the year reviews/reports/grants/etc. Having a plan for 2014 is just one of many items on the check list.
So post your goals for staff. Add goals for the board’s review for their next meeting. Give everyone a short “script” to tell donors, volunteers, program partners, etc what is on deck for your non-profit. The organization will be stronger and more focused if all members are well informed.
Hopefully, these three steps can help set you on the right path for the New Year.
Did you find these helpful? Have more questions? Leave me a comment or give us a call.
Halloween is over. We all know what that means. The Holiday Season has begun. It’s the busiest time of year with shopping, baking, cooking, family and friend events, work functions and a great time to show appreciation towards your volunteers and staff.
Does your non-profit exchange gifts at the office? Maybe your board wants to chip in for an end of the board term gift for the chair. Or perhaps you are wondering how to show your appreciation to your donor and volunteer base with almost no budget to do it. This post will at least spark some good ideas that fit your organization, staff and Board of Directors.
The Sweetie Tooth
Have a few chocolate lover volunteers? Show them that you care during the holidays with A 100 Grand candy bar and attach a note that says, ‘Volunteers are Priceless”. Another idea is to use gold wrapped chocolate coins can be pared with a note that reads, “Volunteers are worth their weight in gold.” Gourmet Mints are also a nice touch with a note that says, “Your service is worth a mint to us!”
Want to take it up a notch? Go gourmet and local! Find a local sweet shop that hand makes these yummy thank yous. The Cellar Door Chocolates fits that bill in Louisville Ky.
Green Thumbs Up
Maybe your organization is all about our environment. Keeping it green and clean is part of your mission. So celebrate that vision with a mum or poinsettia with a card saying, “We grow stronger every day you are with us.” A painted clay pot with a set of gardening gloves and a card that says, “Thanks for getting your hands dirty with us this year.”
Take it up a notch by drawing your mission on the side or attaching a picture of the board to the clay pot. If your non-profit serves children perhaps they could help with the project.
Success Stories
Want to remind your Board of Directors and staff what has been accomplished this year? With just a minimal budget and Internet access you create a Year in Review memory book. Is there one picture that sums up the major accomplishment this year? Get it printed on a canvas as wall art. Canvas On Demand and Shutterfly are my two favorites for this type of project.
Personalize it
Was there a running theme for this year’s Board of Directors at your organization? CafePress, a local to Louisville business, lets you personalize pretty much anything you can think of with almost anything.
Do you have other ideas for holidays gifts this season? Leave a comment to share your ideas
This past weekend, I attended the WordCamp Louisville conference. WordCamps are held all over the US to bring together users, programmers, and designers who are interested in WordPress. So it’s a camp (or conference) on how to best utilize the website engine, WordPress. I think WordPress is a great tool for non-profits to use for their websites. Scratching your head a bit still? Let me try again.
WordPress is a platform that many many groups use to build their website with all over the world. In fact, 1 in 5 websites are using WordPress right now as their platform of choice. Think of WordPress as a car frame and engine. Every car needs a frame and engine. On that frame you can add an exterior, wheels, doors, mirrors, leather interior even the fuzzy dice to customize your car. That’s what WordPress is like. There are themes, widgets and plugins to customize your site to your wants and needs.
Themes and Widgets
Themes are like the exterior to your car. They determine the color, placement of your logo, where your home and sub menus will be located on the page and so forth. Widgets are like the added features to a car that usually don’t add much functionality to it like cup holders or interior color. Widgets are sections of information that are typically displayed on the side bar areas of your site. Like our affiliations section on the home page of our site is a widget. A non-profit might use that space as a “Volunteer Spotlight” section or promoting an upcoming event.
Plugins
Plugins bring extra functionality to your site like power windows or seat warmers on a car. At the conference this past weekend, the most interesting plugins were the event calendar, the countdown to your event and some of the security plugins to keep your site from getting a lot of spam.
GF&M feels the WordPress platform is the right choice for non-profits because it is so easily adapted to fit your over all and everyday needs. Want to start counting down to your annual gala? You can do that. Want to keep your donors up to date on the upcoming programs? You can do that too. Want to start a newsletter? Yes you can. Plus you don’t have to know HTML or be a programmer to change the information on your site. It is very user friendly.
Have questions on WordPress or how it could fit your organization’s needs? Leave a comment, email or call us.
Hello World!
We are so excited about our new website and blog posts. We want to provide our visitors with education, information and growth opportunities. Stay tuned for original posts, information from credible sources and news on what’s happening in the fundraising and non-profit industry.
Here are some of our ideas:
How to’s
Best Practices
Tips and Tricks
Top Tens
And other things we seen, tried, avoided and just think is cool while working with our non-profit clients over the last 2 decades.
Meanwhile, if you have any questions, news or information you’d like to share with us please leave a comment. If you have a question or want to suggest a topic please let us know. We would LOVE to hear from you. Or find us on Facebook or LinkedIn.
See you real soon!