This year has been full of unexpected challenges, so this week on the Nonprofit Jenni Show, let’s talk about how to plan for the new year. First, Dr. Patton McDowell (podcast host of “Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership”) discusses mergers, alliances, and other forms of collaboration that help your nonprofit have a greater impact. Then Jenni offers three tips to improve the way you communicate with your supporters in 2021.
3 Tips for Your Nonprofit’s Marketing and Communications in 2021
Do you ever feel overwhelmed trying to keep in touch with all of your different supporters — major donors, one-time donors, business partners, and others? I created a Marketing and Communications Calendar for nonprofits to help you stay consistent in communications with every key stakeholder group at your organization. The calendar comes pre-loaded with suggested tasks for you to complete every week in 2021! Plus, it includes advice for keeping your supporters engaged throughout the year.
In this week’s podcast episode, I highlight three key tips from the calendar to help improve your communications in 2021:
1. Don’t waste too much time with social media.
Social media is great for helping new people find your organization and learn about your cause. However, it’s not great for keeping in touch with the supporters who have already bought into your mission. Facebook, LinkedIn, and other websites each have their own unique algorithms that decide which users will see your messages in their news feeds. Some of your followers may never see a single post you publish on social media! Your supporters need emails, direct mail, and other forms of direct communication that are guaranteed to reach them on a regular basis.
2. Spend more one on one time with major donors and business sponsors.
My clients often ask how they can improve their relationships with major donors and corporate sponsors, especially when you’re not sure how everyone’s budget has been impacted by the pandemic. I recommend making time to connect individually with each major donor and business partner to update them about how their most recent gift(s) have impacted your mission, let them know how you have shown gratitude and recognition for their support, and help them plan their giving over the next year.
3. Overcommunicate with your supporters.
Your organization may segment supporters into different marketing audiences based on their annual gift amount, how they prefer to engage with your nonprofit, or other information. Each of those audience segments needs frequent and consistent communication so they understand how their support has an impact on the community and what you need from them throughout the year.
Check out my new Marketing and Communications Calendar for 2021 for my specific recommendations about how to keep in touch with all of your supporters in the new year. (The calendar is editable so you can tweak and add tasks depending on your nonprofit’s unique needs!)
4 Ways to Collaborate With Other Nonprofits Next Year
The uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many nonprofit leaders to consider taking a new strategic direction in 2021. I asked nonprofit leadership expert Dr. Patton McDowell to come on this week’s podcast and share advice for those who are considering a merger, alliance, or other type of collaboration to support their mission moving forward. Collaboration can help your nonprofit achieve its mission more efficiently in the long-term.
In this week’s podcast episode, Patton and I took a deep dive into four collaboration models your team may want to consider:
Programmatic collaboration
Joint funding
Acquisition
Merger
You can listen to our full conversation in the latest episode of the Nonprofit Jenni Show:
Pick Jenni’s Brain About Your Plans for 2021
Many nonprofit leaders want to get a set of fresh eyes on their 2021 marketing and fundraising strategies, and I would love to help. Let’s set up a call to go over your plans and identify practical action steps you can take to improve your marketing:
Schedule a casual 30-minute call with me for $60 to pick my brain! I’ll send you a recording of our call afterward in case you’d like to listen again later, along with a written summary of my notes from our call.
Do you feel like you need a more in-depth conversation? Schedule a 50-minute coaching call with me for $75, and I can help you find practical action steps to meet your marketing and fundraising goals. This is a great option if you need help walking step-by-step through the tasks to plan a fundraising campaign, engage your board in fundraising, or even develop a full blown communications strategy to keep your donors engaged.