PR and Marketing

Your nonprofit could be the best organization in the state, but if you don’t know how to market it effectively, you’ll remain a “best kept secret”. This is why Marketing and PR are essential to nonprofits for promoting your programs and services, as well as your organization as a brand. This page is full of helpful tips and resources to help you form a marketing plan and execute it.

Cause Communications’ Toolkit

A guide to navigating communications for the nonprofit world is a comprehensive resource offering practical information in virtually every area of communications — from how to develop and budget a communications plan to what tools you need to help raise awareness and funds.The toolkit is practical and easy-to-use. Tips, templates and strategy outlines are based on more than 25 years of experience from professionals at Cause Communications, and on information from national qualitative and quantitative audits of what nonprofits need in the area of communications.

Design Matters

The Why and How:

6 Reasons Why It’s Important to Hire a Graphic Designer: How hiring a graphic designer will improve your marketing strategy

How to Hire a Graphic Designer

Key Thing to Ask When Hiring Designers

The Design Process:

How to work with a graphic designer, articles by:

An outline of the process a designer uses, by AIGA

How to fund creative projects:

Finding Grants to Fund Marketing

Idea Encore Resources

Marketing Best Practices Checklist: A self-assessment instrument that helps nonprofits identify capacity strengths and challenges and establish capacity building goals in the area of marketing and public relations. ($10)

Brand Identity for Nonprofits: Brand identity can offer reinforcement of mission, operating stability, and increased revenue, tying together diverse elements of strategy to produce real and lasting results.

Making the Most of Limited Marketing Resources: Proven Steps to Successfully Market your Nonprofit on a Shoestring Budget

The top website design assumptions that will cost you

The Cornerstones of Successful Fundraising: Marketing & Communications

Claxon Nonprofit Messaging Framework Template

Social Media

Social media is a game-changer for nonprofits. Below are some guides and tools for Facebook and Twitter to help get you started!

Mashable – The ultimate social media blog

Facebook Best Practices for Nonprofit Organizations

Social Media: What is Your Strategy?

Guide to Twitter

Tweetdeck and Hootsuite are useful programs that let you update and track your Twitter and Facebook accounts from one location

The Nonprofit Social Media Decision Guide

Nonprofit Communications Blogs

Kivi’s Nonprofit Communications Blog
Beth Kanter’s Blog
Getting Attention, Nancy Schwartz
Duck Call by Big Duck

CarolBuckheit.org (fromerly Nonprofit Media Works)
Frogloop

Articles

The Philanthropy Journal has a great Marketing and Communications Resources Section.

Vocus publishes monthly white papers and hosts webinars on PR themed topics.

Other Online Resources

Network for Good: Online Fundraising Guides and eBooks — A series of free e-books, guides and white papers on online fundraising and marketing.