Posted 10/28/23
I have moved around in my career, in both the for-profit as well as nonprofit, and have noticed a recurring theme related to these moves. When entering a new position as a fundraiser for an organization, whether large or small, newer or long-standing, I have noticed a tendency for organizations to assume that the community or public already knew what they did and who they were. I have found, however, that this is not necessarily the case.
Most businesses that I worked for had a significant marketing / advertising budget that continued to communicate their work. With a few larger exceptions, most nonprofit organizations could not afford an extensive marketing program, which often left it up to the fundraiser(s) to get the word out. This is where I discovered that even long-standing nonprofits had community members and even some donors who knew of the organization but were not aware of the specific services to any depth. I was equally guilty, as a newly hired fundraiser, of assuming that people were already familiar with the organization, but then became frustrated with the lack of response or engagement with the mission. Something was missing. It dawned on me that we needed to periodically educate (or re-educate) the community on exactly what we did, regardless of the size or how long the organization had been in existence. It really was a problem in almost every organization that I entered, whether they were aware of it or not.
There are several ways to educate the public, however it may not seem like the best use of time, especially when it does not appear to stimulate revenue generation initially. I have found it to be tremendously beneficial and contributed greatly to increased and sustained donations over time. In my opinion, there should be some form of education in every marketing piece or outreach communication. (One of my favorites is the quick “Did you know…” phrase on marketing materials). Educating the public can only help in the long run and assist in avoiding this costly mistake of assuming that the public already knows enough about the organization to stimulate giving.
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