Being part of a non-profit organization whether as a volunteer, or as a part of administration, is an act of love. However, love alone will not help the organization to find the people or the money needed to keep moving forward. Understanding this and gaining a basic knowledge of marketing will help to ensure that the mission of the non-profit is met.

The basic concept of marketing involves the activity of promoting and selling products or services. For a non-profit, their marketing incorporates similar tactics but involves spreading a message, gaining volunteers, and raising donations. This can certainly be challenging as a non-profit not only because of budget constraints but also because selling a mission is a bit trickier than selling a “thing” to a person. Being strong with what the non-profit stands for and clearly defining its goals, make communicating the cause much easier to the potential audience.

Defining and speaking to a non-profits potential audience is one of the more challenging aspects of marketing. This audience can be a broad range of demographics with older generations being able to give more monetarily and younger generations able to give more of their time. Understanding these audiences on a higher level and speaking to them based on their behavior is beneficial to finding support and spreading the mission.

The organization Nonprofit Tech for Good can be a great resource for gaining marketing knowledge and helps to provide a breakdown of each generations giving and the suggested ways to speak to them.

• The Silent Generation who was born between 1925 and 1945 are the eldest and are within their retirement. They value connections, are known for monetary giving and prefer traditional communications whether that is face-to-face or through phone calls.
• The Baby Boomers were born between 1946 and 1964, are known for being charitable through monetary giving but tend to prefer well-known established organizations which can be challenging for newer non-profits. They value traditional communication but also are savvy with navigating online and social media.
• Next is Generation X which was born between 1965 and 1980. They are often characterized as a unique generation that tends to be practical, arming themselves with knowledge when choosing to give either their time or money. Again, they are easily communicated with both in person and online but are mostly known for navigating nonprofit support online.
• This is followed by the Millennials who were born between 1981 and 1996. Their giving, whether time or monetary, needs to align to their values and priorities. Their primary communication and interactions with nonprofits is online and through social media.
• While there are additional generations the final one worth noting, at this time, is the Activist Generation or Generation Z born between 1997 and 2012. While practices and trends are still being established for this generation, they are tech savvy and respond to interactive social media engagement making that one of the major ways to communicate with them.

Aside from generational nuances, one of the best and most cost-effective ways to spread the non-profits message and gain support is through word-of-mouth marketing.  Talk to family, friends, co-workers, casual acquaintances and encourage them to do the same. Remember positivity and professionalism during these engagements.  Everyone has bad days and sometimes the work involved in a non-profit can be draining but the world often reflects what is put into it.  The positive interactions and excitement around the non-profits mission is what will come back to the organization, whether through volunteers or other aspects of support.

Finally, make use of digital word-of-mouth marketing and establish an online presence through social media. This tactic is also cost-effective and can engage multiple generations across multiple platforms.  It is important to be cohesive and consistent with the non-profit’s presence, mission, and end goal – whether that is volunteer engagement or acquiring donations.  Suggestions included setting a regular posting date, incorporating interactive messages, and crafting calls to action.

Ultimately, clearly understanding the non-profits mission and who might best offer support while helping to positively inspire engagement. Cost effective methods are highly successful avenues of marketing when done positively and professionally. 

Sources:

Kenton, W. (2022, December 2).  What is nonprofit marketing? Definition, how it works, and types. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/nonprofit-marketing.asp

LinkedIn for Nonprofits. (2023, October 30). Nonprofit Social Media Strategy: How to make an Impact. https://nonprofit.linkedin.com/blog/2021/02/social-media-for-nonprofits-how-to-make-an-impact

Mansfield, H. (2023, September 17). 6 generations of giving to charity: Who gives the most & how. Nonprofit Tech for Good. https://www.nptechforgood.com/2023/08/04/6-generations-of-giving-who-gives-the-most-and-how-they-prefer-to-give/