1. Write For Your Audience

It all starts with your audience. You need to determine who your audience is, and write for them. Most organizations start with their needs, don’t think about why someone would be interested in what they are writing about, and consequently, miss an opportunity to connect with their members, donors, and volunteers. The more you understand about your audience, the more you can develop content that will appeal to them, and write in a way that will be engaging to them.

2. Have a Specific Purpose for Each Article

When crafting your content, determine why you are writing each article. For example, each of the following articles would be written completely differently.

• Informing your clients about a new service so that they can use that service.
• Educating your members about an issue of concern to them.
• Persuading readers to adopt your point of view on an issue.
• Engaging your audience to take an action, such as volunteering or signing a petition.
• Entertaining your readers with humorous anecdotes that delight.
• Inspiring your donors with an emotional appeal to give.
• Building credibility for your organization with evidence of your successes.

3. Include a Clear Call to Action

Know what action you want people to take as a result of reaching your publication, and make it easy to do so. Include phone numbers, email addresses, URLs, and contact names in the appropriate stories, and including form, and reply envelopes to facilitate responses, if appropriate.

4. Structure Your Publication for Maximum Impact

Make sure to structure your publication in way that best conveys your information. Think about the flow and sequence of the pages to provide a meaningful experience for your reader. For example, instead of random articles throughout the publication, you can organize your content into thematic areas that help your donors understand the impact that your organization is making in different communities or with different populations. Consider anchoring a spread with one main article with related smaller sidebars or newsbites, rather than having many pieces competing for attention.

5. Convey Your Organization’s Personality

This is one of the biggest lost opportunities for nonprofits to connect with their constituents — writing in a human way that demonstrates the passion of the people powering your cause. Avoid clinical jargon and institution-speak and write with personality to help your audience understand what makes your organization unique and worth following. Your copywriting style should reflect the style of your organization — for example, a policy organization reaching business executives and legislators may have a more academic tone than an after school arts organization.

6. Use Good Design Principles

Like it not, people do judge a book by its cover, and people will judge the professionalism of your organization based on the look of your marketing, including your publications. Good design can help your reader access your content in more ways, draw them in and inspire them, and communicate more cogently, in addition to creating a professional impression for your organization. Some best practices in design include:

• layout that provides a central focus and hierarchy that leads the reader through the material, using images effectively to tell your story
• a harmonious palette of colors that work well together and convey the appropriate tone,
• typography that facilitates reading rather than confusing it
• branding that is consistent with your website and other marketing materials
• quality paper and printing production that conveys a good impression.

With with a targeted objective, proper planning, and solid writing and design, and you can turn your publication into a communication powerhouse that that builds visibility and support on many fronts.

This article originally appeared at Ventureneer.com.

Links

• Read Part One of this series here.
• See more of our publications here.
• Contact Red Rooster Group about promoting your organization.

Howard Adam Levy, is Principal of Red Rooster Group, a New York based graphic design firm that creates effective brands, websites and marketing campaigns for nonprofits to increase their visibility, fundraising and communications effectiveness. Contact us at info@redroostergroup.com.

Introduction

Good morning. My name is Howard Adam Levy and I am a specialist in helping nonprofit organizations improve their effectiveness through better branding and marketing communications.

This morning I am going to discuss the trends I see within the nonprofit world, particularly in terms of fundraising and donor relations. My objective is to give you insights  that you can take home and use to improve your organizations. Let me start with a brief picture of the overall nonprofit landscape.

More Foundations, More Competition for Grant Dollars

1. There are roughly 1.5 million nonprofit charities in America today, 500,000 of which were established in the last ten years.
2. Over the past 20 years, the number of foundations has nearly quadrupled, with more than 66,000 foundations in operation today, distributing more than $32 billion each year.
3. Two-thirds of those foundations were created in the 1990s, largely as a result of vast fortunes made during the dot-com revolution.
4. Everywhere you look there are more hands asking for more money for very worthwhile causes. The net result is that fundraising for nonprofits is increasingly difficult.
5. With the similar growth of education-focused foundations in the United States, your challenge is no easy task.

So what are the trends happening within the nonprofit organizations that would affect educational foundations?

More Strategic Approach Needed for Survival

In this competitive environment, in order to attract donors, nonprofits need to do more than talk about the “good work” they do. They must articulate what they do and how it results in change, why they are the best at it, and why someone should give money to them to do it.

To do this effectively requires strategic thinking which includes the positioning of your mission in a way that is bold and compelling; developing a comprehensive implementation plan to help you achieve your goals; committment to ongoing evaluation and improvement. Those nonprofits that are proactive and create and fully integrate their organizations into a strategically based long-term plan will be much more successful and sustainable.

Multichannel and Integrated Marketing Are the New Status Quo

Multichannel marketing — reaching out to audiences through a variety of communications channels including print, web, email, social media, texting, and in person — is nothing new in the nonprofit world. It is having an increasingly significant role in driving integrated marketing tactics as nonprofits rely more on multiple vehicles to deliver their communications.

