The NonProfit Times - February 15, 2008 - (Page 10)

MARKETING TOM POPE Coordinating Your Message Getting chapters on the same marketing page as national W hen messages suddenly appeared on buses in June that showed the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America’s campaign to help children, the event came as part of the first national effort by the Phoenix, Ariz.-based organization. The national campaign ran with the support of 67 chapters around the country. Parts of the national campaign aired on television, inside elevators, and stood out on Niagara Falls’famous boat Maid of the Mist.“As a result, we generated 1.3 million consumer impressions in 30 days,” said Jennifer Maher, vice president of marketing and corporate alliances for Make-A-Wish. “We had nothing like that ever before.” Make-A-Wish is leveraging the Web to find volunteers and bring in donations. Previously, the organization’s Web site directed visitors to local chapters. The nonprofit has 25,000 volunteers nationwide, although 8,000 new people jumped to become involved because of the campaign. That figure came during three months of the effort in a goal that hoped to raise 20,000 volunteers during the next five years. This is the image of a national campaign, but if the organization has numerous chapters, how does the planning happen so the national office and the many chapters hit the ground running in the same direction? The answer depends on the governance, building teams, and using the Web. “We’re in the middle of a national campaign because the message of the brand wasn’t unified,” Maher said. “The chapters were going in a different direction.” Because of the national approach, the nonprofit used national agencies and vendors for the first year even though those tools could be used lo- the same time to break through a general media clutter,” she said. Make-A-Wish chapters across the country each typically sponsored efforts to find volunteers, raise money and encourage donations. While many organizations have a forum so the national office is on the cally in the future. Many companies became attracted because of the larger than local activity.This interest offered Maher with a way to tap into new relationships. “We wanted to give our media partners a way to embrace Make-A-Wish and give the chapters a tool and a time frame when we could all draw at same page as chapters, the organization doesn’t always have the governance in place for a streamlined effect, according to Paulette Maehara, president and CEO of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) in Arlington,Va. “The organization might be an independent (c)(3) and have separate boards of directors while the national organization is related,” she said.“That national body may be set up through an affiliation agreement and the problem is the independence or perceived independence of the local body.” She recounted that the American Diabetes Association (ADA) decided to nationalize the entire organization. “That was a bold move because they eliminated the policy-making element of the local boards,” she said. “When you do that, it makes the communication up and down more efficient.” Maehara explained that branding was critical in 1981 for the American Red Cross when the organization decided to standardize its brand. Individual chapters could no longer use symbols such as a black cross or a cross with a line though the image.“If the public doesn’t know who you are, you can lose donors,” she said. The AFP might pose a different scenario, as the organization is not a (c)(3) nonprofit. The AFP exists as a (c)(6) association with local units as (c)(3)s. The AFP has affiliate agreements and for the majority of chapters, no staff exists.Volunteers handle the office, so those leaders change every two years. “The policies become the consistency because the policy tends to come from the staff, which exists mainly on the national level,” she said.“When the local board makes policies, the situation can develop into a conflict or challenge for the national organization.” National Effort Gains National Sponsors ational organizations pull in big-name corporate sponsors like Frito-Lay, 3M, and Amtrak. That’s a lesson the Make-A-Wish Foundation relied on when the organization’s first national effort started this past June that stressed the average person could help a child with a wish.The major sponsors started appearing to help the nonprofit as word spread about the national campaign. “We drew in major sponsors because of Destination Joy,” said Jennifer Maher, vice president of marketing and corporate alliances for Make-A-Wish in Phoenix,Ariz.“We didn’t have a relationship with many companies so we were looking for that national alignment with a brand around the theme of joy.” Paulette Maehara shares those feelings. She is president and chief executive officer of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) in Arlington,Va.Two years ago, the AFP started to completely update the national Web site with those of the chapters so all chapters will have a certain look by early 2009. “You have an ability to grab national sponsors if you have a national presence,” she said.“If you’re only doing business in one city, that might not be necessary, but if you’re active across the country, then you can struggle without a national sponsor.” N When Maehara worked with another organization, she encountered the situation where she attended a meeting with a potential sponsor to secure a grant.“If you see yourself coming one day and then the sponsor is visited by a chapter the next day,your organization looks silly,”she said.“National sponsors know that the two people came from the same organization.” In the Make-A-Wish campaign, the vendor Digital Pulp Inc., aided the nonprofit by launching a new area on the site entitled,“Ways to Help.” The section acts to centralize ways viewers can lend a hand.The sponsor is Disney. The new section provides an easy access for local chapters to list their priorities. Viewers can type in a ZIP code to find the specific needs from neighboring chapters. Make-A-Wish is eyeing a future advancement to give each local office a chance to participate in a regional Web site. Donors face many choices and people often give to as many as 45 places, according to David Lawson vice president, market strategies for Kintera, Inc., based in San Diego. “In that environment, organizations need to decide who controls the message and how that message gets across all channels,” he said. – TOM POPE www.nptimes.com 10 FEBRUARY 15, 2008 THE NONPROFIT TIMES http://www.nptimes.com

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The NonProfit Times - February 15, 2008

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