Drug Free Youth In Town Featured on WBEC-TV’s Teen Talk

Congratulations to DFYIT (Drug Free Youth In Town) for its recent appearance on WBEC-TV’s Teen Talk this past Saturday, April 16, 2011.

Having worked with DFYIT for over five years, The ThinkTank is very proud to support the organization’s efforts to empower students across South Florida to live their lives without the influence of drugs or alcohol. DFYIT is a nationally recognized, community-based substance abuse prevention organization that focuses on and gives recognition to students who choose to live a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. Through its 60 DFYIT clubs in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties middle and senior high schools, DFYIT provides teens with social competency training, drug awareness counseling, conflict resolution skills, positive adult relationships, and pro-social involvement in their school and community.

In the special appearance on WBEC-TV’s Teen Talk, DFYIT student members and staff discussed the dangers of drugs, alcohol and violence and how the DFYIT program helps students to make positive decisions and to become advocates to their peers and community. DFYIT student members shared their past experiences with peer pressure and how the tools that they gained from the DFYIT program helped them to resist the temptation of alcohol and drugs. Members of the DFYIT staff also shared their experiences working with teens on the frontline of youth prevention.

From everyone at The ThinkTank and on behalf of the South Florida community, a huge congratulations to DFYIT for the great work you do!

For more information about DFYIT please visit www.dfyit.org or to find WBEC-TV in your area, please visit: http://www.becon.tv/becon-tv-schedules

Making the Political Cut: Will Nonprofits' Interests Be Kept Intact?

One of the most important concerns for nonprofit organizations has always been funding and fundraising - and nonprofits will likely face stricter budget cuts and less government funding over the coming years. With the most recent midterm elections effecting legislation already, an article from the Stanford Social Innovation Review poses the question: An Uneven Partnership: Will Tuesday's Election Change Government's Relationship to the Nonprofit Sector? The article discusses how the results of last week's election will have a direct impact on nonprofit organizations.

The state of the economy poses an additional challenge for nonprofits - in fact, recent reports show that Americans are donating less to charitable causes and are making smaller donations in general. Now more than ever, nonprofit organizations face operational and financial difficulties. Perhaps you may have already experienced the effects of these challenges in your own organization.

Another article to consider from the Nonprofit Times examines the topic of the political impact on nonprofits, Election results could paint bleak picture for nonprofits. In the end, only time will tell what the future holds, but the good news is that the possibility of change is always on the horizon.

Why Cause-Marketing Makes Sense for Nonprofits

Cause-marketing. Two words that have, as of late, begun to resonate more than ever with nonprofit organizations. Almost all nonprofit organizations face the challenge of fundraising and working within a limited budget - it is the nature of the industry - but there are many opportunities for nonprofits to market themselves creatively. One option is to form a strategic partnership with a well-known company, celebrity or public figure. These partnerships tend to benefit both parties involved - companies and celebrities get credit (and publicity) for being socially conscious and nonprofits stand to gain increased exposure and significant financial contributions.

Recently, MediaPost covered the topic with an article titled Ford, Pandora Launch Cause-Marketing Effort, which highlights a new partnership between Ford and Pandora. The campaign features recording artists John Legend and Jewel, and as per the partnership, the companies have promised to make a donation to the musicians' favorite nonprofit organization for each time a consumer shares one of their songs. Initially developed to promote Sync, Ford's in-vehicle media platform, the effort provides the nonprofit organizations involved with the financial support and large-scale exposure.

The key to successful fundraising is reaching consumers, engaging them, and connecting with them. Cause-marketing is most successful, it seems, when the concept, message, medium and execution reflect a very clear understanding of the consumer's lifestyle, preferences, and perspective - this knowledge helps organizations tailor a campaign for maximum effect.

For many nonprofits, when it comes reaching consumers in an engaging way, a little creativity can go a long way.

Reaching Donors, One Click at a Time

More and more, donors and potential volunteers are using the internet to gather information about nonprofit organizations. But to reach those audiences, it's no longer enough for nonprofits to have a mediocre or lack-luster web presence. It is essential that the website of any nonprofit organization is well designed and easy to navigate, with clear calls to actions.

Some nonprofits have been more successful at achieving these goals than others; one such organization is the Coalition for the Homeless. Well-planned and comprehensive, the website caters to all of the organizations' main audiences, provides essential information, and manages to look good in the process. With a regularly updated blog, relevant videos and a rotating flash banner with news about upcoming philanthropic events, the Coalition for the Homeless website is a great example of the “right” way to connect with donors.

For nonprofit organizations, keeping volunteers and potential donors well informed is essential to success and growth. A visit to an organization's website should reveal a visually appealing site and a clear, cohesive and well-branded design – all elements that are essential in creating a effective website that is easy to navigate. It is also a good idea to ensure that your website provides visitors and donors with easy options to get involved through direct calls to action (such as the Coalition for the Homeless’ site, which urges visitors to "sign-up"; "take action"; "donate" through links at the top of the page).

If you’re looking for more ideas, there are many different national and international nonprofits that have excellent website, such as the American Red Cross and Women for Women International. Another great resource we recommend is the article Nonprofit messaging: Keys to reaching your audience from the Philanthropy Journal, which has insight particularly relevant for nonprofits.

What other elements do you think are essential to developing a strong website for a nonprofit organization? We’d love to hear from you!

