New York Council of Nonprofits Fund Development and Marketing Partnership: Increasing Your Nonprofit's SuccessApril 20, 2011Oneonta, NYTara Collins, Communications Director Watershed Agricultural Council

Looking south from Route 10, Stamford, Delaware County

Who is the Watershed Agricultural Council?

• Incorporated in 1993 following the success of a 10-pilot farm initiative in 1991

• 2010 Annual Budget ~ $18M• Often called “WAC” or “The Council”• Concerned with – farmland protection through land conservation best

practices, – improving economic viability of watershed farm and

forest industries, and – water quality protection

• Protect water quality for nine million New Yorkers

• PES: Payment for EcoServices model recognized worldwide

• Collaboration with agency and third-party business contractors that comprise a watershed management industry

• 3 offices: Hamden, Walton, Yorktown Heights

• Staff of 50

Neversink Reservoir @JoshDickPhoto.com

Council’s 7 Core Programs• Agriculture• Forestry• Conservation

Easements• East of Hudson • Farm to Market• Farmer Education• Outreach

Neversink Reservoir , Sullivan County

along with other federal, foundation and private sources. The WAC is an equal opportunity employer and provider.

The Watershed Agricultural Council is funded in part by:

• 100% voluntary participation• Locally controlled• Fully funded by the City of New York

Mission: Support the economic viability of agriculture and forestry through protection of water quality and promotion of land conservation in the New York City Watershed region.

Nutshell: We’re all about farmland protection through land conservation practices; we look to protect farms, forests and their natural resources by keeping them in a working landscape: Watershed, Viewshed, Foodshed.

Keys to Our Program Success

Pepacton Reservoir, Delaware County

NYCON’s theme for the year: Entrepreneurial Strategies for Running a Nonprofit

Fund Development and Marketing Partnership: Increasing Your Nonprofit's Success – Define the role of marketing and fund development– Discuss what defines success in these areas– Discuss how these two are connected/work together– Discuss overlap/partnership between the two areas.– Share tips, experience, and resources

The Face of the Organization Public relations professional

Communications specialist Outreach personnel

Executive DirectorSpokesperson

FundraiserEducator

…any Marketers?

How many of you consider yourself…?

You’re ALL Marketers!

You’re “selling” your organization’s experience, benefits and investment to volunteers, participants and donors.

What’s this thing we call Marketing & Communications?

Sharing your organization’s message

through a variety of mediums, media and messengers

in order to meet your organization’s goals

and deliver a benefit to an audience.

Moving marketing from support function to

Board of DirectorGovernance Mission

statementOrganization & Staff Buy-in

A strategic planning tool

Strategic Plan

Executive Director Budget Negotiations

Identifies Unfunded Liability: Easement

Stewardship Endowment Fund

Inevitable Fundraising & Donor

Relationships

Our Marketing Strategy Dictates How, Why and Why How Much

Justified Web Designer Expense

Supporting Document for

Marketing Choices Going Forward

Work Plan Guided by a Marketing Strategy in

Organization’s Best Interest

What Makes Good Marketing/Communications?• Sharing your successes through personal stories• Building relationships• Helping people WANT to support your cause– Because they know you– Because they believe you’re delivering good results

• Creating a high-value investment scenario• Offering a giving experience that’s easy to

engage• Asking in a variety of ways that allow people to

GIVE in a variety of ways (doesn’t this sound like Fund Development???)

Traditional: Press releases CalendarsInterviewsPitchesMedia kit HARO.com NewsBasisFlyers

Internal: Email signaturePayCheck NewsPublic speaking ConferencesLinkedIn

Multi-pronged Approach

How many of you…?• Have a written marketing strategy• Have one in your head• Are you kidding? time? strategy? sit down?

A marketing strategy helps you• Reach audiences more effectively• Spend your time more efficiently• Save money in the long run

Organizational Goals

Marketing Goals Target Audience

Segment 1

Call to Action #1

C2A #2 Strategy

Tactic 1

T2

T3C2A #3

Segment 2

C2A #1 Strategy

Tactic 1

T2

T3C2A #2

C2A #3

Segment 3

C2A #1

C2A #2

C2A #3 Strategy

Tactic 1

T2

T3Sample Marketing Strategy 10/19/10

Total Focus Marketing Workshop http://nancyandkivi.com/

• Evaluate your current marketing strategy– Who’s your audience?– What do you want them to know?– How are you going to reach them?– What action do you want them to take?– Who’s going to do it? How much will it cost (staff

