Today’s Tips for NGOs 020415

Imitation is the best form of flattery and the path to success. According to nptechforgood.com, if your nonprofit’s outreach via social media is built on engaging young adults, then you should consider investing some time experimenting with Tumblr, one of several free blog sites. According to a recent study by emarketer.com, after Facebook, young adults spend more time per day on Tumblr than any other social network. Tumblr’s mobile design and the unique content blogged on Tumblr resonates with millennials. Here are 12 nonprofit Tumblrs to study and learn from to build your outreach to the younger generation and perhaps attract their activism. Also download Tumblr’s mobile app to experience it on a mobile device or suitable cell phone.

1. Think Progress
think-progress.tumblr.com

2. Smithsonian Magazine
smithsonianmag.tumblr.com

3. Sex, Etc.
sexetc.tumblr.com

4. Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting
pulitzercenter.tumblr.com

5. Pew Research Center
pewresearch.tumblr.com

6. OURTIME.org
attndotcom.tumblr.com

7. Natural Resources Defense Council
nrdc.tumblr.com

8. National Public Radio
npr.tumblr.com

9. Museum of Modern Art
moma.tumblr.com

10. Made In a Free World
madeinafreeworld.tumblr.com

11. Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network
glsen.tumblr.com

12. CODE.org
codeorg.tumblr.com

NGOs should understand that development and marketing should be treated identically. They’re both vital to an organization’s successful existence. “They really serve the same function. Which is why they shouldn’t exist in separate silos within your organization,” observed Shonte Riddick in her article “Nonprofit Leadership and Practice.” Riddick reinforced this notion by citing Hugh MacLeod: “We are a species of ideas. And the ideas that spread, win. And marketing is just the art of getting ideas to spread. Sure, selling bathroom deodorant via daytime TV commercials is marketing. But so was Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. So was The Declaration of Independence.”

All NGOs have dreams, missions, values and vision which need to be disseminated and marketed otherwise they wouldn’t be NGOs.

Is your NGOs messaging consistent? Is your marketing strategy giving your fundraising initiatives the exposure they need to succeed? Marketing and development should be integrated; your development staff should not have to beg and persuade your marketing team for help when a need arises – even if each group consists of one person. As I have often written in previous blogs, how can you raise money for your cause if no one knows about the good work you’re doing?

Riddick noted: “If you want to make life easier for yourself, I implore you to align these two functions.  Integrate your departments. Understand that from the outside looking in, you are one organization.  No one cares which department crafted which message. What folks do care about is when they are bombarded by too many different messages — from different departments — with different calls to action.  It’s confusing. What are they supposed to do first! What’s your top priority for their time, interest and money? Development is to fundraising as marketing is to sales.”

Your effective communications for fundraising or outreach delivers on your brand promise and always reflects your organization’s identity, image and mission. This behavior ensures that your messaging is credible and unforgettable, helping you to build trust and loyalty among new and old donors and stakeholders constituents. It makes it easier to approach them for donations.

If you’re available tomorrow in the metropolitan NY-NJ-CT-PA region, you may be interested in this event about food and nutrition at the United Nations HQ.

The FAO’s assistant director-general will hold a briefing on the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) Outcome. It will be co-organized by the New York Liaison Offices of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Date: 5 February 2015
Time: 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Venue: Conference Room E

For further information, contact New York Liaison Offices of the FAO at email: perezs@un.org; or lon-registry@un.org; or telephone: 1 (212) 963-6036). Even if you can’t make it, contact the offices just the same to express your interest and request to be placed on a mailing list.

Contact me for more ideas and guidance.

For a global view of what NGOs do, please visit my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BoostingNGOOutreach