From Online to Organized Groups: Making the most of 2011 as a non-profit

By Lindsay Stout, Account Executive, Dallas


As we wrap up the season of giving and move into 2011, non-profits and charity organizations are still feeling the pinch of the economic downturn from the past few years. With the New Year comes a fresh hope for increased economic recovery, as well as an opportunity to engage new audiences and turn them into volunteers, loyal fans and donors.

Whether you are a large, national-recognized organization or a smaller-scale local non-profit, here are a few tips for making the most of 2011.

Revamp Your Website / Look
A fresh look is a great way to catch the eye of potential supporters. If you have the resources to rebrand your logo or website, take the time to evaluate how this might benefit your organization. Many non-profits operate with an outdated look that no longer accurately represents their organizations.

Our client Camp For All , a Houston-area camp and retreat serving children and adults with challenging illnesses or special needs and their families, recently revamped its logo and website. Both designs better convey the mission and motto of the organization, and new functions of the website allow for more meaningful engagement for campers and their parents, Camp For All partners, media and supporters.

Create a Young Professionals (YP) Group
As a YP myself, I’m continually looking for new groups with which I can volunteer and network, and many people tend to become faithful fans of organizations they begin affiliating with at a young age. Now is the time to lock in the loyalty of YPs and create a group targeted toward their interests.

The Junior Friends of the Arboretum at the Dallas Arboretum is a great example of a new membership group designed for the under-40 demographic, including YPs and young parents and families. One of the many perks is that the group has access to special events and extra privileges such as complimentary concert tickets and workshop discounts.

Utilize Social Media
While social media can feel intimidating, it’s an incredible tool for reaching people in a fun, conversational manner in order to promote upcoming events, attract new supporters, grow your donor base, share entertaining videos and photos and drive more traffic to your website.

There are lots of trends you can easily utilize, such as using the #charitytuesday hashtag on Twitter to help promote great causes or creating your own Facebook contests, such as Texas Ballet Theater's Weekly Wednesday Win, which gives fans the opportunity to win tickets to performances and other prizes.

Be sure to tap into your board members, interns or members of your YP group to learn more about Facebook, Twitter, blogs and LinkedIn and to get help with engaging on these platforms. It can seem like a daunting step, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Encourage Volunteering
If your budget prohibits you from taking any of these bigger steps, don’t forget that soliciting help from board members and volunteers is always an option. These audiences are already raving fans of your organizations so let them help you take action! Both board members and volunteers are a great way to help relieve overworked staff, and those who donate their time often turn into those who donate their dollars.

Best wishes and here’s to a fabulous year!

Give It All You Got

by Helen Vollmer

So, it’s the New Year and we’re all scratching our heads, trying to figure out the new world order. Certainly, we all want to be good stewards of our own dollars in an uncertain economy. And yet, if we’re not careful we may end up taking some short term actions with long term consequences.

Specifically, I’m talking about philanthropy. On face value it makes sense to pull back in 2009 on what and how we’re giving in a recession. On second thought, however, it makes more sense to consider how one’s support in down times can shape our future in new and meaningful ways, including bolstering our economy and simultaneously adding to our sense of fulfillment.

Case in point, a friend of mine recently realized that those purchases she’d recently made during a shopping venture were exactly the cost of supporting one student for a year at Yes Prep, a Houston charter school ranked by Newsweek at one of the best educational programs in America http://www.yesprep.org/. By returning her purchases and donating to the school instead, she is helping not only an individual gain entry to a four year college but also ensuring the community has a stronger workforce for the future.

Instead of just saying no to philanthropy this year, maybe it’s time to consider how research and scholarship dollars in education, technology and healthcare are critical right now in America’s ability to stay in the game as a world power long-term. As, Ron Lieber recently wrote in a New York Times “Your Money” column www.nytimes.com/pages/business/yourmoney, maybe it’s time to “throw the rope back in” to those institutions who have seen their endowments dwindle over the last few months and without help will be shutting down programs or providing fewer scholarships at the very least.

And closer to home, if any of you has been to a hospital ER lately for personal reasons, then you understand first-hand that those miracles you experienced didn’t occur because a fairy godmother waved her wand. It was really the miracle of some anonymous donor who years before made a sizable donation to research how something could be done better, differently or less intrusively. Trust me, your life and others’ lives are vastly better for it.

If you think that total giving typically declines during a recession, think again. During the past 40 years, according to GIVING USA Spotlight, Issue 3, 2008 www.grenzebachglier.com/fundraising_resources/statistics_and_data, charitable giving did not decline significantly during recessionary periods. In fact, total giving has increased in current dollars every year but one since recording began. While the rate of growth is slower in tough years, giving continues to increase in economic downturns. And that’s the good news for all of us.

So how do you determine a philanthropic strategy that will be a wise investment of your time and money?

First, find your passion. Philanthropy is about improving life and helping others. So what do you deeply care about and what matches up with your core values? Where do you really want to make a difference?

Second, get involved. Philanthropy is not just about the money. Volunteers are needed as are in-kind services, especially when funding recedes. Work with organizations and institutions regarding how you or your company’s talents, services and dollars can be leveraged to go further.

Third, develop a long-term giving plan. Once you’ve narrowed down which organization will benefit from your charitable initiatives, then know your giving options. Is this a one-time cash gift? Do you want to establish a charitable gift annuity? Would you consider an estate plan? There are a myriad of options and gift planning professionals will be happy to help accommodate your philanthropic goals. You don’t have to make giving decisions in a vacuum.

Finally, check-in on your investments periodically. Don’t be afraid to ask for updates from the charity or to let your giving plans evolve as times change. Your needs and desires will take turns as will those of a non-profit organization. You should expect a return on your investment—whether that’s a tangible, physical result or simply the warm feeling you get inside when you have helped someone else.

Philanthropy, after all, is really just a fancy word for doing the right thing by your fellow man. The benefits, especially in tough times, belong to all of us.