time & hard dollars)?• Don’t confuse a marketing strategy for a list of

tactics/outreach tools

WAC Organizational GoalsDraft 10/19/10

WAC Organizational

Goals

Farmland Protection through Land Conservation

Clean Drinking Water for 9-million

NY Residents

Regional Economic Development

Regional Agricultural

Industry

Regional Forestry Industry

Organizational Goals

Marketing Goals Target Audience

Segment 1

Call to Action #1

C2A #2 Strategy

Tactic 1

T2

T3C2A #3

Segment 2

C2A #1 Strategy

Tactic 1

T2

T3C2A #2

C2A #3

Segment 3

C2A #1

C2A #2

C2A #3 Strategy

Tactic 1

T2

T3Sample Marketing Strategy 10/19/10

Total Focus Marketing Workshop http://nancyandkivi.com/

WAC Marketing GoalsDraft 10/19/10

WAC’s Marketing Goals Based on Organizational

Goals

Serve as a convener of

collaborators

Improve Agriculture

industries within watershed region

Improve Forestry industries within watershed region

Be recognized as THE EXPERT in

watershed management

Total Focus Marketing Workshop http://nancyandkivi.com/

Gather up your marketing materials

• Conduct a communications audit• What works? • What doesn’t? • If not, why not? • If not, test another approach? • If not, get rid of it.

• Primary Audience: Who are we hoping to reach through this channel?• Primary Uses: For what purpose are we communicating through this channel?• Frequency: How often are we communicating through this channel?• Content Mix: How do we vary the content? Is it user-focused? What are our

primary messages in this channel? What are our calls to action?• Writing Style and Tone: What voice do we use in this channel? What's our

personality? What's the overall tone and approach to the communications?• Writing Mechanics: Are we using good grammar and is the content free of typos?

Is the length of the content appropriate for the channel?• Micro-content: Do we make our content skimmable with strong headlines and

subheads, email subject lines, linked text, etc.?• Design: Is layout simple and clean? Do we use consistent colors and typography?• Visuals: Do we use photos, info, graphics and/or video effectively?• Branding: Is this channel aligned with our overall brand?• Integration: Is this channel connected to other channels? is the messaging in this

channel integrated across other channels?

Download Communications Audit Template from nonprofitmarketingguide.com/resources/strategy/do-it-yourself-communications-audit-for-your-nonprofit/

Communications Audit

Look at your communications pile, Kivi says answer these questions:

• Do our communications present a unified brand to our supporters across channels?

• Do our communications present consistent messages and calls to action to our supporters across channels?

• What needs to change – in the short-term (next three months) – in the long-term (within a year)?

Ashokan Reservoir, Ulster CountyIn service since 1915 122.9 billion gallon capacity @JoshDickPhoto.com

What We Found

Council web visitors wanted• Program information• Educational information• Resources, data, grants, assistance

Branding/identity issues to solve

Materials to look more like one organization

Website = primary marketing tool

Drive traffic to the website for information

Cross-platform Branding

•Duplicate look & feel of website•eNews sends readers back to website for more information•Show, Tell, Like, & Share!•Branding in print & online

How many of you have…?

• A dedicated paid staffer for fund development, fundraising

• A dedicated staffer for communications, public relations, outreach, marketing

• A staffer without the title but does all this and more

• Who’s doing it all by themselves?• Who isn’t doing it at all?

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

• Make time to plan• Create a Marketing Strategy• Write it down• Review it quarterly • Remember that it is a “Work in Progress”• Plan Is fluid: make changes, corrections,

additions, deletions as needed

Organizational Message = MarketingMessengersStaffBoardVolunteersParticipantsDonorsVendorsContractorsPartnersCollaboratorsReporters

Mediums/MediaIn person:

public speakingworkshops & conferencespresentations & interviews

Electronic:audio/videowebsite & eNewssocial media/Facebook/LinkedIn

Print:annual reportnewsletters

press releases3rd party coverage

Pepacton Reservoir, Delaware CountyIn service since 1955

140.2 billion gallon capacity @JoshDickPhoto.com

You Don’t Have to Go It Alone

• Find support in unlikely places• Use Your Board as ambassadors for your

cause/organization • Provide them with guidelines, training and

tools so they can represent you correctly– Wallet card with key talking points– Elevator pitch– Letter to Editor guidelines– List of ways they can help (see handout)

Staff = Ambassadors, TooProvide staff with tools so they can CONFIDENTLY

represent your organization– Wallet card with key talking points (see handout)– Elevator pitch (organization & their program area)– Training • public speaking• social media use/help set up profiles

– Ask for a favor; empower staff to contribute content, photos, stories & video for the eNews, blog, website & newsletters

Schoharie Creek, Greene County @JoshDickPhoto.com

More ToolsPolicies, Guidelines and SOPs (aka the Marketing Bank)• Social Media Policy• Letter to Editor guidelines• SOPs: email signatures• PowerPoint Templates• Style Guide (editorial, logo usage & graphic design)• Position statements

Calendars• Editorial• Event

Story & Messaging Tips• Clear• Concise• Compelling• Lose the jargon• Tell the story about someone;

Remember: it’s all about THEM• Use photos, videos• Go to where your audience is.

