Five things your nonprofit can do to boost your success rate

Running a nonprofit provides a unique set of challenges. There’s a balance of dealing with limited resources while answering multiple stakeholders that at times may be pulling you in different directions.

When your attention is already divided, sometimes it is hard to determine a strategy that is going to lead you to a successful outcome. We outlined the best practices below to help you become both proactive and adaptable - regardless of the situation you’re in.

· Clearly define your mission. It’s common for nonprofits to have a mission statement, but you can improve your rate of success if you outline talking points you can provide to staff, volunteers and donuts. It also increases the chance that when someone talks about your organization, they will get the same message regardless of the stakeholder they are talking to - which leads to better brand awareness and consistency.

· Aspire to inspire daily. Make sure you’re living your organizational values every day. If you don’t create a culture where people are excited to volunteer and come to events, you’re hurting your brand and, ultimately, your nonprofit. Start by establishing strong core values and then give accolades often. Take advantage of any blank walls you may have by installing wall graphics featuring motivational imagery and inspirational quotes to keep the enthusiasm going year-round.

· Illustrate your vision. If you want to drive engagement in your organization, you need to make sure you are using powerful, real images throughout your materials - both online and offline. Chances are, only a relatively small percentage of people will be able to engage directly with your organization or who you serve. Instead, you should connect with your audience emotionally by using images of real people, projects and events to make them feel like they’re part of your efforts.

· Show gratitude in your fundraising. Each nonprofit is going to have different fundraising strategies that perform better for them. But regardless of what tactics you use, the most critical step of any fundraising campaign isn’t the donation itself – it’s showing gratitude to those who donated. Whether you’re sending an automated email for smaller donations under a certain threshold or sending large donors a hand-written thank-you, everyone who gives should know you not only saw the gift but appreciate it. It will increase the likelihood of them giving again!

· Maintain branding consistency. As nonprofits look for new and creative ways to grab the attention of potential volunteers or donors, it can be easy to jump around with branding items like colors, fonts and more. But if you’re constantly changing your look, even with good intentions, it will dilute your brand and make your audience less likely to remember you.

As a dedicated partner to nonprofits like yours, we aim to ensure your success. If you need more resources for your marketing, give us a call – we’re happy to help brainstorm new ways for you to grow.