Advice to Non-Profit Seeking Funding During Recession

As part of her mission to save small businesses, Lynda Resnick, author of the national best-seller Rubies in the Orchard, fields questions from entrepreneurs and non-profits and shares her business and marketing know-how.

In the first of her new series of Ask Lynda columns, Resnick responds to a letter from Ellen Parcell, who runs the non-profit Heart to Heart, a non-profit organization that supports homeless and abused women and children.

Dear Ms. Resnick:

I am writing to you for help.

I am at a cross road-financially trying to keep this beautiful home open. I need help marketing the organization to the community so they will want to support the mission. I am a non-profit 501(c)(3). I deferred my salary this year to help keep the house open and the lights on.

Homeless women and children are the fastest growing population in our society. They are recovering from extreme violence and a variety of abuse issues: physical, sexual, emotional, street violence, mental, alcohol and drug. The program unifies women with their children in a supportive, therapeutic, transitional home setting moving them towards self sufficiency and independent living with their children.

Generously built by Carmen Dominguez Homes, DRMP, Inc. and WELBRO Building Corporation, along with a Federal grant, a land donation, and many individuals contributing to its construction, the 8,000-square-foot home is filled to capacity. They built the house but are not contributing to its operations, due to the recession in building.

I am appealing to you and to your expertise to help me design a marketing program that can support this organization’s operational funds of $225K a year.

Thank you for your time. I wait to hear from you.

Sincerely,
Ellen

Dear Ellen:

Thank you for your email regarding Heart to Heart.  From your description, it sounds as though you are providing an essential service to homeless women and children.  This service is clearly something that you believe in and also has tremendous intrinsic value.  Your challenge, of course, will be to convey to potential funders the value of the service.  It seems to me that you have already written your mission statement:  “Heart to Heart provides homeless women and their children a supportive, therapeutic, transitional home setting facilitating their return to self sufficiency and independent living.”

As for your Marketing and Business Development program, I have the following suggestions.  You are off to a good start with “HEART TO HEART: A Community Care Home, Inc. - a safe place for women and children.”  This is your tagline.  I understand that you used to be known as the Lisa Merlin House.  Assuming Merlin has a good reputation in the community, you will want to be up front with the public in your rebranding on your website and in your promotional materials, e.g., “We are changing our name to better reflect Heart to Heart’s mission…”  Be sure to provide data to document your good works; for example: “In 2008, Heart to Heart served 53 homeless women and their children, helping them to transition back to independence…”

As for a website, services like Homestead make it easy to set up a site for free or for very little money.  Since you are providing an important community service, you may also be able to get a local non-profit such as a community foundation to host the site for you at no cost.  The website will help you to establish your identity.  Without one, it is hard for donors and others to find out about you unless they knew about the Lisa Merlin House.  Be sure to add a prominent section to the website on Giving and to note in several places on the website that Heart to Heart is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization and that charitable contributions to the organization are fully tax deductible.  If you have been highly rated by a state or private organization like Charity Navigator, add that information to the website as well.  And, clearly state how the organization can receive donations.

Social networking sites such as Facebook are an efficient, inexpensive way to get your organization’s name out there –- and even raise money. After setting up a Facebook Page (view the link to see how this differs from a Facebook profile), you can then initialize any of numerous applications to add functionality and create a viral presence. The Causes application will even allow you to raise money for your organization.

Because you’re a 501(c)(3), you’re also eligible to sign up for GoodSearch, a search engine that donates money to causes based on how often people search. Once you’re set up on GoodSearch, make sure you let your supporters know about it by posting a link on your website and Facebook Page.

If you have any prominent donors who are willing to add their names to the website and promotional material, that is always helpful.

I am not certain what your relationship is with the local courts, jail diversion programs, churches/clergy, doctors, police, and schools, but they all need to be part of your outreach.  As for securing government contracts and grants, I recommend you approach the social work and counseling departments at the University of South Florida and the University of Tampa about assisting with the writing of grant proposals to potential funders.  University departments are often looking for projects like this, and you are offering such an important service in your community.  Here’s a good website to consider for funding opportunities: http://www.floridafunding.com/freehotgrants/

Getting in front of people and explaining your program at local schools and churches must also be a part of your strategy.  Op eds and letters to local papers and radio and TV news shows about the need for services like those Heart to Heart provides are another part of the plan.  Finding a local “celebrity” to sing your praises and be an evangelist for the work you are doing can be invaluable.  Organizing a fundraiser to publicize the name change and getting on the United Way’s list of charities so that dollars flow your way are other important parts of the plan.

I hope that these suggestions are helpful.  Thanks for writing to me and please let me know what you think of the book.

Sincerely,

Lynda