Going Gaga Over Celebrity Partnerships

By Katie Norwood

It’s been said that a picture is worth a thousand words – but exactly how much is a face worth? That number is $34 million, according to a recent report on the partnership between international pop star Lady Gaga and MAC Cosmetics. Last year, the singer became the newest face of VIVA GLAM, a long-running campaign to raise money for the company’s charitable organization, MAC AIDS Fund. Known for her highly theatrical performances, dramatic makeup (and outfit choices) and for her signature larger-than-life persona, Lady Gaga is an inspired choice for VIVA GLAM in a variety of ways. As a result, her involvement in the campaign has been extraordinarily successful.

Face Time: Reach and Influence
One major reason the campaign has done so well is because Gaga is such a well-recognized face, especially among MAC’s target consumers. Counting over 28 million Facebook fans and 8 million Twitter followers, she is extremely powerful in terms of social media influence – a fact that has provided built-in publicity for every new commercial or appearance she makes for the brand. With a simple tweet or a quick post, Gaga can stir up quite a buzz among her fans. Need more proof? A Facebook post promoting VIVA GLAM that was added to her page yesterday afternoon has already garnered over 19,000 “likes” and over 4,000 comments.

A Powerful Voice
Celebrity partnerships can be very beneficial for nonprofit organizations, but to optimize a campaign’s success the organization must pick a spokesperson who is well-aligned with the cause and the brand image. For the VIVA GLAM campaign, for example, it would have made little sense to pick a spokesperson who was not known for wearing makeup or who was, well, unglamorous. Gaga is all about glamour; she has yet to make a single public appearance sans-makeup (or even a coffee-run, for that matter). Her association with the MAC AIDS Fund also makes sense in terms of cause and brand congruity. She has a large and very loyal fan base in the gay community, which has long been supportive of the fight against the disease, and has always the cause herself.

So taking Lady Gaga and VIVA GLAM as an example, it could be said that the ideal “face” of an organization is someone who truly cares about the cause and whom consumers will have no trouble linking with the brand. Also, someone who has considerable influence and who brings added value to the brand, in terms of social media power or a professional/social network of contacts.

Of course, being a huge celebrity doesn’t hurt either.

Developing a partnership with a spokesperson who cares about your nonprofit’s mission can be incredibly important to reaching and building relationships with your donors. Has your organization chosen a celebrity or spokesperson to serve as the “face” of the organization? If you haven’t and you are still looking, we would be happy to help you.

At The ThinkTank, our passion and our mission is helping nonprofits grow. Our team provides nonprofits with the resources they need to grow and thrive – so if your organization is looking to expand, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Reach The ThinkTank’s Chief Visibility Officer Vanessa Horwell at vanessa@thinkinkpr.com or Katie Norwood at knorwood@thinkinkpr.com. Please visit www.thinktankpr.org for more information.

Hooray for Mark Zuckerberg (and his millions)

By Katie Norwood

Proof that youth is not wasted on the young, not only is Mark Zuckerberg TIME’s Person of the Year at only 26, and worth an estimated $6.9 billion, but he’s also coughed up a princely $100 million to the struggling public school system in Newark, New Jersey. Following the donation, Zuckerberg received his fair share of criticism from those who thought his motivation was less than philanthropic, and more of a strategically planned exercise in image rehabilitation in response to the negative publicity he received following the release of the motion picture The Social Network.

Whatever Zuckerberg’s true motivation may be, his multi-million dollar donation is certainly generous by any standards – and at the end of the day, in practical terms his donation will have a great impact in the lives of many. He is a figure who, by creating Facebook, has helped shape Gen Y and Gen Z tremendously – so will he be the inspiration of the next generation of philanthropists?

More and more, it is important for nonprofit organizations to reach out to young donors and cultivate relationships with them, building the foundation for life-long giving. Too often, nonprofits ignore this important demographic and fail to target young people in marketing and fundraising campaigns and outreach. One great way to reach young people? Social media. Nonprofits might try starting a blog, becoming more active on Twitter or even – you guessed it – on Facebook.

Watch the video of TIME’s Person of the Year below. http://video.ap.org/?f=AP&pid=GUNLRPM5VNIOECLhtBJNOWk5P6kuraxl

Do you think Mark Zuckerberg will inspire a new generation of young philanthropists? We'd love to hear your thoughts!

New Year, New Hope for Nonprofits

Welcome back to work, and welcome to 2011!

A New Year always brings new goals and visions and, according to a recent article from NPR, new hope for nonprofits everywhere. After a year marked by a trend of lackluster giving, many charities are beginning to feel optimistic about 2011.

Experts say that overall, the outlook for nonprofits is improving – possibly as a result of an economy that that seems to be slowly progressing toward recovery. This is excellent news, considering that many organizations have experienced an increased demand for the services that they provide.

Perhaps in response to this new optimism, there has been a focus on attracting a “new generation” of donor, with organizations like the Red Cross and the Salvation Army adopting mobile donation campaigns to reach a generation of more technologically savvy donors. And rightly so – with the combination of the current hopeful outlook and potential growth offered by the resurgence of the economy, the time is right for nonprofits to develop new strategies to reach donors. In order to capitalize on opportunities to secure donations as the economy continues to improve in the near future, it is important for nonprofit organizations to focus on increasing their visibility among their targeted audiences now and not later.

What do you think? Will 2011 be a year of growth or struggle for nonprofit organizations? We would love to hear your thoughts on the matter below!