Do you want to boost fund inflow from donations? If YES, here is a sample non-profit marketing plan template that will help you attract and retain donors or clients. Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a non-profit organization.
We also took it further by providing an in-depth sample non-profit business plan template. In this article, we will be analyzing and drafting a sample non-profit marketing plan backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for non-profit organizations. So put on your marketing hat and let’s proceed.
A Sample Non-Profit Marketing Plan Template
1. Our Present Business Situation
The name of our non – profit organization is Pro Youth Foundation and we are legally incorporated in the united states of America as non – profit organization. We are a non – profit organization that is set out for the purpose of empowering youths in the United States of America and Canada and we are in full – time operations for the past 6 months.
We are presently located in Chicago Illinois but we operate all around North America with a handful of full – time employees and over 50 volunteers scattered all around the United States of America and Canada.
Within the past 6 months we have been able to successfully establish a standard skill acquisition school – a place where youths can come in and acquire skills that will help them successfully launch their own businesses. Also, we also run a sport training facility where youths can register and get themselves involved in one sport or the other.
Although the major sources of finance comes from the board of directors, but we have been able to perfect plans to secure funds from the Federal Government of the United States of America, Canada and other donor agencies and philanthropists.
2. Our Product and Services
Basically, we try as much as we can to streamline our activities in Pro-Youth Foundation to areas where we know we can produce faster results when it comes to reducing crime rates and getting youths involved in enterprise development and governance in The United States of America and in Canada. These are some of the things we do are Pro-Youth Foundation:
- Operate a Skill Acquisition, Empowerment and Development Centre
- Professional Counseling
- Mentoring and coaching
- Operate a Standard Sports Facility
- Youth Advocacy
- Promotion of Youth involvement in Politics and Governance
- Sourcing for scholarships for students
3. Our Mission and Vision Statement
Our Vision as an Organization is to create a nation where youths will be actively involved in economic development of the country and governance and a country free from crime.
To join hands with the government and other stakeholders in empowering youths and in creating a crime free America and Canada.
Our Market Goals
Our overall marketing goal is to join hands with the government and other stakeholders in empowering youths and in creating a crime free America and Canada. In essence, we intend to create a nation where youths will be actively involved in economic development of the country and governance and a country free from crime.
In view of that, we are set out to achieve the following market goals:
- To train and empower a minimum of 50,000 Youths to run their own business annually in North America (The United States of America and Canada).
- To secure 25 percent of elective positions for youths in government (The United States of America and Canada)
- To reduce the crime rate by 10 percent annually in the United States of America and Canada.
- To generate a minimum of 1 million US dollars annually from the government and from donor agencies.
What we aim to achieve from our market efforts are as follows:
- Build a standard skill acquisition centers in 6 major cities in the United States of America and Canada
- Build a standard sport facilities in 6 major cities in the United States of America and Canada
- Become an official partner with the Federal Government of the United State of America and Canada on youth related issues.
4. Our Marketing Budget
As a non – profit organization that is set out to empower youths and in turn reduce the crime rate in the United States of America and Canada, we have successfully line up series of projects that will help us achieve our goals and vision.
As a result of that, we have been able to set aside the total sum of 25,000 US dollars to organize fund raising dinners and events in strategic cities within our first year of officially launching our foundation. Part of the marketing budget will also be used to handle all logistic as it relates to pursuing funds from donor agencies, philanthropists and of course government agencies.
After our first year of operations we will ensure that we make use of 10 percent to 20 percent of our annual income (fund generated) as our market budget.
5. MARKET ANALYSIS
- Industry Overview
About 62.8 million people volunteered between Sept. 2013 and Sept. 2014 in America. That’s a volunteer rate of 25.3%.The future of philanthropy is bright. U.S. charitable giving is predicted to grow by 4.8% this year, and another 4.9% in 2016. Individual and household donations make up the largest percentage of the whole, at about 70%, but foundation giving is expected to grow the most in the coming year.
- Interesting Statistics You Must Know About the Non-Profit Industry
American individuals, corporations, and foundations gave an estimated $335 billion to charity last year. Nearly 10% of donations come from mobile devices, and 16.6% of donors who support from an email are doing so on their device. The open rate for nonprofit emails is between about 15% and 17.5%, with appeals at the low end and advocacy and other emails garnering higher open numbers.
Religious organizations received the largest share, with 32% of total estimated contributions, educational institutions received the second largest percentage, with 15% of total estimated contributions and human service organizations accounted for 12% of total estimated contributions in 2014, the third largest share.
92% of nonprofit professionals use content marketing to spread their organizations’ missions, but more than half don’t have a documented strategy for their content. Nonprofits have an average of 4.4 employees responsible for technology in some way, a number that increases or decreases in correlation with the size of the organization.