Multichannel marketing will continue expand as the percentage of online donations increases and as more older donors adapt to new technology. While online giving is the fastest growing sector, traditional direct mail approaches are still effective. A combination of  these two still proves to be one of the best strategies. We see a prevalence of strategic communications efforts that are consciously coordinated, orchestrated, and targeted across channels — based on particular audience segments and their individual preferences.

Donor Fatigue More Pronounced

The information overload continues. As individuals receive mail, email and other communications from marketers with  greater frequency and intensity, it is increasingly challenging for nonprofits to have their messages heard. Text messages, RSS feeds, Tweets and Facebook posts only compound the problem. Tailored communications and messages that resonate with donors are critical to breakthrough the clutter and to be heard.

Engaging Donors By Giving Control

Smart nonprofits are getting better at engaging armies of supporters. But in order to do that, they have to cede some control. Nonprofits that allow volunteers, donors and advocates to engage their friends in their own way can expand exponentially the support for their organizations. Those  nonprofits that continue to control the message and the method and that only engage their donors when they need money and ignore the increasingly networked world, will disappear.

Peer-to-Peer Engagement Expanding

Donors are increasingly relying on input from friends, family and co-workers to make decisions, particularly the younger generations. Nonprofits need to call upon their most vocal and loyal supporters to be active promoters of their cause and organization.

Loyal Donor Focus

Organizations are concentrating on the loyalty of an individual donor rather than the size of the gift. They are worrying less about the transactional donor and investing more time and energy on the loyal donor who attends activities/events, reads their marketing and communications materials, engages with them on social media platforms, and regularly volunteers. These loyal donors drive ongoing peer engagement, generate support from donor networks and motivate organizations to develop loyalty stewardship programs.

Smaller Gifts, More Often

Donors are providing smaller gifts but doing so several times over the course of the year. In addition, donors continue to drive smaller gifts toward projects where tangible results can be demonstrated. Organizations that provide small, impulsive gifting opportunities will be better positioned to strengthen their relationships with donors.

More strategic approach to funding

The financial status quo no longer works in the nonprofit sector; the hamster wheel of chasing receding dollars in a scattered approach doesn’t cut it. We are in a transformative recession and, as this fundamental economic restructuring continues, nonprofits are creating a different financial model and moving towards a broader, more strategic approach to funding their work. They are seizing the opportunity to be smarter, more honest, more open, and more sustainable.

Diversification of Revenue Sources

The combination of public sector funding cuts and social investment opportunities requires nonprofits to think in a more commercial way in terms of how they can generate revenue beyond their traditional income streams. Many of them are finding channels of revenue other than fundraising in order to stay afloat. Doing so requires them to have a more business-oriented mindset, do more strategic planning, and re-evaluate the structure of operations.

Having an understanding of your market, being able to generate income, developing a strong business discipline so that decisions are based on evidence and a clear plan for the future are all essential. How can nonprofits sell their services or expertise to generate revenue? Can they make money from their premises or intellectual capital, etc.? Strong management information is needed to understand your costs and where you can maximize value.

Creative Giving and Venture Philanthropy

Foundations and many individual philanthropists are exploring a number of new ways to invest in nonprofits beyond awarding a grant. Program-related investments such as loans to nonprofits at below-market rates and recoverable grants, where nonprofits return funds with no interest payments, are two such examples. The third kind of experiment, where private ventures establish an earned income base for nonprofits, has received more attention in the press than other forms, especially as a number of high-profile business leaders adopt this model for their charitable giving. Board members and senior management of an established organization must carefully determine if a venture capital model will substantially increase a nonprofit’s capacity to do its work; such a decision should not be based on potential grant revenue alone.

Earned Income and Social Investment

In earned income ventures,nonprofits works to solve social problems while earning money in exchange for a service. An example of this is the DOE Fund in New York City.  Here, the founder, seeing the homeless population in the city, decided that instead of funding more homeless shelters he would develop an organization that would  train this population and give them jobs. (In this instance, cleaning up litter in the streets.) This program successfully transferred the target people into productive workers while operating at a lower cost than that of the shelters.

Web, Mobile, and Social Media

Increasingly, nonprofits are looking at communications and fundraising through the lens of the “technology trifecta”: Web, mobile, and social media. And as they do, they are testing concepts across all three channels to determine the right mix for their own constituencies.

The Web is the go-to place for transparency and donor-interaction tools. Social media opens the door to better donor communication and stewardship. And Mobile continues to gain traction as technology and mobile marketing techniques improve.

The fundraising organization that doesn’t align its marketing efforts with all three channels will have a hard time maintaining its position in the nonprofit marketplace. Organizations also will need to manage expectations and develop effective donor delivery methods that don’t simply mimic other organizations’ tactics. Testing and experimentation is key to implementation.

Online and New Media Channels Continue To Extend Their Influence

Digital technologies and social media tools are now used all across nonprofits and not only for fundraising and marketing. Online’s influence outside of transactions is growing as older donors engage in web-based communications and advocacy. More digital engagement can save costs on travel and meetings, moving towards online collaboration and communicating internally in a more consistent way. Most importantly, Online continues as the fastest growing giving channel.

