Strategic Marketing Planning for Non Profit Organization
Georgetown University
Center for Public & Nonprofit Leadership
Marketing & Communications in Nonprofit Organizations
David Williamson
Essays on Excellence
Lessons from the Georgetown Nonprofit Management Executive Certificate Program
© 2009 Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership Georgetown University
Georgetown Public Policy Institute
Essays on Excellence
Lessons from the Georgetown Nonprofit Management Executive Certificate Program
Advocacy in the Public Interest
2
Marketing & Communications in Nonprofit Organizations: It Matters More Than You Think
David Williamson
Marketing gets no respect in the nonprofit world. Program people tend to hold the most senior positions in nonprofits and accordingly have the most status. Fundraisers are often viewed as necessary evils, as are operations staff, including those who labor in the communications and marketing departments. Several factors account for the suspicion or disdain with which many nonprofit managers view the marketing function. Mostly, it’s a matter of ignorance. Usually trained in other disciplines, nonprofit leaders often fail to understand what marketing can and can’t do for their organizations. Consequently, they hold some strange assumptions (e.g. “Our good work will sell itself ”), unrealistic expectations (e.g., demanding to be in The New York Times once a week) and arbitrary funding theories (i.e., when fundraising is down, cut the communications budget). Compounding the challenge, few nonprofit managers recognize their lack of expertise in these areas. The same people who would never contradict a financial expert or ignore a scientist don’t think twice about overruling marketing professionals on audiences, messages, tactics — the very essence of marketing strategy. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule, primarily advocacy or social marketing enterprises where the core program involves communications, outreach and marketing. But in the main, the basic lack
Center for Public & Nonprofit Leadership
Marketing & Communications in Nonprofit Organizations
David Williamson
Essays on Excellence
Lessons from the Georgetown Nonprofit Management Executive Certificate Program
© 2009 Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership Georgetown University
Georgetown Public Policy Institute
Essays on Excellence
Lessons from the Georgetown Nonprofit Management Executive Certificate Program
Advocacy in the Public Interest
2
Marketing & Communications in Nonprofit Organizations: It Matters More Than You Think
David Williamson
Marketing gets no respect in the nonprofit world. Program people tend to hold the most senior positions in nonprofits and accordingly have the most status. Fundraisers are often viewed as necessary evils, as are operations staff, including those who labor in the communications and marketing departments. Several factors account for the suspicion or disdain with which many nonprofit managers view the marketing function. Mostly, it’s a matter of ignorance. Usually trained in other disciplines, nonprofit leaders often fail to understand what marketing can and can’t do for their organizations. Consequently, they hold some strange assumptions (e.g. “Our good work will sell itself ”), unrealistic expectations (e.g., demanding to be in The New York Times once a week) and arbitrary funding theories (i.e., when fundraising is down, cut the communications budget). Compounding the challenge, few nonprofit managers recognize their lack of expertise in these areas. The same people who would never contradict a financial expert or ignore a scientist don’t think twice about overruling marketing professionals on audiences, messages, tactics — the very essence of marketing strategy. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule, primarily advocacy or social marketing enterprises where the core program involves communications, outreach and marketing. But in the main, the basic lack