Q: Do we really have to “market” our nonprofit organization?
No – absolutely not. You don’t “have” to market your nonprofit organization. But you should…
Why you ask? Ask yourself these questions:
Who knows about our organization?
Who is our target market?
How does our target market find out about our organization?
How does our target market find out about our services?
How do we get or ask for donations or other forms of funding?
Exactly! If your target market doesn’t even know about your organization, what your services or products are and where to find them – maybe you need to do some marketing.
If you aren’t getting any donations or grant funding or other forms of financial support – maybe you need to do some marketing.
Unless you’ve received a huge grant that will allow your organization to support itself, chances are you need funding, either through donations, corporate sponsors or grants. And until you develop your brand, you can’t really get your name “out there” to the community effectively. Until you get your name out there, you won’t get the funding you need to properly organize and manage your programs.
As you can see, it’s important to make sure that brand development and marketing are part of your organization’s developmental process. Check back later in the week for Suggestions on Brand Development for a Nonprofit Organization and then Nonprofit Marketing!
Until then, if you have any questions, feel free to comment below!