Nonprofit marketing: marketing for a good cause

Nonprofit organisations (NPO’S) or associations can be divided into economic, socio-cultural, political, and social NPO’S. They receive financial support either through state funds, donations, and/or membership fees. However, the profit gained is not distributed to the members of the organisations, but invested in the organisation or the project.

NPO’s are mainly dependent on volunteer helpers. Depending on the size and the orientation of the organisation, full-time staff may also be employed. In addition to their large number of voluntary employees, global NPO’s, such as Amnesty International and Greenpeace, also employ permanent staff to cope with daily administrative work.  

The following table shows examples of different NPO types:

In order for your project to be a success, you need to have a good marketing concept. Since nonprofit organisations must hold their own in the market, their marketing tools are not significantly different from those of a profit-oriented company. In essence, both have the same goal: the project is to ‘sell’ well and appeal to a broad target group. The big difference, however, is that NPOs are focused on the realisation of their charitable project, rather than the numbers. However, depending on the size of the project, they need a certain amount of capital and personnel, and above all, many dedicated members.

Nonprofit marketing is based on so-called fundraising because of its limited financial and human resources. Through ‘procurement marketing’, NPOs try to address a broad target group and increase their active participation. The more people volunteer for the project and pay membership fees, the more successfully it can be implemented. In order to create incentives for social engagement, NPOs also use other marketing tools in addition to standard marketing measures. What does a well-planned non-profit marketing scheme look like?

Many people want to make the world a little better. In the USA, one in three people contribute to the common good, through donations or voluntary work in clubs, initiatives, or other groups. Do you have a nonprofit project but are not sure how or where to start with it? Have a little courage. The world renowned human rights organisation Amnesty International also started out very small:

In May 1961, founder Peter Benenson came across a newspaper article on the arrest of two students who had been apprehended in a café in Portugal for raising a toast to freedom. Absolutely livid, Benenson called on the readers of the British newspaper The Observer to get involved with letters for the release of political prisoners. The ‘Appeal for Amnesty’ campaign has been a complete success and has marked the beginning of a global movement committed to the defense and enforcement of human rights. Today, Amnesty International is one of the most powerful and influential nonprofit organisations in the world, with more than 7 million members in more than 150 countries.

There is a lot that needs to be organised in order to carry out a campaign, such as putting together, printing, and sending information or advertising banners, offering information stands and updating websites and data stock. However, you cannot overlook everyday office activities among the tasks of an NPO. The larger your organisation or project, the more you depend on the help of others.

Since most of the funds are used for the project itself, you mainly need volunteer helpers. Motivation plays a decisive role here. Strengthen this by making your employees understand that you have a common goal, and that you are dependent on their help. NPOs do not usually have a normal employer-employee relationship. The social project in the foreground often leads to a completely different cohesion, which is enormously important for the success of your NPO.

Clients and external creditors are important factors in the financing of your project. For example, you can make good use of your revenue in aspects such as memberships, or the sale of products. Donations from external creditors are also useful sources of money. Try to inspire profit companies or private donors for your project, and include them as positive stakeholders in your NPO.

Once you have set your goals and analysed your environment, you are ready to start implementing your project. Fundraising is one of your primary tasks. This means the procurement of all necessary resources – at the lowest cost possible. Carefully list everything you will need for the project, such as:

• Money (donations, membership fees, etc.)
• Contributions in kind (vehicle donations, technology, clothing etc.)
• Services (donations in the form of voluntary commitments)

From your list, you can then determine the marketing instruments and communications channels that need to be used. In general, you should make use of several communication options to obtain resources. Which one you choose, on the one hand, depends on the target group and, on the other hand, on the cost-benefit balance. In nonprofit marketing, you can choose between different, sometimes cost effective channels:

• Personal contact through events or house visits
• Internet (postal campaigns for members, donations, or a general newsletter)
• Event marketing
• Mass media (press, TV, radio)
• Telephone fundraising
• SMS donations

Especially in e-commerce, cost saving and time saving communication channels are easy to find. Online fundraising is particularly useful for petitions, memberships, and donations, because it can reach a large number of people within a very short time, at a very low cost. In addition to traditional e-mails, newsletters, and websites with donation forms, new ways of communicating have emerged. For example, entire online communities have formed on social media platforms (Facebook, blogs, etc.) to acquire donations, members, and other resources.

Examples of professional nonprofit marketing campaigns show that advertising messages over the internet can be a wild success. YouTube, in particular, has become the second-largest search engine to become a popular platform where NPOs can upload advertising clips without any effort and costs, and reach people all over the world.

Amnesty International regularly uploads small clips on YouTube and other social media platforms to educate the population about the world’s grievances and to protest human rights violations. To mark the 50^th jubilee, they showed a video clip stating that their organisation stands for the freedom of the people of the world:

The nonprofit organisation Greenpeace also uses expressive, emotional images and videos to enlighten the rabid nature of exploitation and to promote climate protection: