Marketing

Creating a technology strategy

Another in a series of articles related to association management selected from our reading list by:
Robert O. Patterson, JD
CEO/ Principal
The Center for Association Resources, Inc.

When starting a non-profit tech strategy, one must focus their strategy around resources and reach. First, establish what your goals are. Are you focusing on fund raising? If so then emphasize testimonials, data collection of potential donors, and emphasize events you’re organizing. If your focus is non-profit community engagement, focus on providing content, resources, and maybe a blog for community members to discuss relevant topics.

Always focus on resources, however if they are available, one may consider hiring an SEO specialist or PPC campaign manager to maximize reach in order to monetize the site. It’s always nice to take in extra revenue to benefit your cause, and ultimately reach more people with you message online!

Leadership training and development for non-profits

Another in a series of articles related to association management selected from our reading list by:
Robert O. Patterson, JD
CEO/ Principal
The Center for Association Resources, Inc.

Every successful organization or business must have competent leadership. For the non-profit organization, its leaders are the board of directors and the executive director. Jointly they communicate the vision, set the goals and provide the direction for the organization to achieve its mission. As leaders, the executive director and each board member must dutifully carry out their roles and responsibilities. A leader must also recognize when he or she needs training and development and should seek the proper help to fulfill the requirements of the job in order to advance the organization.

The most important staff role of a non-profit organization is its executive director. While the primary job of the executive director is to manage the day-to-day functions and the staff (including developing the staff), he or she also needs to work closely with the board of directors on a variety of initiatives such as strategic planning, fundraising, and participate in board involved committees. Whether the organization size is small, with a budget of less than one hundred thousand dollars; or large, with a budget of over five million dollars, the executive director must have excellent business and people skills and teamwork to work along with staff personnel and the board as well as interface with the organization’s constituents and supporters. To develop the breadth and depth of skills required for this non-profit leadership role, many nonprofit services offer classes and coaching.

Also vital to the non-profit organization is its board of directors. Most often non-profit board members serve because they are passionate about the cause. Therefore board members’ talents and skills vary and may or may not compliment the staff or each other. Sometimes the board members need to learn about their roles and responsibilities and how to perform them as they are a governing body sanctioned by the state. There is a wealth of information online about board duties as well as agencies that provide consultation to build and develop non-profit boards in the areas of fundraising, strategic planning, succession planning, governance, and managing the performance of the executive director.

A key position on the board is the president. The board president leads the rest of the board members by being clear about the board’s role, sets examples of behavior for fellow members to follow, maintains a business focus and develops the board into a cohesive and productive body. If an area of board development is to bring on training, there are many workshops and programs that would help the board and its president to be more effective leaders.

A trained and developed board and executive director are poised to help the non-profit organization through challenges, to transition the organization to the next level, and most importantly to achieve the mission of the organization.

Hotel contract negotiation

Another in a series of articles related to association management selected from our reading list by:
Robert O. Patterson, JD
CEO/ Principal
The Center for Association Resources, Inc.

Negotiating a contract with a hotel for your non-profit organization can be a difficult and time consuming process. There are often many layers of the hotel to go through, mainly dealing with contracts, fundraising, their tax write off ability and, as a founder or negotiator of the contract, a lot of people to talk to at the hotel.

If you want to host a dinner at a hotel, you have to have a solid estimation of your visitors. The important thing to remember here is that your attendees to your fundraiser are there to be entertained. It is their checkbooks that are opening up for the sake of your organization. They have to feel pampered. Make sure you organize a few solid negotiating points for the hotel, like live music, vegetarian options for food and a cash bar. I say cash bar because that will offer the hotel a chance to recoup some of the losses that they would face should they offer a large conference room for your organization. Not only that, it is critical to use their name on your flyers, website and possibly offer them some future cross-marketing potential. This way, the hotel recognizes that you are offering a service to your visitors (a live band), considering their needs as well as your own (vegetarian options) and the hotel is offered something as well. The cross-marketing is an excellent point of negotiation because the duration of their involvement lasts beyond a single event. Your organization recognizes them in terms of a strategic partner which may help you in the future.

Beyond conference rooms and fundraising partnerships, if your organization needs rooms at a hotel for a non-profit fair or are simply traveling for the purpose of expanding your organization, remember to network market your organization. The more people who are educated and aware of your purpose and mission, the more leverage you can have in that town. Ask for recommendations from friends, contacts, even law firms in the area. If you can connect those you already know with people in the states or countries you are visiting, you can gain a lot of structured leverage. Governmental organizations are thrilled to have non-profits because they take some of the public service burden off of the governments back. Contact you local government, of whom your organization should have a strong relationship with and see if they know anyone in the city you are visiting. They can use their contacts and networking for your organization and put you in touch with the hotels with either a discount or if you are lucky, a free room!

Being on guard for association fraud

Another in a series of articles related to association management selected from our reading list by:
Robert O. Patterson, JD
CEO/ Principal
The Center for Association Resources, Inc.

