Do you run a non governmental organization and you are seeking ways to attract patronage and funding from local and international financial institutions and sponsors? Then here’s a sample template on how to write a marketing plan that makes your non-profit organization stand out when implemented.
A non-profit organization is one that is set up for other than commercial activities. The definition notwithstanding, this type of organization requires a marketing plan to reach out to sponsors and other stakeholders. If you are looking to start a nonprofit organization, or you have one already, here are the guidelines for writing a marketing plan that will surpass your expectations.
Writing a Marketing Plan for a Non-Profit Organization – Sample Template
1. State your offers and goals
Your first step while writing a marketing plan your non-profit organization is to describe the products or services that the organization offers. Then state the goals that you hope to achieve with each product or service. Your goals are the results you want to achieve with your marketing campaign.
It is recommended that you limit them to a maximum of three per product or service. And remember that these goals must be concise, measurable, clearly stated, achievable with the resources you have, and time-specific.
2. Define your target sponsors
While your non-profit organization might seem to appeal to everyone, in reality, it doesn’t and cannot appeal to everyone. And if it does, it will definitely interest certain categories of people more than others. You need to figure out those categories of people who will be most interested in your cause. These people make up your target sponsorship. This is why we provided a sample non-profit marketing plan template to help you out.
One easy way to define your target audience is to write a personality profile for your ideal target sponsor. Detail everything necessary about them, including their age, gender, location, occupation, interests, hobbies, behaviors, and so on.
Also, include those factors that will most likely trigger the interest of your target sponsors in your organization. The essence of this step is to know where to focus your marketing resources to get the best results, since you have limited time, energy, and money.
3. Analyze the situation
After defining your offers and stating your goals, your next step is to conduct extensive situation analysis. This is where you will analyze your beneficiaries, the competition, environment, your organization, and other important factors. Start by defining which particular category of people your organization will benefit. Try to estimate the number of these stakeholders that will be benefiting from your organization.
Having an estimated number will help you decide how you will manage the funds that you receive at the end of the day. Next, define the competition. Who are your competitors? They are those organizations in the same location as yours that are pursuing a cause similar to yours. Figure out and write down their strengths and weaknesses.
You will also need to define your environment. An analysis of your political and legal environment looks at the specific governance issues of your organization and figures out whether the political context favors your organization or not. Also, highlight your analysis of your organization’s social and economic environment. Also, give an analysis of your technological environment, which states whether certain technologies are integral to your organization.
Finally, conduct a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis, which looks at the following:
- Your organization’s internal strengths (What will your structure or employee team help your organization do better or more effectively than others?)
- Your organization’s internal weaknesses (In what areas will your structure or employee team slow down the organization’s success?)
- External opportunities for your organization (What are the external factors that your organization can take advantage of?)
- External threats to your organization (Which external factors can potentially threaten the continued survival of your organization?)
4. Define your marketing strategy
Your marketing strategy comprises the various measures you will adopt to reach your target sponsors. Will you be advertising in local newspapers, radio, and TV? Will you reach potential sponsors via social media and paid online adverts? Your answers should go into this part of your marketing plan.
5. Calculate the required budget and other resources
Marketing a non-profit gulps a lot of money, time, and energy—depending on the size of your target audience. After stating the various measures you will adopt to reach your potential sponsors, calculate how much of money, time, and energy that will be required to execute each.
6. Develop your action plan
This is the part where you list the specific actions you will take towards achieving your goal. For each action, you will state who will take it, where it will be taken, and when. In addition, you will state the results you expect to get at various specific times, and what actions you will take if you have not achieved them by those times.
7. Review and adjust
Go over your marketing plan several times, making adjustments where necessary.