To be a player in the online world, nonprofits need to ensure that they operate faster, are able to respond to real-time events and that they have the policies and processes in place to do so.

Social Media Continues to Explode

All of the major social networks continue evolving and new digital platforms continue to emerge. It’s up to you to navigate the ever-changing social media landscape and decide what will work best for your organization’s fundraising efforts.

Evolution of Facebook and Twitter

The evolution of Facebook and Twitter, and the impact that has on how we engage with users, continues to be more sophisticated. We are past the stage of knowing they are important. Now we need to understand the data and how these spaces plug into existing content/sites. The JustGiving Facebook application, for example, already allows users to donate without leaving Facebook.

Twitter Promoted Products

Twitter rolled out “pay as you go” advertising this year to the masses, and now many nonprofits are joining top brands as “promoted” accounts and tweets. The social targeting options are enticing, and many nonprofits are seeing the insight into their followers as an added perk.

Social Analytics

Savvy nonprofits put their social media data to work. Already, companies like SocialMention, HootSuite, and others are looking to give nonprofits a full picture of their social media presence, along with a sense of how friends and followers are responding.

Image Blogs for a Cause

Tumblr and Pinterest are both seeing huge growth.These image driven platforms seem perfectly poised to offer quick and easy way for nonprofits to share images. With a viral element, one compelling image can have a significant reach across the web.

Donors Can Rate Fundraising Appeals

Thanks to the growing popularity of consumer feedback platforms such as TripAdvisor and Yelp, we will see new sites emerge that allow donors to rate their fund-solicitation experiences and share those ratings and experiences with their friends.

What impact does this have on the donating process?

Giving has become a quick-and-easy experience that meets individuals’ impulsive need to serve the greater good.

• Simple Donation Processing: As more people are reading email on mobile devices, a simple, mobile-friendly donation form is becoming important to any nonprofit’s email marketing campaign. Online constituents expect their web transactions to be easy.
• Improved Transaction Times: Organizations are reducing the time between the giving decision and the actual transaction. One-click giving and other impulse-gifting technologies are gaining in popularity.
• Mobile Giving: More than Text to Give, mobile giving continues to increase as the number of smartphone users increases. Smart nonprofits will use mobile giving to coincide with large events or virtual actions. This leverages social pressure of a crowd to drive people to pull out their phones to give.

Crowdfunding by Donor Networks

The internet is providing more vehicles for donors to contribute. We see more donor networks comprised of individuals who come together around specific causes, engage in volunteerism, and/or willingly promote the activities of the causes and organizations they support. There are donor advised funds and giving portals such as Donor’s Choice. Increasingly, fundraising staff have the capability to track these networks as well as other peer groups and use that information to leverage their resources.

More Honest Communication Between Nonprofits and Donors

Nonprofits must continue stepping up their game to attract new donors. Increased openness and transparency provides more insight to supporters and builds trust – a very important factor when pulling out a credit card.

With regards to impact measurement and reporting, organizations are moving from annual reports to real-time reporting of their impact in the community. Fundraisers are more adept at using digital communications technologies and creative design to inform donors about the outcomes achieved by their dollars. For their part, donors demand such reporting.

Personalization

Not For Profit supporters want to be able to define and customize how they are communicated to (e.g. go paperless, set frequency of emails and filter for content). The burden of expectation for nonprofits is being set by the for-profit sector.

“One size fits all” approaches to nonprofit communication efforts are becoming a thing of the past with the rise of social analytics. Personalized newsletters and emails show supporters their value and grab their attention, making your nonprofit’s messages less likely to go in the junk bin (real or digital).

Communication Control

Donors have the ability control how they receive communications from your organization based on personal preference and interests. Improvements in communications technology makes it easier for nonprofits to connect with donors who seek specific information about the impact of a gift and/or an organization’s health. In addition, organizations can allocate communication and marketing resources according to donor preference, rather than making assumptions about what donors want based on their content consumption.

With the growing number of ways to communicate to followers also comes a growing backlash against a digital overload. Allowing supporters to filter the ways they are communicated with (email frequency, paper-free, content filters, etc.) lets organizations reach supporters without annoying them.

More Ambassadors

Nonprofits are discovering the real power of online relationships to identify, work with and embrace the potential of their supporters. There are more ambassadors and blogger engagement programs but also more involvement from local communities.

More Sophisticated Volunteer Engagement

Due to a lack of jobs there are more people available to volunteer, but less money and staff to manage them. Nonprofits need to try and put more faith in the volunteers: positive encouragement and more ownership makes volunteers to feel a part of the organization.

Smarter Boards

The new harsher economic environment necessitates a smart, strategic, innovative board. To survive, board members must start asking more and better questions, must increasingly put themselves to their highest and best use, must focus more on strategic issues as opposed to day-to-day tasks, must empower their staff leadership to take the organization in more innovative directions, and must optimize the use of their money and their networks.

