A recent US survey of Not for Profit organisations has found that many NFPs are lacking effective marketing and communications with current and would-be supporters.
The study, conducted by Not for Profit consultation group Cause Communications, found only one in five respondents knew what their peers were doing in the area of communications, and 90 percent of respondents said their organisations did no market research on their target audience.
Fifty-nine percent of respondents answered that their communications budget could be better; 12 percent said they had no such budget at all.
Lisa Witter, the executive vice president of a New York consulting firm says that while both large and small NFPs have been traditionally excellent with organisation, policy, and fundraising, communication and media relations remains at a deficit.
Those tasks, experts say, are essential to widening recognition of an organisation's goals and broadening long-term support.
The situation in Australia is expected to be very similar.
The result of this research has seen Cause Communications produce an exhaustive Communications Toolkit that translates well to the Australian scene. Called A Guide to Navigating Communications for the Nonprofit World the 70 page hard-bound toolkit offers information and advice - everything from research basics, branding and message development and budgeting to advertising, campaigns, guerilla marketing and media relations. It cleverly offers 'roadside assistance' sections in each chapter offering website addresses, publications and fast facts.It has work sheets, planning sheets and pro forma release forms…everything to make the NFP marketing and communications job easier.While some of the examples relate to the American scene, the information is non-country specific and there are plenty of websites links that are internationally based.
Apart from all this, it is a beautifully designed and laid out publication with a heavy duty cover that is meant for the hard work required in any Not for Profit organisation. The book was made possible by support from The Annenberg Foundation, The California Endowment, The James Irvine Foundation and The Marguerite Casey Foundation.
As well the electronic version of the Toolkit can be download FREE in PDF format from the Cause Communication website at http://www.causecommunications.org/CC/CC_news06_1.html. Just register your details.
(Editor's note: The registration form doesn't have a code for Australia so I chose sunny California, but all the other info was true and correct!) Hard copies are so far only available in the US.
From ProBono Australia: http://www.probonoaustralia.com.au/new/default.asp?a=2&b=1343&d=1
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