Awareness is worthless. Support is everything.
Many nonprofit leaders think that because the public knows they exist they have public support. What they have is public awareness. Support comes in four flavors. One is volunteers. Another is referral of clients. The third is advocacy. The fourth is money. Please remember that money is the least important. Yes, it is necessary to cover this week’s payroll. However, it is a by-product of the other three.
Another way to express awareness is branding. Branding is heightened awareness. Branding means they know you exist, they know the segment of the market that you serve, and they know the level of service you provide.
Here is an example of failure to brand. I was speaking with a person about Big Brothers Big Sisters. They kept talking about the programming at Boys and Girls Clubs. The individual knew that both agencies existed in their town. However, they were sure that both did the same thing. They were equally sure that it was unnecessary to have both in town. They had never given to either organization. They were unwilling to consider volunteering at either. This was someone who is passionate about youth.
The person in question was well aware of the existence of both organizations. The branding of the organizations was poor. The support of the organizations was non-existent.
How does this happen? It happens because so many nonprofits focus on advertising their existence. With advertising comes awareness. Which would be a great thing if it is followed by something else.
After I read the ad I know the agency exists, what do you want me to do and why?
If I am going to be a referral source for you, what do you want me to know?
If I am going to be a donor, what are you doing that I care about?
If I do any of those three things, I am a supporter. Otherwise, all the advertising did was create awareness. Awareness is worthless.
Branding is only valuable to referral sources. The referral source needs to be able to differentiate between one agency and another. The referral source needs to do the right thing for their client, friend, or person in need.
The steps are for creating a supporter:
Make me aware (Do this one-on-one or in small groups with a personal presentation. Using mass-market techniques (advertising, direct mail, radio or TV ads, etc.) is hard to justify if the agency income from fee based services is under $3 million.)
Recruit me as a supporter
Volunteer (board member, fundraiser, program support, administrative assistance, etc.)
Advocate
Referral Source (Now is the time to do the branding. When the agency is small (under $50 million) it makes sense to do the branding one-on-one.)
Donor
A supporter is an aware individual who takes action. Do you have a sound process that intentionally converts the aware into supporters?