- The People We Want To Reach / Our Target Market
Basically, the people we intend reaching out to are youths of diverse race and culture who live in the United States of America and Canada. Those who are unemployed and prone to crime, youths that are exposed to crimes, street children and anybody seeking to acquire one or two skills that will help them successfully start their own business. In essence, we intend reaching out to
- High school dropouts
- Unemployed youths
- Youths interested in politics
- Aspiring entrepreneurs
- Street Children
- University Students
- High School Students
Aside from the people we intend reaching out to, we will also source for funds to run the foundation. In essence, part of our target market are those who we can generate funds from and they are;
- Government Agencies
- Donor Agencies
- Philanthropists
6. SWOT Analysis
In order for us to perform optimally and achieve our aims and objectives as a foundation, we have decided to subject ourselves and the foundation to critical a SWOT analysis. In as much as we are not set out to maximize profits in all that we do as a foundation, we are quite aware that once we are able to lay bare our strength, weakness, opportunities and threats on paper.
It will make it easier for us to grow as a sound not for profit organization and achieve what we have set out for ourselves to achieve. Here is a summary of the SWOT analysis that was conducted for Pro-Youth Foundation;
- Strength
Our strength as a foundation is anchored on the expertise and robust experience that our founding directors are bringing to the table. Beyond their expertise and robust experience, their network is also a great strength for the foundation.
For illustration; one of our founding directors can boast of a close relationship with the ’crème de la crème’ in America, because he has served as a special adviser to three US presidents. With our rich network base, fund raising wouldn’t be as difficult as it ought to be and lastly, the fact that we work with youths makes it easier for us to get volunteers to help us achieve our aims and objectives.
- Weakness
Our weakness just like the weakness of most not for profit organization is the ability to attract the best hand in the industry to help us man our key positions. It is no longer a hidden thing that non – profit organizations find it difficult to compete with corporate organizations when it comes to recruiting employees to occupy key positions. This is simply because they can’t match – up with the wages that is usually offered by these corporate organizations. Most Non – profit organizations find it difficult to attract, pay and keep experts in their payroll.
- Opportunities
The opportunities before us as a foundation working towards empowering youths and helping the country reduce crime rates in the society are unlimited. Because of the cause we have chosen to pursue, we are sure of getting support from government and key stake holders in the United States of America and Canada. There are loads of donor organizations that will be willing to partner with us once we present our proposals to them.
- Threat
One of the major threats that we stand to face as a not – for profit organization is generating the required fund needed to achieve our aims and objectives, recruiting and retaining key and competent employees, as well as managing our financial and human resources.
Our competitive advantage
Of course, there are competitions amongst Not-for-Profits Organizations- especially when that are pursuing same or similar cause. It means that they will approach same organization for grants and financial supports et al. We are quite aware of this challenge, and that is why we were very careful in choose our board of directors.
As such; we ensured that we chose people of great influence and experience, who can easily give us the needed support to achieve our aims and objectives. To a larger extent, leveraging on the experience and influence of these people gives us competitive advantage.
7. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY
- Sources of Income for the Foundation
At Pro-Youth Foundation, our major source of revenue is accessing grants from donor agencies and individuals who are interested in partnering with us to reduce the crime rate in United States of America and Canada. Our board of members are on the front line when it comes to individuals that are not just ready to give us their time but people who are willing to commit their resources to the noble cause that we are set out to achieve.
Aside from the fact that we are going to depend on grants from donor agencies, government and good spirited individuals to finance most of projects, we have also set out plans to organize events like sports, and talent shows et al, where tickets will be sold to people who are interested in attending the events.
We will also generate money from exhibitions (we intend selling crafts or any products produced by students and graduates from our skill acquisition college). These are areas where we intend generating income for our foundation;
- Grants
- Donations from Board Members
- Fund Raising Events (Fund Raising Dinners et al)
- Revenues from Sales of Tickets at our events
- Revenues from Exhibitions (crafts and other products)
- Revenues from renting of training facilities
- Revenues from sponsorship deals
8. List of Organizations We Intend Working With
With what we are set out to achieve; reducing crime rate to the barest minimum and empowering youths in both Canada and The United States of America, we know that it is a task that can’t be achieved by just an organization. It takes the collective effort of stake holders to be able to make appreciable impact when it comes to reducing crime rate and empowering youths to get involved in governance and enterprise development. We have been able to identify some organizations that we know will be interested in working with us to achieve our ultimate goal. They are:
- The Government of the United States of America
- The Government of Canada
- UNICEF
- Henry Ford Foundation
- Security Agencies
- Political Parties
- Bank of America
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
- Microsoft
- Schools
- Wal-mart
- The Coca Cola Company
- The Walt Disney Corporation
- Chevron
Our Unique Selling Point; What Makes Our Non – Profit Organization Superior to Our Competitions
The fact that we are working towards reducing the crime rates in the United States of America and Canada makes gives us some leverage in the market place. We will be working with the government and security agencies to design programs that will get youths who make up the largest percentage of those involved in crimes engage in productive activities that will not only reduce the crime rates in our society, but also contributes to the growth of the country (Canada and the United States of America)
We are quite aware that it is a holistic task to combat crime in the United States of America, which is why we have developed software applications that will help us measure our productivity per time and we have also partner with the bureau of statistics so as to continue to get the relevant statistics that will guide us in developing our programs.
