NONPROFIT ADVANCEMENT: It's Not Just About Fund Raising

For all those in the nonprofit sector, successful organizational advancement should be as much about communications and marketing --- building and communicating with constituencies, cultivating and sustaining relationships --- as it is about productive fund raising. Although a fully integrated approach to advancement always works best, marketing all too often is absent from the critical equations. That's where Seth Godin comes in!

If you've never encountered Seth Godin's books or his blog, take a look at this blog entry.

Godin observes and opines on many current topics and issues, but his essential focus long has been on marketing and the product/service-driven process of communication and interaction. His views and theories are laser-sharp, always provocative, and sometimes even a bit controversial. However, he consistently stimulates useful thought and discussion among those whose job it is to establish mutually beneficial connections between companies and customers or "makers" and users."

Much of what Godin says is at least broadly applicable and enlightening to the nonprofit sector, even though some who populate the sector might not like to think of nonprofit organizations as "makers" and those they serve as "users."  However, if you read Godin carefully, it is clear that his perspectives also have something of value to offer in helping us to think more astutely and creatively about the nonprofit organization's relationship and communication with its clients and donors or "investors."

The installment of the Godin blog linked above speaks generally to issues of packaging, branding, corporate story and worldview of the maker or product. While these issues might seem more of a concern for consumer products, they do have real applicability to the work and advancement of nonprofits.

How should nonprofits brand themselves (with a focus on mission and case), and how should they "package" their mission, programs and services so that others notice, understand, care and, ultimately, invest (donors/fundraising)? How can "corporate stories" make a difference to the brand, and are those stories, actually and in fact, a form of packaging? How important are those stories and the worldview (external opinion) to the organizational case for support and the results (ROI) of advancement/philanthropy initiatives?

Effective marketing and communication, fully integrated with constituency building and productive relationship management, are critical to the success of the advancement/philanthropy program for any nonprofit. People like Seth Godin help to make that more clear for the nonprofit sector.

Read the Godin books, and subscribe to his blog. You'll be glad you did. He is a terrific resource for nonprofit organizations.