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5 Reasons You Need Great Communications Even If You Don’t Need Donors

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I want your opinionOkay, readers, I’m asking your opinion. Who’s right here?

The CEO of a large nonprofit organization recently said to me:

Our agency gets almost all its funding from government, not from donors. We get almost all our clients through referrals, not from publicity. We need good relationships with state and federal officials and with other agencies. We don’t need communications. If the person who does our website and social media were laid off tomorrow, I’d never miss her.

I think the CEO is wrong. Here’s why.

  1. Government funding for human services depends on public support. If you’re a rich industry and can buy influence, you can get government to act in ways that the public doesn’t support. Human services cannot “pay to play.” If the public doesn’t generally approve of what you do, there’s no reason for elected officials or bureaucrats to continue funding you.
  2. Public support can keep the budget axe from falling. At the federal level, the next Congress will probably try to cut whole programs–especially those that help the people who need help the most. Without public support, you’re an easy target.
  3. Public support depends on communications. Opinion leaders have to know, like, and trust your organization. It’s up to you to make sure they do.
  4. Good writing and social media strengthen face-to-face relationships. Even the people you “do business with” regularly may have a hard time explaining what you do. Giving them handouts and newsletters, and keeping your organization on their radar with email, website updates, and social media, helps them make good referrals (and speak well of you to funders).
  5. When you start something new, you need donors.  Most government money is restricted to specific purposes. Your agency may want to try something innovative, or pilot a program you’ve never run before. Getting a grant to do that might take forever. Having unrestricted donations lets you get started now.

What do you think? Are there agencies that don’t need communications, or is a great communications program a “have to have” for every nonprofit?

Have You Made This #GivingTuesday Mistake? (by Michael Rosen)

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Michael Rosen hits the nail on the head. Like the Ice Bucket Challenge before it, Giving Tuesday is just a gimmick unless you work on welcoming and building relationships with the people who are moved to give that day.

“So, are you doing anything special to retain your #GivingTuesday supporters as well as your other donors? At the very least, I hope you:

  1. send an immediate, personal thank-you letter that does not ask for an additional gift,
  2. tell donors how their gifts are having an impact.”

http://michaelrosensays.wordpress.com/2014/12/02/have-you-made-this-givingtuesday-mistake/

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?

 

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