Plan to Act. Giant Voices, Inc. Pascha Apter - Giant CEO Dan Fuchs - Fundraising Giant. Strategic Marketing Communications

Transcription

1 Plan to Act Giant Voices, Inc. Pascha Apter - Giant CEO Dan Fuchs - Fundraising Giant Strategic Marketing Communications

2 Plan to Act Agenda Plan to Act - Marketing Exercise Plan to Act - Fundraising Questions Applause

3 Pascha Apter Co-owner and CEO of Giant Voices, Inc., a marketing enterprise consisting of three companies: Giant Voices, Giant Academy, and Gizmoz Promotional Products Over 15 years of national strategic marketing experience Has built and managed over 300 brands Advanced education in the discourses of marketing, sales, and strategic communications Recipient of numerous entrepreneurial awards

4 Plan to Act What is Marketing? The process of communicating the value of a product or service to customers for the purpose of selling your product or service. Typical types of non-profit customers: Clients, major donors, minor donors, event attendees, vendors, media, board members, community at large, internal staff

5 ailng n r e s Invt erti m Ad C o m ndin g d g Leeartistinion a Adevner G Pub Rela lic tion al s n r e Int mm Co What does a marketing plan consist of? Bra W Eev e b n s ittse ad Le ration ne e G Attraction ial Soc ia d Me W Ee v e b n s ittse

6 Plan to Act Ambition a strong desire to do or achieve something. Define your purpose and goals Purpose: What are you intending to achieve? Goal: Specifically what outcomes are you after?

7 Plan to Act Define your target audiences In today s marketing world mass marketing mass messages to masses of people via mass media is a mass mistake. ~ Larry Light, former McDonald s CMO

8 Plan to Act Define your Primary target audience Who must you reach in order to achieve your ambition? Age, gender, location, income, education level, marital status, ethnic background, level of knowledge to your cause, level of busyness Define your Secondary target audiences If you have extra time and budget, who else would you like to communicate to?

9 Plan to Act Define your key messages: What are the top 1-3 things your target audience needs to know? Define what your target audience cares about How can you connect your concerns and the target s concerns?

10 Plan to Act Define your advertising tactics: what tactics are you going to use to connect your key messages to your target audience? Traditional: TV, radio, print, out-of-home, posters, direct mail, phone calls, website Emerging: ers, events, website Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay Per Click, lead generation, social media, digital ads

11 Plan to Act Budgeting Determine the budget you need to execute the plan you set Define the budget you have Define your budget gap Find specific donor support, seek free help, partner with a business sponsor or complimentary organization

12 Exercise Annual signature fundraising event Launch of new program or service

13 Case Study Human Development Center Strategic Marketing Communications

14 Ambition Campaign Purpose: To reduce the stigma associated with mental illness Goals: Engage residents in prominent HDC service areas Dramatically increase the awareness of the HDC in the community Share real-life stores of mental illness to break down the stigma Convey that mental illness is a common situation that can be successfully treated

15 Audience Primary Target: Leaders of organizations in prominent HDC service areas Secondary Targets: General public

16 Key Messages Mental illness is a common situation that happens to people of all walks of life People and families dealing with mental illness shouldn t feel they need to suffer in silence Treatment is often successful and HDC can help

17 Tactics

18 Tactics

19 Tactics

20 Tactics Kim Matteen Director of Development/ Foundation Director tel ext. 126 fax Eleventh Street Cloquet, MN org ntcenter velopme umande

21 Readiness Assessment A must for every non profit Giant Voices, Inc. Dan Fuchs Strategic Marketing Communications

22 Dan Fuchs Thirty-eight years of experience working with religious, social service, private, secondary, higher education, healthcare and arts organizations Organization budgets ranged from $300,000 to multi-million dollars annually Significant range of sophistication levels

23 Today s Agenda Why do an assessment? What is a non-profit readiness assessment? Benefits... The test...

24 The familiar...all too common Patching together a fundraising scheme to deal with some impending fiscal crisis Donors don t write big checks just because your organization finds itself in a bind Likely they ll wonder how you got in this fix in the first place. Poor management? Bad business practices? Ineptitude?

25 Why do an assessment?...the best place to start building a successful fundraising plan is from a position of strength, not desperation You need to know who you are...and where you are...

26 Why? A first step towards maximizing strengths and fixing weaknesses is making yourself more attractive to donors This helps build a successful fundraising plan from a position of strength, not desperation It s a exercise that should be performed every couple of years and before embarking on a full-scale fundraising campaign

27 What is a readiness assessment? It s an annual physical. An examination of your organization s general health and business practices A picture of the organization that identifies strengths and weaknesses, thus... Enabling better planning and enhancing results

28 Just Getting Started? Conduct in-house Secure the services of outside counsel

29 In-house Establish an ad-hoc organizational assessment team Include leadership from staff and board Administrative, financial and program people should be included so that all sectors of the organization have some investment in the effort

30 With counsel

31 What to look at in the assessment Finances Personnel Credibility

32 Finances Do you have an annual budget, approved and monitored by the board, which includes all program and management expenses and all sources and uses of funds? Does your agency prepare monthly financial statements that compare actual revenues and expenses to the approved budget? Does your agency follow accounting practices that conform to standard practices? Is an independent audit or review of the agency s financial condition conducted annually?

33 Finances (continued)... Is a written statement of the organization s financial position (i.e. a financial statement) available to potential funders and donors? Can you identify which programs are running at a surplus or loss, and why? Can you identify your primary funding sources and whether or not they are secure for the next few years? Do you differentiate between restricted and unrestricted income? Are you running a deficit? If you have a deficit, do you have a plan to eliminate it within the next fiscal year?

34 Finances (continued)... Do you have a financial surplus? If you do, is it unrestricted money and is it repeatable? Do you receive more than 30% of your operating budget from one source? if yes, is the money unrestricted?

35 Personnel Do you have an adequate number of active board members? Do you have board members who are recognized leaders in the community? Does the board provide clear leadership within the organization? Does the board participate in fundraising? Do board members have relationships that can help leverage additional resources for the organization? Is the board stable? (e.g. is there an orderly turnover of board members, with adequate training of new board members?) Do you have a stable volunteer base?

36 Personnel (continued)... Is there a system for recruiting, training and recognizing volunteers? Do you effectively match the skills and interests of volunteers with the work to be done? Are your volunteers trained to be effective ambassadors for your agency? Do volunteers have relationships that can help leverage additional resources for the organization?

37 Personnel (continued)... Can volunteers be used more effectively to meet the personnel needs of your organization? (e.g., if staff has been cut, can volunteers fill part of all of the gap? Do you have adequate staff to implement current programs? Do you have adequate administrative and support staff?

38 Credibility Do you have documented evidence of community support?...have community leaders on the board of directors?...receive financial contributions from individuals?...receive cash or in-kind donations from local businesses?...have a large number of people accessing your services?...have recognition by the press, government, other agencies?...have an active volunteer base?...receive positive testimonials from clients, members, volunteers, etc.? Have you had documented program success?

39 Credibility Can you demonstrate the results of the services you provide (e.g., changes in your clients as a result of services)? Is there continuity in the successful provision of these services (e.g., history plus track record)? Is there evidence of good organizational health? Is the organization financially stable?

40 Case Study Human Development Center Readiness Test Questions Strategic Marketing Communications

41 Thank you! Pascha Apter Giant CEO Dan Fuchs Fundraising Giant Strategic Marketing Communications