PROFESSOR SANDRA G. EHRLICH PRESENTS “MARKETING FOR ONGOING SUCCESS” FOR THE AFP FUNDAMENTALS OF FUNDRAISING COURSE
November 17, 2016—CBPP Professor Sandra G. Ehrlich presented “Marketing for Ongoing Success,” at a two-hour session for the Association of Fundraising Professionals, AFP, Fundamentals of Fundraising Course at the University of Alaska Foundation Office.
The AFP Fundamentals of Fundraising Course is a 16-hour intensive program that provides an overview of skills, techniques, and program components for individuals with up to four years of fundraising experience. More than 30 fund development professionals attended the session. The course consists of seven modules designed by experienced professionals taught by local experienced fundraising professionals.
Philanthropy is a $358 billion sector in the United States. Just 40 or 50 years ago, the average person was exposed to 500 marketing messages a day: today it’s closer to 5,000. As a fund development professional, how can you ensure your integrated marketing messages are noticed in this crowded marketplace?
First, you need to understand why donors give. A 2015 Donor Loyalty Study posits giving is personal. Individuals give because they have a deep passion for the cause, believe their donation makes a difference, or they know someone affected by the organization’s mission.
Giving is driven by emotion; and stories engage emotions. Donors give to your nonprofit because they want to help someone in need. Stories are the lifeblood of any nonprofit organization. They have the power to move and inspire people to make big decisions and create change.
From a marketing perspective, we need to position the organization and its programs in the minds of donors and potential donors concisely to demonstrate tangibly how the organization is unique.
To draw our donors closer to our mission, we gather and share stories about the transformational power of the nonprofit through the eyes of those it serves. As fund development professionals, we stand as an eyewitness to amplify how an individual’s life was saved or changed. In turn, through stories, our marketing messages are passed along to others.
By integrating marketing into our fundraising plans, fund development professionals create, enhance, and nurture relationships with our donors. Stories that create a personal connection evoke a personal response. Our role as fund development professionals is to gather, capture, and amplify the stories that make our donors the hero through their gifts to our nonprofits. To do that well, we need to tell stories that share the impact of our mission on those it serves.
Effective marketing is synonymous with effective storytelling. Telling the story is all about getting to the heart of the brand. The nonprofit organizations that will be most successful in the fundraising arena will be the ones that can package their marketing stories, support them with data, and tell them in compelling ways to engage donors to advance their missions.
As an AFP member since 2001, I am committed to the principle of continuing professional development. Philanthropy is voluntary action for the common good. Fund development is meaningful work. We honor the donors and causes we serve by holding ourselves accountable to professional standards and ethics. I hope my contribution to the profession as an AFP board member, mentor, Board Chair, and CBPP professor helps to create a culture of philanthropy to support fundraising success to make a difference in the world, said Ehrlich.
Dr. Sandra G. Ehrlich is an Associate Professor of Management & Marketing in the College of Business & Public Policy at the University of Alaska Anchorage. She teaches Managerial Communications. She is the UAA Faculty Associate for Team-Based Learning. A Certified Fundraising Executive, CFRE, since 2007, she is member of Association of Fundraising Professionals Alaska Chapter Board of Directors. She is the Youth in Philanthropy Chair, and Advanced Fund Development Professionals Network Co-Chair. She is the President of the Board of the Friends of Talkeetna Library.