Triangulating Nonprofit Research For Dummies

For my question, I’m researching the best marketing strategies used by nonprofits to gain supporters, volunteers, and a general audience. The issue with nonprofits is that while nonprofit work is highly valued in the community, most nonprofits are non-tax deductible, meaning they don’t generate a significant amount of income for the country or their respective states, rather they use a majority of funds to aid those in need through charitable ways and pay their employees. In the case of the nonprofit I am predominantly researching—Cape Fear Communities in Schools—most of their funding stems from grants and research programs supplied by universities nationwide. For example, CIS currently works with Harvard on a research project and summer reading program that is funded by both Harvard University and CIS. However, the responsibility of a majority of the funding is upon shoulders of CIS. In order to fund programs such as the Harvard reading program and create a successful marketing strategy, CIS Executive Director Louise Hicks most focus on community relationships, company projects, youth participation (and expression of interest), and social media. In addition, they must continue to keep a sufficient website and continue to email interested parties.  For all you future nonprofit management personnel, this post is for you.

According to “Jossey-Bass Nonprofit Guidebook Series : Content Marketing for Nonprofits : A Communications Map for Engaging Your Community, Becoming a Favorite Cause, and Raising More Money”, a book focusing on nonprofit management techniques, content marketing is the one of the most effective ways to do so. It claims, there are seven ways to make content work including: using nice iconic images, featuring people (in this case students), include stories on successes, present a clear call to action, making sure it easy to donate online, presenting the best keywords for your cause, and featuring endorsements or advertisements. (Leroux 308). That being said, CIS does this in all of its post. As an intern there, I created a newsletter platform, upon my recommendation, and I’ve created both a section highlighting a “student of the month” and “employee of the month” to showcase the efforts of our nonprofit. On the CIS Facebook page, several photos are showcased displaying CIS teachers with local students in a positive environment involved in engaging activities. Lastly, most social media posts—minus Instagram—include some call to action on the part of the viewer to help students at risk of dropping out of school.

Though social media and an online presence is important for any business or nonprofit, organization of finances proves crucial when thinking about the proper development of a nonprofit. According to the book, “Finance Fundamentals for Nonprofits : Building Capacity and Sustainability”, one of the most important aspects of a financial system is budgeting. “Financial statements are retrospective reports of actual revenue and expenses. A budget, in contrast, is a prospective document that shows how an organization plans to pay for its spending in the coming year. A budget also facilitates spending control” (Brown 49). In retrospect, this means that a budget is important, because without a plan there is no preparation for incoming expenditures and unplanned expenses. Considering a nonprofits’ non-taxable status, one would assume that could have no downside. However, due to that status, there are several laws restricting nonprofits on spending capital on certain initiatives, and several laws restraining nonprofits from gaining capital from certain organizations. In another words, their pool of donors can be significantly lessened due to laws. With this in mind, a director must budget for a variety of situations.

These primary sources displays a couple positive attributes of managing a nonprofit in addition to some of the negative aspects, while diving into how most nonprofits fund themselves despite their limitations. Tell me what you think in the comments if you have any questions!

Works Cited

Bowman, Woods. Finance Fundamentals for Nonprofits : Building Capacity and Sustainability. Hoboken, NJ, USA: Wiley, 2011. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 23 September 2015.

Miller, Kivi Leroux. Jossey-Bass Nonprofit Guidebook Series : Content Marketing for Nonprofits : A Communications Map for Engaging Your Community, Becoming a Favorite Cause, and Raising More Money. Somerset, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, 2013. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 23 September 2015.