C O N N E C TPartnership for Nonprofit Solutions

Marketing On A Tight Budget

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CONNECT is a project of the Orangewood Children’s Foundation and is funded in part by the Children and Families Commission of Orange County and Families and Communities Together.

Effective low-cost marketing for a small nonprofit who seeks to change the world.

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individuals to your organization. Whether it a first-time introduction to your agency or an orientation for a new employee or volunteer the methods to go about this range from simple (and cheap) to highly complex (and expensive)!

Although the capability to offer online trainings/webinars has generally been associated with subscriptions or licensing software there are some low and no- cost resources. For example, GoToWebinar is a well-known web conferencing tool that al-lows users to host online seminars for up to 1,000 participants. This tool can be utilized to orient new volunteers or staff to your program or to hold monthly collaborative meetings when time is at a premium. The annual subscrip-tion usually ranges from about $950 to $4,800 but through TechSoup.org, nonprofits with budgets less than $5 million can purchase an annual rate of $97 per year for up to five years.

For agencies that don’t have the time and staffing resources to learn new software there is a very simplified alternative. The most basic and inexpensive method is through the use of Microsoft’s Power Point software. Although this is not a new tool to most, one use is sometimes overlooked. For example, we are accustomed to view-ing a power point presentation in a more dynamic setting with someone standing in front of a room. However, this same method can be used to share information by posting either an interactive or pdf ver-sion of a power point presentation on your agency’s website for interested donors and volunteers to view on their own time. You can utilize the same (or slightly revised as

appropriate) presentation that you already use to promote your agency in the community.

Though neither of these resources can replace a personal touch or the energy you bring in person, they are good tools to integrate into a portion of your orientation/meeting routine or to introduce your agency to those that are just ‘passing through’ your website seeking more information.

For more information about web conferencing, discounted subscriptions and software and even a webinar on how to host a webinar, visit TechSoup.org.

Letter from the Director

Tips & Trends for the Time

CONNECT Contacts 800 N. Eckhoff St. Building 123Orange, CA 92868-6838 www.connectoc.net

Margarita McCullough, MADirectormmccullough@connectoc.net(714) 704-8097

Laura ArévaloAmeriCorps Project Coordinatorlarevalo@connectoc.net(714) 704-8237

Judith SerafiniVISTA Project Coordinatorjserafini@connectoc.net(714) 704-8050

David NicholsVISTA Leaderdnichols@connectoc.netPhone Number TBA

Tabitha IsomVISTA Leadertisom@connectoc.netPhone Number TBA

April AlvarezOCCBP Project Manageraalvarez@connectoc.net(714)704-8206

Emily BradleyOCCBP VISTAebradley@connectoc.netPhone Number TBA

Mitchell McInerneyOCCBP VISTAmmcinerney@connectoc.net(714)704-8288

Over the past year our CONNECT team explored a variety of strategies to become more efficient with our time and resources. One key strategy we’ve researched and employed is the use of technology for training and information sharing. While this is not a new approach for profes-

sional nonprofit training entities, the trend is becoming an increasingly popular method of orienting

Margarita McCulloughDirector

Every organization is feeling the financial pinch. Between budget cuts, drops in donations, and an

increasing number of clients in need, organizations are faced with tough deci-sions regarding where to most effectivly invest resources.

When the economy struggles, marketing is often the first to go. But that decision can hurt organizational sustainability in the long run.

Here are 5 steps to keep your marketing on track in spite of the financial strain:

Take a deep breath and relax: The worst thing you can do right now

is stop marketing activities altogether. It’s more important than ever to keep in touch with your current donors, volun-teers and other stakeholders.

Evaluate your marketing: What is your return on investment? How

much of your marketing expands aware-ness of your cause? Drop the efforts that don’t work and focus on the ones that do.

Get creative: There is no such thing as free marketing but, with a little

innovation you can implement effective low-cost marketing. An example is pro-vided to the right but it’s not the only idea out there. Think about the audience you want to reach, and what you want from them. Remember that not every market-ing method fits and be selective.

Develop your action plan: Take the information you have and develop a

plan for revised marketing strategies that are aligned with available resources.

Keep looking ahead: Things will get better and you need to prepare for

that. Develop a plan for restored efforts as the financial climate improves.-By Emily Lawrence, CONNECT VISTA

Low-cost Marketing Takes Creativity

‘This Ad Cost (Almost) Nothing’

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Case Study

In 2009 the Salvation Army in Porland, Maine set out on a gargantuan grassroots, guerrilla campaign that was supported by 50+ local businesses. The campaign included free adver-tising donated by companies in some of the most surprising places.

The creative team at VIA, the ad agency behind the campaign, wrote, painted, stamped and even burned campaign messag-es onto everything from rocks, tarps and dirty car windshields to storefront windows, pizza boxes and coffee sleeves.

The use of donated space was leveraged within the campaign to show that donations will be put to the best use.

“It has been a ton of work but also a ton of fun. It has been great for us to really feel a part of a community effort at a time when our community needs us the most. The positive energy that has been generated has been pretty inspiring” Said VIA.

For more inspiration visit:thiscampaigncostnothing.tumblr.com

5 steps to marketing in a down economy

For more resources on marketing on a budget visit: http://miniurl.org/1AH

CONNECTions Spring 2010 Page 3

CONNECTions Spring 2010 Page 4

As First 5 VISTA members complete their one-year term of service this summer, with the majority of members exiting in August, CONNECT will administer the program’s largest exit ever. This can largely be attributed to last year’s influx of members in part due to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funded “Recovery” VISTA positions and the large number of re-enrolled 2008-2009 members. These VISTAs provided valuable capacity building support and innova-tion to the nonprofits and communities they served. We appreciate all they have done to build capacity in our local nonprofits. To see images from the 2009-2010 AmeriCorps & VISTA service year visit: http://miniurl.org/LBB.

VISTA Program Completes Largest Member Exit to Date

CONNECT has had a lot of exciting changes, and we will be shifting our marketing efforts to more strategically focus on our current program struc-ture.

For the last year Quick CONNECTions has been a bi-weekly comprehensive resource newsletter full of quick tips and resources to increase stainability of nonprofits in the county.

CONNECT will now be distributing separate program-specific Quick CONNECTions moving forward. This will allow us to provide more relevant resources directly to each audience.

To continue being CONNECTed to resources log onto our web site and register for the Orange County Capac-ity Building Program.

Update

OCCBP Workshops

Orange County Capacity Building Program Offers Free Workshops to Eligible Nonprofits

Faith and community-based organizations meeting certain eligibility re-

quirements are invited to attend capacity building workshops at no cost.

Organizations must be located in Orange County and providing job readi-

ness, workforce development, or support services to low income individuals

or families in at least one of eight targeted Orange County cities.

Organizations interested in attending capacity building workshops must

fill out the eligibility questionnaire at www.connectoc.net/eligibility.asp .

Eligible organizations will receive more information about the topics, times,

and locations in advance of the workshops.

Upcoming Workshops:

• How to Access and Navigate Government Services

Thursday, September 16

• Evaluating Program Effectiveness

Friday, November 12

AmeriCorps VISTA members pose for a group photo at the 2010 Life After AmeriCorps Training in June.

AmeriCorps Corner