Building Infrastructure with Your Organization So It Can Grow

• Nonprofits need the structures and systems in place to utilize all of the technology.
• The website needs online giving capability as well as systems to collect donor information and integrate with your Donor Relationship Management.
• Content Management Systems such as WordPress are needed to update and change the site easily and frequently.
• Social Media require systems and staff in place to monitor conversations and report findings.
• Integration of all components so they work well together and you can take advantage of your donor lists.

Better Use of Data

Since there is more data available than ever before, it is imperative that nonprofits not just collect it, but understand it to do something with it. Organizations must be able to utilize the vast the data we have and make effective decisions and plans with it.

Closing

I hope you will see the ideas I have just presented as a lens for the rest of the conference, and can focus on one area that can drive the greatest improvement for your organization.  This is a very exciting time to be in the nonprofit industry and participate in the changes as well as adapt to the new technology.

Howard Adam Levy is Principal of Red Rooster Group, the branding agency that creates effective brands, websites and marketing campaigns for nonprofits to increase their visibility, fundraising and communications effectiveness. Contact us at info@redroostergroup.com.

When the Utah Association of Public Schools and the American School Foundation Alliance decided to produce the first major conference for educational foundations in the region, they needed a name for the conference that would help it establish immediate credibility. We generated a list of names that were short enough to be catchy and memorable, and unique enough to have an available domain name. The recommended name, SummX is only 5 letters, and we were able to claim the domain name summx.org.

We then designed a unique look for the conference materials that would help it get noticed. The branding system for the event is flexible enough to allow for different images and configurations of the typography so that it can stay fresh, while the maintaining recognition for the event with the colors and overall look. The design was applied to a printed postcard, email blasts, brochure mailer, conference website, and signage at the event.

Links

• See more examples of event promotion.
• See more examples of effective nonprofit design.
• Contact Red Rooster Group about promoting your organization.

Red Rooster Group is a New York based graphic design firm that creates effective brands, websites, and marketing campaigns to increase your visibility, fundraising, and communications effectiveness. Contact us at info@redroostergroup.com.

This example of effective nonprofit publication design showcases various Jewish learning programs for teens from a diverse array of organizations on behalf of many area congregations. Designed to appeal to the teens as well as their parents, the catalog was successful in balancing the needs of all of these constituents and creating a compelling offering in a very quick timeframe. We also created banner ads to promote the initiative on local websites.

”Red Rooster Group has been an invaluable resource. I know I can call Howard or another member of his talented staff if I have a question, hit a stumbling block, or need to bounce an idea off of someone. 

I highly recommend Red Rooster Group for any nonprofit’s design, marketing or branding needs and would be happy to serve as a reference!”
—Rebecca Saidlower, Associate Director of Marketing and Communications at The Jewish Education Project

Links

• See the Jewish Education Project Branding Case Study.
• See more examples of effective nonprofit design.
• Contact Red Rooster Group about promoting your organization.

Red Rooster Group is a New York based graphic design firm that creates effective brands, websites, and marketing campaigns to increase your visibility, fundraising, and communications effectiveness. Contact us at info@redroostergroup.com.

Most online donation pages for nonprofit organizations are less than inspiring, providing a list of donation levels and a poorly-designed form sitting on an expanse of white. Not exactly the best way to inspire confidence in your donors. That’s why, when we redesigned the website for this social service organization, as part of an overall brand overhaul, we made sure to create an engaging interface for donors, to inspire them to lift the average gift to the next level. Here’s what we did.

We created a very robust custom designed donation section that included a number of unique features not found on most nonprofit donation pages.

1. Compelling Design

The main interface has an engaging design. First, the donation page is within the main site, so the header not only re-assures the donor of the trustworthiness of the donation page, but provides a strong graphic. Second, the main donation area uses a grid of images and icons to engage donors in learning about the various levels of donations in hopes of lifting their donation.

2. Photos

There are 8 photos on the page to create an emotional connection with the donor (and yet the page does not feel busy). Different types of people in different situations are shown in different situations to help donors relate to the people in need.

3. Description of Donation Levels

Descriptions of the services that the different donation amounts can provide help donors understand the direct impact of their donation.

4. One-Time and Recurring Donation Options

The page allows for the ability to give one-time and recurring donations with pre-determined levels as well as a write-in choice. The default option is set to recurring to encourage selection of that option.

5. Other Giving Options

We created a series of icons to link to the other donation pages, including tribute gifts, endowment funds, car donations, and other ways to give.

6. Donation Summary

To re-assure donors what selections they have made, a Donation Summary appears on the same page as soon as a selection is made. This allows the donor to make a change if needed, without having to leave the page (to reduce any chances of them experiencing problems going back and abandoning the process).

7. Payment Information

For the same reason, the form for payment information appears on the same page when a choice is selected to create a seamless experience for the donor. After they enter their information, they have the opportunity to review it and confirm it before making the actual donation. Notice how organized and compact the form is to make it easier for the donor to fill out and to reinforce the organization’s professionalism.

