The Nonprofit FAQ

Some simple marketing ideas to get started at low cost?
Assuming you have some idea about what you want to market and to whom,
you can:

  • Make speeches to civic clubs and leave brochures on the tables.
  • Train your people to do a better job of answering the phone (the phone
    company may be willing to provide this).
  • Put out a newsletter.
  • Make sure your place looks good, especially signs and landscaping.
  • Schedule open house days and tours.
  • Offer promotional incentives, such as extra months of membership or half
    price on a course when you bring in a new member.
  • Take advantage of other organizations that can bring you business. For
    example, NISH (http://nish.ew.net/ ) finds government agencies that
    need products or services provided by organizations that employ individuals
    with severe disabilities.
  • Keep a list of the places which make referrals to you (I&R agencies, the "community pages" in the phone book, local Internet community guides, etc.) and set a date every few months to review them for accuracy and completeness. (-- PB 8/18/98)
  • Update the entries for your organization at the Idealist and Guidestar websites so that they tell a more complete story. See http://www.idealist.org and http://www.guidestar.org (-- PB 8/18/98)





Reposted, with additions, September 18, 1998 -- PB