Benefits Our Client Stand to Gain When They Patronize Our Non–Profit Organization
When it comes to what our clients stand to gain when they patronize our services as a non – profits organization, we have decided to classify it into two folds; what youths who pass through our series of programs and empowerment center stands to gain and also what people that fund our foundation stands to gain as well.
In view of that, here are the benefits youths and financiers of our foundations stands to gain when they patronize our foundation:
- Acquire quality skills that will help them set – up their own business and make a living for themselves.
- Keep them engage in productive activities that will keep them away from crimes.
- As regards our financiers, we will ensure that they get good value for their money.
9. Strategic Marketing Alliance with Our Competitors in the Non – Profits Industry
The nature of non – profit industry encourages strategic marketing alliance with other competitors in the industry. This is possible especially when our competitors are not directly involved in similar projects that our non – profit foundation is engaged in.
one thing is certain in the non – profit industry, you are more likely going to find it pretty difficult to get your competitors to recommend a financier to finance your organization. They would rather do all they can to maximize any opportunity they have with donor agencies and philanthropists et al. You wouldn’t blame them because all non – profit organizations are out there to get all the monies they can get to finance their projects and effectively run the foundation.
The cases where you can enter strategic marketing alliance with your competitors in the non – profit industry is when your competitors are offering complimentary services to the services you offer and also when they have the opportunity to attract specific donor agencies that sponsors related to what you are into and different from what they offer.
For example, if you run a non – profit foundation that that is into youth empowerment and fighting crime, you can easily partner with a non – profit organization that runs a health base, research base or climate change related organization.
10.Our Client Retention Strategies (Ways to Improve Our Customer Experience)
As regard a non – profit organization that depends majorly on donations and grants from the government, donor agencies and philanthropists, all our retention strategies will be geared towards ensuring that we continue to access funds from any source that we are able to build relationship with.
One thing is certain, if we are able to execute useful projects and produce effect results from them, it will go a long a way to communicate to our donors that their monies is been utilized as it out to be. In essence giving our donors good value for their monies is our number one retention strategies.
The truth remains that, if they noticed that their donations is being used judiciously, they will be willing to give more especially if they have.
Aside from that, we will also ensure that we carry every of our financier and volunteers along before executing any project and also during the course of the project through to completion and commissioning. This will give them a sense of belonging.
Lastly, we will not only invite them for fund raising dinners et al just because we need their money, we will set aside special days when we will invite them to celebrate them; appreciation dinner / party et al (a non – fund raising dinner). We also ensure that we effectively manage our relationship with all our donors and volunteers; we will celebrate them on their birthdays, their anniversaries and all of their special occasions.
The Possible Ways We Intend Offering Incentives to Our Customers / Clients (Bonus, Discounts, etc)
As a non – profit foundation, the nature of our business does not warrant that we go all out there to make profit, but rather to make available services that will be of great benefit to the people we want to serve hence it will be difficult to start offering incentives to them when in the first place there are not supposed to pay for our services or if at all they are to pay it will be highly subsidized.
However, we are not only out there to services the youths who we intend working with, but also all our donors and volunteers; the financiers of our projects and volunteers as well. So what we intend doing as a means of giving them incentives is to ensure that we regularly organize a ‘Thank You’ dinner / party for them, and also to ensure that we celebrate with them during their special occasions such as birthdays, wedding anniversaries and child naming ceremonies et al. We will also ensure that we give hampers to every of our donors during Christmas seasons.
11. After Sales Service and Customer Support Services
Our non – profit foundation will ensure that we carry our financiers along during the execution and completion of any project and also to always go back to ascertain that the projects we delivered in any community is intact and fulfilling the purpose it is meant for., We also continue to get feedbacks from the direct beneficiaries of every of our projects or empowerment programs.
In view of that we will maximize our customer relationship management software applications so as to keep in touch with them and to make sure we carry them along when we have any empowerment program that we know will benefit them.
Possible Questions We Intend Asking Our Customers During Our Market Survey
These are the 10 possible questions we are going to put forward when conducting marketing survey on our customers/clients (youths / beneficiaries and financiers):
- How old are you and what are your key skills?
- What new skills would you want to learn if you have the options to learn them for free?
- Are you gainfully employed or do you run your own business?
- How would you want us to communicate with you when we want to pass useful information about our non – profit foundation that will benefit you? Through text messages, e – mail, or via mobile apps (BBM, twitter, 2Go, WeChat, WhatsApp et al)
- Aside from Chicago Illinois, which other cities in the United States of America and Canada would you want us to open our empowerment centers?
- Have you ever been involved in a crime and what do you think you can do to stay away from crime?
- Have you ever donated money to a non – profit organization before?
- If you have enough spare time would you be willing to serve as a volunteer in any of our events, programs and projects?
- Can you list donor agencies and philanthropists that you know can donate to our cause?
- Are you satisfied with our programs and projects? If not what areas would you want us to improve on or what projects would you want us to list among the projects we are working on?