Other Donation Pages

Additional pages in the donation section allow visitors to donate their car, buy tribute cards, support endowment funds, or give in other ways. Each page is designed specifically to support its respective function while using the organization’s brand typefaces and colors. All the pages are built directly on the organization’s site so that they appear in the framework of the main navigation and don’t have to leave the site for any transaction.

Full Brand Case Study 

The website design was part of an entire re-brand for this nonprofit organization that included a new logo, brand presentation, website, and brochure.

See the full case study.

Links

• See other websites.
• See other case studies.
• See Red Rooster Group’s services

Red Rooster Group is a New York based graphic design firm that creates effective brands, websites, and marketing campaigns to increase your visibility, sales, and communications effectiveness. Contact us.

To thank its donors and supporters with a last minute appeal for donations, we created this email that explained the impact that this multi-service agency had during the year.

The mail used some best practices for the design of nonprofit fundraising appeal emails and design:

1. Clearly Identifiable Header

A header that clearly identifies the organization and shows the range of activities that SBH is involved in. In this  case, we made sure to represent a cross section of the types of people involved in the organization, including age and gender, involved in different volunteering activities. The overall look, colors, and typefaces in the email reinforce the organization’s brand to help supporters recognize the organization’s communications as coming from SBH.

2. Emotional Story

The email opens with actual email that SBH received describing an emotional experience that an observer had about the organization’s work.

3. Statistics

We presented selected statistics that showed the agency’s overall impact in a variety of areas. The statistics are designed in a clean way to highlight the numbers and create a strong visual presence to focus the reader.

4. The Appeal

The “ask” starts by thanking donors for their contributions and reminding them how the organization relies on their support. Mentioning that SBH has been around for 40 years builds the credibility that the organization is not fly-by-night or about to go out of business. And of course, there is a large and clear Donate button that is easy to find and does compete with many other elements.

5. Footer

The footer area contains the organization’s logo and a short mission statement (short enough that someone might actually read it), followed by contact information, and the organization’s divisions, a relatively new feature that we have been introducing for the organization as a way of gaining named sponsorships for each division.

Links

• See the magazine we created for SBH.
• See other nonprofit emails.
• Contact Red Rooster Group for help with your marketing.

Red Rooster Group is a New York based graphic design firm that creates effective brands, websites, and marketing campaigns to increase your visibility, fundraising, and communications effectiveness. Contact us.

Whoever said that print is dead, didn’t get the memo; it’s alive and thriving and is helping nonprofit organizations to reach their audiences in an effective way. While many organizations have transitioned their print publications to electronic formats, some are bucking the trends and reaping the rewards. Consider these examples:

1. Magazine Promotes Social Service Agency

A social service agency recently launched a magazine to meet three strategic goals: improve awareness of the organization’s services to those might need help, to increase volunteering efforts, and to increase donations to the agency. The magazine was organized around their nine divisions — each had a section in the magazine — to build named sponsorship support for each of the divisions. The publication plays a key role in the organization’s overall marketing outreach strategy to increase the viability of the organization, and has become a vehicle to build corporate support for the organization.

2. Special Needs School Attracts Referrals Through Its Newsletter

A special needs school that serves students with emotional and behavioral disabilities gets its students from school districts that can’t meet those students’ needs. In order to encourage the school districts to refer students to the school, a newsletter was launched to help the districts to understand what types of students they can help, and to encourage them make a referral at any time during the school year. The newsletter comes out three time a year and has been effective at increasing student enrollment.

3. Camp Launches Alumni Association with a Magazine

A camp feels that it can tap into its alumni for financial support and launches an alumni association with a 12-page magazine. The magazine plays a key role in the marketing by describing the alumni association and its dues structure, and featuring articles on its alumni and events. The printed magazine is supplemented by an email newsletter, with content also being used on the alumni section on the camp’s website. The magazine is successful in bringing in money, and attracting members at all levels, including the highest level— lifetime members — as well as boosting the credibility of the camp for potential new campers.

4. Private School Uses Newsletter as a Recruitment Tool

A private school produces a newsletter for parents of seventh graders are deciding where to send their kids to high school. Developed as a specific recruitment piece for increasing 8th grade enrollment, the newsletter bridges information about the school useful in recruiting and more topical news about school happenings over the past semester. To help parents understand the school’s strengths the newsletter is organized around thematic areas such as Science and Technology, Career Prep, and Enrichment, to showcase the vibrancy of the institution’s offerings in various areas.

As these examples show, organizations with a range of marketing objectives can benefit from print publications that build visibility and support on many fronts. So is a print publication right for your organization? Here are some factors to take into account:

5. Make Sure You Have A Clear Purpose

Do you know what you want the publication to accomplish? Each of the organizations above had very specific goals they were looking to achieve, and created publications to meet those goals. Before starting your publication, you need to know that your goals can be best accomplished through a printed publication rather than through some other media or method. For example, in recruiting volunteers, if you are looking to reach kids in college to help you at your events, then social media might be a better way to go. But if you are looking to reach retired executives to provide counseling for your clients, they might appreciate a print publication that describes how their values and expertise can benefit others.

