Make the Case for Your Cause
Often, non-profit organizations assume that the nobility and virtue of their causes are self-evident to everyone. As a result, they believe that they don’t need to have a strategic communications effort in place to attract attention.
The fact is, making your cause noticed, supported, and ultimately an effective vehicle for change, involves just as much messaging discipline and aesthetic appeal that a campaign for consumer goods or services does.
The reason is that your cause is not the only one that’s out there. According to the National Center for Charitable Statistics, there are more than 1.5 million non-profit organizations in the U.S. And a whole bunch of them are eagerly looking to engage the eyes, ears, hearts, and wallets of people that you want to reach as well.
As such, cause-based organizations need to actively connect and maintain an ongoing relationship with people whose values align with theirs. The following highlights a number of best practices and concepts that have proven their worth in communications for foundations, grass-roots organizations, philanthropic institutions, associations, and civic and government programs.
