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How to Make Your Nonprofit the People’s Choice

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Who is Donald Berwick and why do I know his name?

Donald Berwick is one of five Democrats running for Governor of Massachusetts.  He’s not a career politician, and he hasn’t been in the headlines for years like some of the other candidates.  I know about him because of a story.

In their book Switch, Chip and Dan Heath illustrate their own model for bringing about change by telling a story about Berwick.

In 2004, 1 out of every 10 patients in the U.S. received defective medical care.  For instance, they “did not receive their antibiotics in the specified time.”  So, “thousands of patients were dying every year, unnecessarily.”  Dr. Donald Berwick set out to change that.

  • He proposed that the medical industry save 100,000 lives in 18 months, and he gave them six specific ways to do it.
  • He brought in a mom whose little girl had been killed by a medical error.  She told the hospitals, “I know that if this campaign had been in place four or five years ago, that Josie would be fine.”
  • He made it easy for hospitals to join the campaign (by signing a one-page form) and brought them together in conferences where they could see how others just like them were succeeding.

As a result. by the set date, the campaign had saved 122,300 lives, “the equivalent of throwing a life preserver to every man, woman, and child in Ann Arbor, Michigan.”

Because of this story, when Berwick decided to run for Governor, I knew his name.

There’s an election going on, and your nonprofit organization is one of the candidates.

You’re competing for volunteer time.  You’re competing for donor money.  Everyone in your community can choose from a slate of good causes and “cast their vote”–for you, for a similar organization, or for a completely different cause that also appeals to them.

You need name recognition to win.  No one will vote for you if they don’t know who you are.  But how do you make sure people hear about you, and remember your name?

Tell stories.

Tell stories that dramatize the problem you’re trying to solve.  Tell stories that give people hope that there are solutions.  Give them a chance to be the hero of the story by giving you their time or money.

When they choose between you and other organizations, make sure they know your name.  Then you’ll have a chance to get their vote.

What Kind of Communicator are You, Anyway?

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So a nonprofit has hired you as its communications consultant, or maybe even its Director of Communications.  But what do they really want from you?

Do they want you to help them raise funds?  To promote their programs?  Or to engage the broader community?

It’s vital that you find out.

Raising Funds, or Building Community?

Author Kivi Leroux Miller says whether you’re a fundraising communicator or a brand-builder/community-builder affects everything you do.

If you’re a fundraising communicator, then most likely:

  • You work for a smaller organization that can’t afford separate staff for both development and communications.
  • You focus on people ages 55+, because they give more money.
  • You use print and email marketing, and you send out direct mail appeals.
  • You also use phone banks and events.
  • You may “be on” social media but you’re cautious about it and see it as a lower priority.

But if you’re a brand builder or community builder, then probably:

  • You work for a larger organization (at least a $1 million budget), and your organization has a written marketing plan.
  • You focus on people under age 55, for the life-long value of the relationship.
  • You see volunteering (including advocacy and fundraising with friends) as equally important with immediate donations.
  • You do more content marketing than asking.  You tell more often than you sell.
  • You use social media regularly, and you aim to engage your community–not just do outreach.

Why It Matters

You need to know which kind of communicator you are, so you know how to direct your effort.  And the client or the employer needs to know too–so they can define what counts as success.

But what if you’re asked to do both? According to Kivi’s estimate, about half of us are asked to do both.  She says:

These communicators are the ones I worry most about, because their jobs are much more likely to be poorly defined, and therefore they are much more likely to burn out and hate their jobs.  We need all the creative, dedicated people we can get in this work, so I don’t want this to happen!

What kind of communicator are you?  Have you been in an organization that didn’t make your role clear?  How did you cope?

 

Another Way to Lose a Donor

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Last week, I told you how The Nation lost me as a monthly donor: they sent me repeated emails addressed to the wrong name.  Sadly, they have not even noticed my post, even though I emailed and tweeted them directly.  (Maybe I should have called them In These Times?)

Let me tell you another sad story about an organization that lost me as a donor.  You can learn what not to do from the example.

Do you remember the earthquake in Haiti four years ago?  Too few people do.  But here in Somerville, Massachusetts, many of my neighbors were born in Haiti.

My wife Rona and I paid a lot of attention to events on the island.  We realized that Haiti would need help for years: not only disaster relief, but reconstruction and development.

We chose to give a significant amount–significant for us, at least–to Haiti annually through the American Jewish World Service.  It’s a well-run organization, and giving though AJWS would let people in Haiti know that Jews as well as Christians cared about them.

AJWS acknowledged our gift and thanked us for it.  They did it again the next year.  Then, they started soliciting us to give to causes all over the world–at the same high level that we had committed to Haiti.

Clearly, they did not know what mattered to us.  Did they even care?  Or did they think they knew better where our limited resources should go?

Rona and I will be giving to Haiti again this year, but maybe through ESPWA.  Perhaps through Partners in Health.  Probably not through AJWS.  And it’s a pity.  We were proud to donate through them until they gave us the message we were not doing enough.

What message are you sending your donors?

 

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