6. Make Sure the Investment is Worth It

Determine how much it is worth investing in the publication in order to reach your objective. How much value it can bring, whether in real dollars, of improved perception about your organization should be the basis for deciding how much to spend on your publication. For example, increasing the amount of money raised is an easy goal to quantify. For other goals, such as recruiting more volunteers, you can look at the total amount of time they will be volunteering. For less-tangible objectives, such as building your organization’s credibility as experts in a particular area, you can look at new partnerships, policy changes, or other benefits that may result from the publication.

7. Make Sure That You Have the Necessary Commitment

Starting a publication on a regular basis requires that you have the organizational commitment to doing so. To be effective, issuing your publication one time, won’t cut it — you need to be committed to an ongoing schedule. Once you start publishing, your audience will expect it. So determine whether your organization has the wherewithal to produce the publication on a regular basis. Make it an organizational priority, assign someone with authority to the task, and create systems of making it easy to gather content and produce the publication, whether done in-house or outside.

8. Make Sure That You Have Enough News

Does your organization have enough news to support a publication with the frequency that you want (for example, a 12-page quarterly newsletter)? It’s likely it does if you look hard enough at all the activities that your organization does. But if you will be struggling for content, them pare back the frequency or number of pages so that you can produce your publication easily without trying to search for content. Also, look for ways to gather content or have staff and board suggest content an ongoing basis so you will have a large pool to draw from.

9. Make Sure That Your Audience Is Interested

Are your constituents likely to read something that your organization produces? One way to find out is to ask them. Conduct a survey about the best way that your clients, donors, members, or other constituents want to hear from you, or incorporate it into your registration, online donation, or membership forms. There is no sense in producing a publication that no one is interested in reading.

If you have determined that it is worth investing in a print publication, check out Part Two of this series, Creating an Effective Print Publication.

Links

• View original article at Ventureneer.com.
• See more of our publications here.
• Contact Red Rooster Group about promoting your organization.

Howard Adam Levy, is Principal of Red Rooster Group, a New York based graphic design firm that creates effective brands, websites and marketing campaigns for nonprofits to increase their visibility, fundraising and communications effectiveness. Contact us at info@redroostergroup.com.

We created an info sheet and PowerPoint presentation to provide an update to funders on the effectiveness of this program in creating innovative models of Jewish education.

Summary Sheet

We designed a summary sheet that was used as a handout during the presentation. The sheet makes it easy to funders to learn about the program using best practices for nonprofit design.

Images: A large photo provides a focal point, draws people in,and shows the main outcomes of the program — families learning together. Photos on the back of the sheet show educators coming together to learn in the organization’s program, and kids and families.

Headline: A main headline is used to deliver the news, the outcome of the programs: Transforming the Way Children Experience Judaism.  Too often, nonprofits just use their organizational or program name, which don’t tell what the organization is actually achieving.

Statistics: We highlighted 3 statistics on the front of the brochure to show the full impact of the program.

Copy: The copy is compelling in describing not only the program, but in depicting the various outcomes and painting a picture of how the scenario will be different with the organization’s continued involvement.

Infographics: To show the organization’s three main services to educators, we depicted them as icons for visual representation and appeal.

It’s one litte sheet that does a lot.

> Download a PDF of the sheet

Presentation

The presentation was designed to visually-engage the audience with photos, charts, and infographics. None of the pages contain traditional bullet point style — each slide was designed to communicate a specific point, from the visual depiction of the programs through a series of full screen images, to the charts and graphics that depict the programs and results. A uniform color palette and typography unify the presentation.

Results

Overall, the presentation helped to strengthen the relationship with the funder by showing where the program was succeeding, and what work still needed to be done — a recommended practice for any nonprofit that is looking for renewed funding from a particular source. This is an example of how nonprofits can use best practices in graphic design to help tell their story effectively. See more examples of effective nonprofit design.

“Red Rooster Group’s creativity, inventiveness and commitment to helping my agency further our goals have blown me away. In my role overseeing the marketing and communications for The Jewish Education Project, I have hired Red Rooster Group numerous times to help us conceptualize and execute a number of projects. Each time, they have brought the project to a higher level than I could have imagined.”

—Rebecca Saidlower, Associate Director of Marketing and Communications at The Jewish Education Project 

Links

• See more work for the Jewish Education Project.
• See more Fundraising & Events.
• Contact Red Rooster Group about promoting your organization.

Red Rooster Group is a New York based graphic design firm that creates effective brands, websites, and marketing campaigns to increase your visibility, fundraising, and communications effectiveness. Contact us at info@redroostergroup.com.

This social service agency was looking for an update on their brand. After an assessment of all their marketing materials and a review of similar organizations in the surrounding counties, we created new language to describe the agency, a new logo, a brand presentation, and a new website to improve awareness of their services and solicit donations.

