A new fiscal year has just begun for most nonprofits! The
following strategies can help your NFP ensure its survival and growth in the
coming year!
Know Thy Self
Do you and your board fully understand your core mission,
and, does your strategic planning and other decisions consider whether an
activity or expenditure is in direct support of it? There is an increasing push
for organisations to offer more programs and services, often at the expense of
taking the steps that are necessary to strengthen the NFP and position it for
sustainable growth. Keeping your eyes “on the prize” by focusing efforts on
achieving your core mission will help prevent resource draining mission creep
and help you build a strong, resilient nonprofit.
Know Your Audience
Do you know, and understand, the different segments of your
audience? Do you know their tastes and preferences, age, education level,
occupation and other demographics? The more that you can learn about
the key groups that comprise your audience, the easier it is to create content
that is relevant to them, increasing your authority in your specific area of
expertise, and making you the go-to source for information in your niche. This
makes it easier to create meaningful content that will be consumed, enjoyed and
shared by your supporters, which increases the reach of your messages and
makes it easier to raise funds, reach recruiting targets, and make a genuine,
lasting difference in your community.
Develop Your Board
and Staff
To make wise decisions, each member of your board needs to
be fully engaged with your NFP and its work. Focusing on your core mission can free up funds that can be spent on training and other development projects that increase the knowledge of all your board members, improving their ability to take wise action
to advance your cause. It also allows you to invest in your key people,
including staff and volunteers, so that they have what they need to perform
their tasks well and actively engage with service beneficiaries and other key
stakeholders in your community.
Make inclusion, diversity and equality a priority for your
organisation and the people that you attract to it. By diversifying the
backgrounds and experiences of your supporters, you increase your ability to
create relevant services, in addition to useful content, improving your
decision-making capability, as well as your performance in other areas, in the
long term.
Build Your Brand and
Choose Your Channels
Another key focus of thriving nonprofits is that they invest
in building and developing their brand. Use the information that you learn
about your audience to reach supporters using the means of communication that
they prefer. Build a stronger brand image by focusing on your NFPs values and
vision and keeping your messages on target. Choose specific social media, and
other communication channels to reach key segments of your target audience to
improve your fundraising performance and other metrics.
Don’t Remain Silent
Have figures from your nonprofit, such as your executive
director, board members, volunteers and other supporters speak out on the
social issues that affect your nonprofit’s community. Encourage all your
supporters to share your posts, as well as get involved on their local level to
speak up about your cause and the work that your nonprofit is doing to make
things better. Encourage advocacy at every level of your organisation and help
your people to build their connections with diverse groups of individuals and
institutions to increase support for your work.
Make Strategic
Planning a Priority
While no one has a crystal ball that allows them to create plans for every possible contingency those organisations that can respond rapidly to dramatic change are the ones that fare best. Make planning a
priority for your board, as well as other key leaders in your nonprofit. Don’t
just have one backup plan. Try to anticipate upcoming changes that may
drastically alter support for your organisation and its work. Create plans
that will enable your nonprofit to continue its work despite what happens with
Government budgets, the overall economy, political upheaval and other changes that
can harm weaker organisations that have failed to prepare for change.
