Brandraising: communicating more effectively

Why is it that start-up businesses always hire experienced marketers, but nonprofits rarely create a high-level communications role until their staff is large or the operating budget is in the millions?

In smaller nonprofits — and in some medium-sized ones — you could take a Rip Van Winkle-sized nap waiting for someone to say that their job description includes communications responsibilities, yet there’s still plenty of external communications going on.

In larger organizations, the front-line communicators are often fundraisers, key programs staff, and the executive director. Their communications goals may not be aligned, and the messages they send out can be confusing and contradictory. And even at large nonprofits there can be a dearth of staff with marketing and communications-related education or experience.

So what’s a worthy nonprofit like yours to do?

Because you’re a loyal reader of the Duck Pond, we hope you’ll join Big Duck’s principal and founder Sarah Durham for a sneak peak into the world of Brandraising: How Nonprofits Raise Visibility and Money through Smart Communications. No, this isn’t a some crazy, Brooklyn version of Skull and Bones — it’s Sarah’s forthcoming book. And we’re offering Duck Pond readers the chance to participate in a free webinar about Brandraising and win a copy of the book before it even hits the shelves.

In the free webinar, we’ll cover fun stuff like:

• How to avoid getting mired in the trenches of day-to-day communicating and see the long view
• What positioning and personality are, and how you can use them
• What “branding” really means for a nonprofit, and how your Vision and Mission relate to it
• How to connect everything ‐ online, print and other marketing and communications tools and activities — back to strategy