Challenge

Like many nonprofit organizations, Jewish Family Service was fully committed to its mission of helping those in need, but had paid less attention to its image and how it communicates what it does to potential clients, volunteers, and donors. They approached Red Rooster Group to create a more unified and cohesive brand for the agency so that the board and staff could more easily explain what the agency does, and project a professional look to those that came in contact with the agency. Specifically, the marketing goals were to:

1. Increase donations. The agency did not have a strong base of support, was not reaching new donors, and was not raising much online.
2. Increase awareness of their services at a time of increasing need in the community.
3. Recruit more volunteers for its various programs.

Competitive Review

To see what other social services are available to the people in those counties served by Jewish Family Service, we conducted a Competitive Review. We examined those organizations to see the specific services offered, how clear and compelling those other offerings are, and how the other agencies position themselves and their strengths. The overall finding was that while other organizations had similar services, few did a good job in presenting themselves, in claiming a unique role in their community, or showing their impact, creating an opportunity for JFS to stake a leadership role in social services in Northern New Jersey.

Message Development

Through interviews with the staff we uncovered Jewish Family Service’s strengths and unique attributes. To help people understand the agency and the benefits it brings, we developed language to help define the brand, told in an easy-to-understand way. The tagline, “Here to Help,” reinforces the agency’s full scope of services, its staying power in the community, and personal commitment to helping people regardless of the difficulties they face. The tagline was presented in a graphic way, using the outline shape of the logo to create a connection with JFS.

Visual Identity / Logo Design

The Old Logo

The agency’s old logo was cumbersome and lacked sophistication. The tagline, “The Center for Caring” was not carried out as a theme on the agency’s materials, losing an opportunity to connect with their audiences.

The Logo Design Process

Based on the messages, we developed several approaches to the logo design. The objective was to develop a new mark that would identify the agency and encapsulate the essence of its message. Since JFS was not a unique organization, we looked at other Jewish Family Service agencies around the country as a baseline of how those agencies presented themselves. We determined that the logo for JFS needed to fit into this landscape with an abstract symbol. Many of these organizations had logos that were outdated and amateurish, creating the opportunity to set a new standard for the sector with a professional mark.

Initial Logo Concepts

In the first phase, we explored various symbols that evoked a positive, supportive environment. We presented 5 different designs including interlocking shapes forming circle with a star in the center, overlapping hearts forming a star or flower, a burst radiating energy,  a sun rising over the horizon, and a comforting heart abstractly mimicking embracing hands.

Refinement

The client thought that the interlocking rings concept best represented the relationship between the agency and their clients through a circle of support and thought that the idea of having the Jewish star formed from the negative space in the center was an intriguing way to represent the Jewish values that are at the core of the agency as well as create a more memorable logo.

They wanted to see if the star could be more visible in the logo design with the hearts, so we developed that logo, presenting two other versions with a more visible star, and one with more visible hearts. We also refined the interlocking rings logo by adding more contrast to the colors and adding a soft shadow for depth. In this stage, we explored appropriate type treatments that complemented the icon. In the end, concept 1 was selected.

Exploring the Jewish Aspect

One of the issues we explored was whether or not to represent the Jewish aspect of the agency since JFS serves people of all beliefs. Our review of logos used by other Jewish Family Services showed that many used Jewish symbols to signify their heritage. To help some members of the board assess this, we presented versions of the logo that emphasized or eliminated the Jewish star. We suggested that the hint of the star in the original logo that we presented was just enough to allow people to discover it for themselves which would create more memorability for the logo. The client agreed that it was the appropriate solution.

Final Logo Formats

Once the logo was approved, we created versions in for use in full-color for printing and screen use, 2-color printing for stationery, grayscale for newspaper advertising, and a solid version for screen printing on premium items.

Brand Presentation

To help the Jewish Family Service of Metrowest present a professional face to donors and tell their  story in a compelling way we developed a brand presentation. The presentation describes what makes JFS unique and how they help clients. It culminates with the line “At every age, at every stage, we are here to help.” The visual look of the presentation relates to the agency’s logo to creates a unique looks for the marketing materials to help people recognize and connect with the organization.

 Website

The website focuses on creating awaiting awareness of the services, soliciting donations, and appealing to volunteers. The homepage was designed around those three goals with a rotator image dedicated to each area, and pull down menu to provide easy access to the various services for youth, adults, and seniors. The site also features a calendar of events and a robust donation section providing access to many ways to give. Sidebar features to Find Help, Volunteer, and Donate are on every page to encourage site visitors to take action.

> Visit the website.

Website Donate Page

We created a very robust custom designed donation section that included a number of unique features not found on most nonprofit donation pages including the ability to give one-time and recurring donations with pre-determined levels as well as a write-in choice on the same page.

Website Donate Section

Additional pages in the donation section allow visitors to donate their car, buy tribute cards, support endowment funds, or give in other ways.

Volunteer Section

In order to encourage volunteering the site graphically presents six main ways to volunteer with links to respective pages describing the opportunities.

Brochure

To help Jewish Family Service create awareness of their services, we created this brochure. The brochure which is based on their theme, “At every age, at every stage, we are here to help,” and presents the agency’s services across timeline representing the life stages, from birth (adoption), to death (burial services).  The format is a smart way to present the range of the agency’s offerings in a logical way that helps people understand what services are appropriate for them, and shows the robust way in which JFS supports people’s well-being throughout their life.

