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Marketing for a local nonprofit?

by Danielm
10 replies
Yesterday I spoke with the owner of a local nonprofit religious ministry. We didn't talk for very long so there are still a lot of unanswered questions but he asked me to draw something up based upon what might work well for them.

I know they are doing all paper based monthly mailings and he'd like to add a managed email solution for more time sensitive announcements but still wants to keep the paper mailings. Maybe some kind of recurring Paypal-type setup for consistent donors.

My issue with recommending solutions for them is I'm more used to thinking about how someone gets sales, or advertises a service where what they do is different. They do a once a week school program as an axillary for home schooled children, faith based retreats, a lot of public speaking and some other things not 100% clear on yet.

The ultimate end goal is to get more donations to support running the group but having never worked with a nonprofit service type group before I'm a little cloudy on what would be the most helpful for them.

Anyone have any experience in this area?

Thanks.
#local #marketing #nonprofit
  • Profile picture of the author davechan
    We work with 2 non-profits. The best thing to implement for a managed email solution is to use something like aweber - a drip email solution. Then add a paypal donate button https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/?c...-intro-outside. and, finally, give the parishioners reason to buy "up sells" besides just donating for the sake of donating. One example could be music that the church might produce or a digital ebook on topical things. You can actually host those on your server and then set up a word press plug in that goes right to pay pal ... search for paypal word press plugin for example. hope that gives you a start.
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  • Profile picture of the author MaxReferrals
    Yes, a lot of experience.

    Simple email sends, coupled with the occasional autoresponder should be
    more than sufficient.

    Tag each email with a donate here link, that allows people to send
    to the ministry's biz paypal account, and you have a low-cost start to see if they get
    any take.
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  • Profile picture of the author Quentin
    I work with non profits all the time.

    The main difference is that they tend to be project based rather than product however you approach it the same way.

    Find out the points of difference and provide a lot of info re the project with pictures and videos.

    Quentin
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  • Profile picture of the author pettersmith
    I never worked in a non profit, basically i am getting good now a days. and i don`t have sufficient time for this.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tonybuk
      I have a non-profit charity site for a client ongoing at the moment.
      I don't think there is a lot of difference to be honest. It is still a matter of finding what services are provided (you mentioned retreats + schooling), and who are the target 'customers', in your case the local congregation. Then match the two as you would with any other project.

      A 'donate now' button is just a 'Buy now' button in disguise!

      TonyB
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  • Profile picture of the author Andrew Milburn
    Working with a Non-Profit / Charity is really no different from working with a small business (or large business), they very often have the same needs and wants.

    You would need to do a fact find and find out what they need and what they are looking for from using your services. You mention the fact that you are used to making sales and selling services to help with this.

    In a way getting a donation is a bit like making a sale - you could help them increase their subscription base etc.

    You could show them the power of email, Facebook and Twitter, and depending on how big their mailing list is you could show them the savings they could make by going all online.

    Churches need a lot of help in this area as many are run by people who do not either have the time to do it, or are just scared of the Internet as they have never really used it.

    Like I said at the start threat it like you would a normal business, do some fact finding and take it from there.

    Hope this helps
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  • Profile picture of the author cripperz
    Alot of opensource tools for you to use and alot of free services out there that fit your needs.

    Aweber is a hosted free server that might just suit you. If you are a little more techy, setup your own gateway and use phplist manager. You own your own database securely that way too. With a local broadband and email gateway from ISP might suit your needs.
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  • Profile picture of the author Danielm
    Thanks everyone, really helpful advice. I'm putting together a proposal but still want to sit down with them and see what else they are looking for.
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  • Profile picture of the author jsherloc
    Daniel,

    Shoot me a PM with your e-mail address or contact me through the Local Lasso signature link below and I'll be glad to send you a link to the promo video we've used for non-profits. You could put it on your site, etc.

    Not sure if you'd need it for this client if they are already on board, but if you plan on targeting other non-profits it could be a useful piece of media. It is just a very basic promo video that speaks about the benefits of IM to people running nonprofit organizations. We only have a U.S.-based one at the moment.

    - Jim
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  • Profile picture of the author Danielm
    Thanks, Jim, just send you a PM.
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