"The State of Nonprofit Marketing"

Michael Wesolowski passed along the report "The State of Nonprofit Marketing" that he found on Nancy Schwartz's blog. A timely tip considering our upcoming panel on nonprofits and the media. The report, released by The American Marketing Association , is based on the results of an online survey that was distributed to marketing professionals at 125,000 nonprofit organizations. One of the findings reported is that, "Building awareness, generating revenue, branding and acquiring and retaining members and customers are top marketing priorities for nonprofit organizations." Not exactly a ground-breaking discovery. However, for small organizations "building awareness" was clearly the highest priority, with revenue generation and customer acquisition far below. The report went on to highlight the essential roles that the media and personal connections play in increasing visibility. It's well recognized that positive media attention is priceless, but casual conversations can go far in promoting an organization. The research director for the study writes, "These core audiences for nonprofits need to see specific evidence of the organization's impact, not just general messages about the organization's work."

Check out the report (and Nancy Schwartz's take on the findings) to read more on measuring results of marketing efforts and future challenges. Thanks again to Mike for sharing this find!