Brand Manual

In order to help JFS staff understand the agency’s brand, and develop marketing materials that use reinforce the brand, we developed a Brand Manual. This document shows the key messages, the logo, tagline, organizational colors, typefaces, stationery, and other usage guidelines for easy reference.

Results

The entire brand process and has helped to focus the organization around their strengths and present themselves more effectively. The agency’s professional visual look engenders trust and confidence in the agency and helps boost staff pride. And the board and staff now have the tools to communicate the agency’s services and value to the community in order to raise more money.

Links

• See other nonprofit branding case studies.
• See other Jewish organizations we have helped.
• Contact Red Rooster Group for help with your website.

Red Rooster Group is a New York based graphic design firm that creates effective brands, websites, and marketing campaigns to increase your visibility, sales, and communications effectiveness. Contact us.

For 20 years, we have been helping nonprofit organizations to improve their brands and their marketing. From small organizations to national ones, from membership groups to associations, here are some of the organizations that have benefitted from our insight.

NONPROFITS

Advocacy / Consumer

• American Civil Liberties Union
• Americans to Counter Terrorism
• Consumer Reports
• Kathryn Freed for Public Advocate, NYC
• New York Public Interest Research Group
• Student Advocacy Inc.

Associations

• Center for Non-Profits, NJ
• The Executive Forum
• Governance Matters
• National Association of Jewish Chaplains
• National Forensic League
• National Human Services Assembly
• New York Shipping Association
• Nonprofit Central
• Pro Bono, Inc.
• TechNet: Technology & Marketing Network of NY
• The World Association of Former United Nations Interns & Fellows

Education / Youth

• American Friends of Hebrew University
• Brooklyn College Graduate Center for Worker Education
• Camps Pequot & Sherwood
• The Enrichment Center
• Hebrew College
• Innovative Cooperative Enterprises
• K.I.D.S. (Kids Involved in Dynamic Science)
• National Alliance for Excellence
• Pratham USA
• ProLiteracy International
• Student Advocacy
• Tiny Tot Academy
• Westbridge Academy
• World Trade Institute of Pace University

Environmental

• CropLife International
• Green City Challenge
• Earth Action
• Environmental Defense Fund
• Hazon
• New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance
• New Jersey Conservation Foundation
• Urban Bloom

Health / Medical

• The Association for Children with Russell-Silver Syndrome
• Bald Girls Who Lunch
• CentraState Healthcare System
• Gift of Life / Heart & Lung Transplant Support Group
• Grafton
• Hope Health Network
• Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation
• National Parkinson Foundation
• New York Organ Donor Network
• Park Slope Geriatric Day Center / CarePath
• Stigma Action Network

Jewish Organizations

• American Friends of Hebrew University
• Angel Fund Network
• America-Israel Chamber of Commerce
• Blueprint Newspaper
• Dor Chadash
• ENGAJE! (Board of Jewish Education)
• Hebrew College
• Hazon
• Israeli Business Forum of New York
• J2J Network
• Jewish Center of Teaneck
• Jewish Community Relations Council of New York
• The Jewish Education Project
• Jewish Family & Children’s Services, Asbury Park, NJ
• Jewish Family Service of Metrowest, NJ
• Jewish Community Center, Deal, NJ
• Jewish Community Center of Mid-Westchester
• The Jewish Federation of Greater Monmouth County, NJ
• The Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex, NJ
• Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy
• Magen David of West Deal, NJ
• Ma’Or Yeshivah
• National Association of Jewish Chaplains
• National Council of Jewish Women
• Ohel Family Services
• Sephardic Bikur Holim
• Sephardic Community Center 
• Shemah Koleinu
• Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center

See how we have helped Jewish organizations

Social Services / Other

• Beyond Capital Fund
• Boys & Girls Club of Clifton, NJ
• CarePath
• D.A.R.E. – Drug Abuse Resistance Education
• Dining for Women
• The Heroes Project
• Hearts & Minds
• Incarnation Camp
• Midnight Basketball League
• New York City Mission Society
• Progressive Center for Independent Living
• Providing Hope
• Resource Foundation
• Seedco
• Selfhelp Community Services

BUSINESSES

• Behrman House Consulting Group
• Cablevision
• Clairvue Capital
• HealthiNation
• HigherSchool Instructional Services
• Kraft Hardware
• Marketcom PR
• Monmouth Custom Builders
• Nancy Koltes at Home
• Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group
• Pan Am Mortgage
• ReelzChannel
• Reflexions Data
• StratX

Green Businesses

• Con Edison
• Green Boroughs
• Eco-Roads
• Organicworks Marketing
• Willdan Energy Solutions

SERVICES | WHY RED ROOSTER GROUP | TEAM | WORK

Red Rooster Group is a New York based graphic design firm that creates effective brands, websites, and marketing campaigns to increase your visibility, fundraising, and communications effectiveness. Contact us at info@redroostergroup.com.