Nonprofit organizations are some of the hardest working teams we’ve ever worked with. Usually becuase you have to be! Your nonprofit teams are often small, passionate groups, each wearing a lot of hats with limited time and limited budget. Marketing can be especially difficult for mission-based groups because you are already juggling so much to keep things running smoothly and ensure you’re hitting your impact goals.
One key way to stretch budgets and man-hours to achieve marketing goals for nonprofits is to leverage your relationships with partners and grantees. For many organizations, those grantees are the lifeblood of mission-driven work being accomplished by your nonprofit. While you may be the one funding projects and lending your expertise, the grantees are the boots on the ground and this makes them a key strategic marketing partner for a number of reasons. First, they are the teams that have consistent opportunities to document the work being done. They’re on-site, they’re managing projects, they can take pictures, videos and document processes and final accomplishments in a way your nonprofit team may not have bandwidth or access to truly achieve. Second, they have unique audiences that care about the work being done and messages critical to your nonprofit. These are audiences that you may not be able to reach as easily or directly. So, given the right tools, grantees can spread the word on your behalf and build awareness of the nonprofit and everything you’re accomplishing together. Here are some strategies to keep in mind.
Three Ways to Empower Grantees To Help Build Awareness
- Build the “ask” into the grant process – Make sure your grant requirements detail exactly what you need back from your grantee in the way of documented accomplishments. Ask for photos, videos, etc. that both the grantee and your nonprofit can share on social media.
- Make Life Easy with a Toolkit – While many grantee groups are ready and willing to provide assets, they may need some guidance on how to capture quality photos and videos and best practices for sharing updates on social media.
- Discuss Along the Way – Remember grant partners aren’t marketing experts. Realistically, you can put everything you want in the grant agreement and send the most robust toolkit, and grantees may still struggle to execute the documentation and sharing in an ideal way. So be sure to talk through it with all teams and keep it top of mind for everyone involved. Keeping an open flow of communication around the marketing piece of the project, just as much as the project itself will ensure you reach both goals.
Helping grantees to accomplish your nonprofit’s mission and document it along the way ultimately puts your team in a stronger position as an organization. You’ll be able to leverage what grantees share in your own marketing efforts from your website to social media, newsletters, and more.
If you would like help with marketing and advertising, feel free to contact us. We offer a variety of services like digital marketing & analytics, marketing & brand strategy, and more to small and large companies.
