Lessons from nonprofits
Monday, June 9th, 2008I’m an “n” of one, and possibly a Pollyana (which is not a bad thing, at least as the term was originally defined), but it appears to me that people are connecting for good more than ever.
Charitable giving rose from $250B in 2004 to $260B in 2005 to $295B in 2006 (Source: GivingUSA Foundation). A recent Kiplinger’s Magazine was all about Green Investing. GOOD magazine will publish it’s second anniversary issue in a few months. And take a look at what’s been going on in your grocery store.
Peter Drucker always liked nonprofits because they had to do more with less. Last October was one example. October was Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and nowhere was this more obvious than at your local grocer. The Susan G. Komen Foundation or, as it is now known, “Komen for the Cure” enlisted General Mills and many other sponsors to surround and engage shoppers with. well, breast cancer awareness.
It was physically everywhere: I remember being in the checkout line, seeing pink-bannered “DVDs for the Cure.” I bought English Muffins for the Cure. My bank had Money for The Cure. Seeing tons of facings in tons of places, I was impressed with both the scope and the coordination of the effort.
I was thinking about this yesterday as I was doing some work with a nonprofit group and wondered, how can the reach be extended electronically?
Sure, this group sends emails and has an eNewsletter and a web site that accepts online donations and all the usual stuff, but what other possibilities are there? Would they benefit from a Facebook page? Should they be using twitter? Developing their own social networking app? Be going mobile?
As we press forward into an increasingly connected world with the attendant rise in noise level, how do nonprofits compete effectively for share of voice, share of wallet and share of mind?
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