Non-profit organizations have a special need to prevent and detect fraud. While for profit organizations also must watch for fraud, the non-profit sector has some unique considerations. To keep donations flowing, the need to maintain the public’s trust and protect the organization’s reputation is paramount.

Fraudulent acts which impact an organization can occur either outside or inside the organization. Some estimates put the total percentage of fraud for the non-profit sector as high as 13% of annual donations. While fraud is more often committed by lower level employees, the higher the employees position in the organization, the larger the total fraud losses tend to be. CEOs commit the lowest percentage of fraudulent acts, but their fraud tends to involve larger monetary amounts.

Common types of internal fraud involve cash theft and erroneous expense reports. Physical assets can also be stolen from the organization. Frequent periodic audit of asset inventories can prevent and detect this type of fraud.

Outright theft of cash donations needs to be prevented. Controls such as having two people observe and count cash donations, segregation of duties for the receiving and accounting for donations and other routine cash controls can be beneficial in reducing the risk of cash theft.

Expense reports are also often a conduit for fraud . A system for verifying expense reports should be implemented and expense reports and receipts should be examined prior to payment.

Externally, fraud by vendors, either with collusion from an employee, or committed totally by the vendor is also a concern. Some scenarios include a manager authorizing payment for goods never received or authorizing payment to a nonexistent company where the funds are ultimately received by the authorizing employee. Segregation of duties for payment and purchasing, effective computerized payment system controls, and dual signature requirements for checks can reduce risk of this type of fraud. Periodic checks of vendor records to ensure that vendors actually exist are also a deterrent.

Top management at non-profits can set the tone for fraud prevention by establishing effective internal control policies. One of these controls that may seem surprising is mandating employees take vacation time accrued. Fraud is more difficult to cover up when the employee committing it is absent.

The average amount of time a fraudulent activity occurs prior to catching it is 18 months. Occasionally these schemes have gone on for years without being identified. Sometimes fraud is identified by audits or internal controls. Sadly, fraud is often not caught until an organization fails due to the impact from fraud. Even if an organization is financially able to weather an episode of fraud, the loss of good reputation can often hamper the organization’s future fundraising efforts.

The potential negative effects of fraud on the non-profit organization compel everyone in a non-profit to be aware of the need for fraud prevention. The success and reputation of the organization depends on it.

Marketing for success

Another in a series of articles related to association management selected from our reading list by:
Robert O. Patterson, JD
CEO/ Principal
The Center for Association Resources, Inc.

Successful marketing is a discipline with an importance that is often underestimated in the management of non-profit organizations. Traditional marketing for for-profit firms involves a number of complex disciplines working together to find potential customers and put the company’s product in their hands. This is done with the goal of making a reasonable profit on the sale of the product. Non-profit firms often don’t have customers or products in the traditional sense, so the value of strong marketing is sometimes overlooked. However, by understanding the worth of marketing and knowing how to avoid some common mistakes, a non-profit organization can enjoy thriving success.

The first step in developing a successful marketing strategy for a non-profit organization is to understand the goal of the marketing efforts. One chief goal of marketing is to build and maintain a visible, credible company image. While a non-profit firm is not generally looking to sell a product to customers, they are always looking to sell their vision and mission to potential donors and volunteers. Marketing efforts should be geared towards creating a consistent identity for the company and making sure the community of potential donors is aware of that identity. There are several important steps which can be taken in order to achieve this.

One crucial step is to build a website. A strong internet presence can allow people unfamiliar with your organization to stumble upon it; in addition, potential donors and volunteers will often search for your organization’s website as the first step to finding out more information. A well-maintained website is crucial when trying to establish a strong, visually-communicated identity. The website can also be very helpful in disseminating information such as newsletters, event calendars, donation methods, and benefits of your organization.

Another important aspect of marketing which is especially important for non-profit firms is relationship management. Traditional for-profit firms know the advantage of maintaining customer information and being able to retrieve it quickly; this helps returning customers to feel as if they are truly appreciated. This process is even more critical when building relationships with donors. You should never find yourself asking major donors, “What did you say your name was again?” Get to know your donors and make them feel that their donations are well worth it. Whenever possible, explain to them where their money is going and how it is being used to benefit the surrounding community.

An additional marketing effort which should not be overlooked by non-profit organizations is the active search for alliances with local organizations, governments, and businesses. These alliances can bring extra visibility to the organization, as well as bring in extra money. For example, non-profits will sometimes engage private companies for donation-matching agreements for a particular fundraiser. This increases the visibility and rapport of both the non-profit organization and the private firm.

Above all, the biggest pitfall to avoid is thinking that the inherent goodness of your non-profit firm will bring in the money you need. Even though your organization may be doing work for a good cause, you will still need to create visibility and credibility to locate and attract potential donors. A successful marketing strategy can help to accomplish these goals and keep your organization thriving.

Marketing

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