“Buy land, they're not making it anymore.” Mark Twain

Water & Land: Finite Natural Resources

Rondout Reservoir, Sullivan County @JoshDickPhoto.com

I prefer: “Save land, they're not making it anymore.”

How many of you…?• Have a Facebook Profile?

• Have a LinkedIn profile?

• Post to a blog?

• Started a Facebook Fan Page?

Things You Should Be Doing NOW• Collecting emails• Collecting mobile phone

numbers• Asking your supporters how THEY

WANT you to communicate with them

• Applying for Google Nonprofits google.com/nonprofits and Google Grants www.google.com/grants/

Be Adventurous

• Start small• Measure• Experiment• Think long-term• Be aware of time• Improve your skills

& confidence• Don’t freak out

Be Zen at Work

• Start your day with a project

• 20-20-20• Get away from

your desk• Eat lunch• Identify 3 End-of-

day items for tomorrow’s To Do List

Discounted software: TechSoup, Google, Idealware

Workshop: Total Focus Marketing Workshop, 10/12/2011www.nancyandkivi.com $697 For Impact www.forimpact.org

Webinars: www.nonprofitmarketingguide.com www.CharityHowTo.com June 23, 2-3p Chronicle of Philanthropy hosts “The Art & Science of Marketing: How to Make a Big Impact on a Small Budget” I’ll be sharing the Watershed Agricultural Council as case study with Nancy Schwartz the marketing guru.http://philanthropy.com/page/Webinar-Listing/333/

Teleconferences: Network For Good www.fundraising123.com

Books: Nonprofit Marketing Guide by Kivi Leroux MillerNondesigner’s Design Handbook by Robin WilliamsBrandraising by Sarah DurhamLet’s Have Lunch Together by Marshall Howard

ORGANIZATIONS: NTEN www.nten.org

FREE STUFFGood360 http://good360.org/Default.aspx opportunity to purchase close-out items at discount prices; items can be used for fundraisers, program needs and organization bottom line; free to sign up, fee for truckload deliveries

FREE COVERAGENewsBasis http://newsbasis.com/HARO www.helpareporter.com/Great Nonprofits (free directory listing supported by GuideStar info) http://greatnonprofits.org/GuideStar http://www2.guidestar.org/

BLOG: Getting Attention, Duck Call

VOCUS LIST: www.GreenMediaToolshed.org

VIDEOMovie Mondays www.501videos.com weekly fundraising video in 6 minutes or less; stay connected with fund development passion and board governance by hearing from peers and industry professionals. Free to sign up; free to view

ENEWSLETTERS -FREEPhilanthropy Journal http://www.philanthropyjournal.org/resources/marketingcommunications/nonsense-sensible-messaging

Fundraising Success http://www.fundraisingsuccessmag.comChronicle of Philanthropy http://philanthropy.com/section/Home/172/

For more information:Tara CollinsCommunications Director(607) 865-7090, ext. 226taracollins@nycwatershed.org

Or visit us online:Website: www.nycwatershed.orgSubscribe to our Blog: www.nycwatershed.blogspot.comwww.pure-catskills.blogspot.comBecome a “Fan” on FaceBook:Twitter: @WaterFarmForest@TaraCollinsNYAdditional websites:www.BuyPureCatskills.comwww.CatskillWoodNet.orgwww.YouandYourWatershed.org

Traditional: Press releases CalendarsInterviewsPitchesMedia kit HARO.com NewsBasisFlyers

Internal: Email signaturePayCheck NewsPublic speaking ConferencesLinkedIn

Multi-pronged Approach

• Marketing, along with Fund Development, must be part of a strategic planning process.

• Marketing is integral in the collection of your participant/donor data, demographics, addresses, emails.

• Marketing is in charge of your messaging.• Marketing is the face of your organization.

Take a seat at the Board Table…Why?

Ashokan Reservoir In service since 1915

122.9 billion gallon capacityJoshDickPhoto.com

Watershed, Foodshed,Viewshed

f2TUu7u6Saving Farms and Forest Lands That Protect Water Quality

Next Steps for The Council

• Complete the 2011 Strategic Plan• Continue supporting participants across all programs• Diversify our funding stream• Resolve our unfunded liability regarding conservation

easement stewardship• Intensify focus on economic development of

agricultural and forestry industries

Watershed Hayfields, Delaware County @JoshDickPhoto.com

To date, DEP has spent $1.5 Billion on watershed management programs, best management practices and landowner incentives.

The Watershed Agricultural Council has spent ~$130 Million since 1991.

To build a filtration plant today would cost ~$10 Billion to construct and ~$1 Million per day to run.

We can pay for it at the end, or we can up front…