From Isolation to Authority: 3 Effective Ways We Communicate as an NGO
Under the bright mid-day sun, Madam Joy and her team struggle to contain their smiles as they reflect on their recent achievement.
Of course, Madam Joy oversees the fundraising team of her NGO, and she has seen their strategies generate over $10,000 in less than 60 days in donations.
Madam Joy and her team turned their attention to driving donations to fund their important projects following the difficulties involved in attracting international grants. That afternoon, the team had returned from fieldwork where they distributed learning materials to pupils in some selected primary schools in their local communities.
As Madam Joy and her team recall the joyful expressions of the beneficiaries, they are not in any doubt that their recent communication strategies had changed the game for them. They had moved from speaking to communicating, establishing relevant connections with those that want to support their cause. $10,000 in donations in less than 60 days didn’t come easy, but their proven methods have made it look so simple.
Wondering what these communication strategies look like? Here is the simplest breakdown:
1. Communication Audit
The first strategy for Madam Joy and her team was to carry out a nonprofit communication audit. Yes, it is an NGO, but how do their own staff, volunteers, and people in their host community perceive their mission? Does the entire team understand the work they do and what it takes to succeed?
How do people in the neighborhood view the NGO? Of course, you wouldn’t want to be the hard-working NGO that people mistake for either a church, campaign office, or just a business premises.
So, Madam Joy ensured that there was clear communication within the team and each member understood how people viewed them.
For proponents of the 3 C analysis, this often refers to the first C, which represents the company—whether for-profit or not-for-profit.
2. Identification of Partners and Donors
It is true that everyone must not donate to charity, and even those that donate to charity may not find your cause interesting. People love different causes, especially the ones that resonate with them as individuals. So, it was the responsibility of Madam Joy to
identify those that might find their work interesting.
The team also realized that donors don’t always donate at the first time of asking, underscoring the need to nurture relationships with potential donors and partners.
To quickly identify their potential donors and partners, Madam Joy hired an impact storyteller on linkedin to craft engaging impact stories showcasing the impact of their work so far and driving significant conversation for support.
They knew that it was only normal for people to support an existing effort, as donors would prefer to see the progress of your work.
This progress report is never an official document, but a well-written, human-centred narrative that shows the problem, the efforts of the NGO, the difficulties experienced by those affected by the problem, the actual intervention, the impact of the intervention on the beneficiaries, and the available medium for future partnership, support, and donation.
The NGO had photos and videos of their programmes, but that was not enough. They could not show impact and transformation—they were just evidence of an organized programme.
Since it became clear that the NGO needed donors, Madam Joy introduced email newsletters. So, instead of expecting those who found their impact stories to donate straightaway, they were encouraged to opt into their email newsletter subscribers’ list. This content writer also provided constant content to showcase the work of the NGO to these subscribers, encouraging them to take action with a strong CTA.
The email newsletter subscription link was carefully scattered across each impact story to afford potential donors the opportunity to opt in without stress. Yes, the NGO had a website, but Madam Joy ensured that their stories were found everywhere on the internet space—including here—and the stories also had links to their donation page, social media handles, and official website alongside the email newsletter subscription link.
With about 25 impact stories shared across several platforms including online news channels over a 70 day period, Madam Joy and her team were able to build a donor base of over 11,000 subscribers that helped them raise $10,000 in less than 60 days to enable them to put smiles on the faces of helpless primary school kids.
3. Consolidation of Existing Donor Base
Instead of searching through the internet for foreign grants that may never come, or paying consultants for projects that may never see the light of the day, Madam Joy focused on nurturing their relationship with existing donors.
Their donors were never in the dark—always receiving email notifications at the slightest progress recorded.
Also, the payment system was made very seamless and integrated into their website. Even as a stand-alone page, donors were made to go through a fast and easy process any time they wanted to make their donations. With thoughtful impact stories, donors always stayed emotionally connected to their cause, offering them unlimited opportunities to partner to make a difference.
Madam Joy and her team understood that the policies of President Trump are affecting how nonprofits operate, especially those in Africa. Therefore, to stay true to their cause, they had to explore local partnerships and even individual donations of international nature.
With quality impact stories, they also explored crowd funding platforms such as donate.ng and a few more that accept African non-profits to raise funds to keep their vision alive.
The team is optimistic of producing hundreds of more quality written contents in no time to nurture their relationship with the existing partners and attract more potential donors who will be open to supporting their work. The writing agency appears to be strongly present on linkedin under the name: Nitor Vox Media. It is also present on facebook and responds quickly to any request sent through info@nitorvoxmedia.com and also offers free consultation.
As Madam Joy and her team reflect on their journey so far, they are fueled by the optimism of a brighter future and the impact their work will always have on humanity. They are poised to keep tweaking, evaluating, and trying out new ways to fund their service to humanity. They look forward to a brighter future as their partnership with Nitor Vox Media continues to produce contents that deliver visibility and transformation.