18 Feb Small Nonprofit Building Blocks Series: Community Relations by Megan Campbell, MPA, GPC

Defining Small Nonprofits:

Whether a nonprofit or not-for-profit, a charitable organization’s “size” is not determined by its facility, number of staff, or services to the public but by the size of its operating budget. Large organizations have operating budgets in the $10- $50MM range, while organizations with annual budgets of $5MM or less are considered small. Large, nationally affiliated organizations tend to get the lion’s share of public recognition and visibility; however, they are not representative of the U.S. nonprofit sector as a whole. In fact, the National Council of Nonprofits reports that 92% of organizations within the nonprofit sector are small organizations with annual revenue of less than $1MM. Yet the reality is that all charitable organizations depend on public and private support (i.e., government or private grants, individual donations, in-kind gifts, volunteers) to achieve their missions, and small organizations often grapple with how to compete in a market publicly dominated by their larger counterparts.

The Importance of Branding:

So, how do small organizations make themselves competitive for both recognition and increased funding? One way is to invest time and effort in managing your brand.

Your brand is more than your logo. It is representative of everything you do. For example, when you see McDonald’s golden arches, what comes to mind? Do you only think of the quality of food they serve? Does the thought of that business make you hungry? Maybe those arches invoke a happy childhood memory. Or perhaps they give you another emotional response relative to your most recent experience at a restaurant or in a long line in the drive-through? Maybe those arches remind you of an article you read about staff and wage shortages or the company’s impact on the economy. The same is true for your brand. When a potential donor or grant funder in the community sees your name or logo, what do they think? That is part of your brand.

Tips for Building Your Brand:

Maintaining a clear mission, vision, and organizational value structure is essential to building and managing your organization’s brand. Communicating those elements to the community at large is critical. While investing in qualified development or strategic communications staff is ideal for an organization’s long-term growth and success, small organizations don’t often have a lot of capacity to hire a marketing team to manage and promote their public image. So, while you’re advocating with your board of directors to increase operational staff, remember that every community interaction can contribute to building your brand – make the best of each one.

Stay tuned as we continue this blog series tailored for small organizations with tips for managing grant prospect research, organizing for success, self-advocacy, and more. AGS is also launching a new training series in May, Capacity Building for Small Organizations. The six-session course focuses on key elements that will prepare a new or small organization for grant readiness. Sessions are tailored to help participants build their knowledge and skills to create pathways to success for grant-seeking. Registration is live! Follow along with the small nonprofit blog series by subscribing for updates. In the meantime, check out the AGS Grants 101 series available on demand. Grants are about so much more than just grant writing. This series of grant training will guide you through:

1) Researching opportunities

2) Building relationships with funders

3) Designing high-quality programs

4) Organizational readiness

5) Writing grant proposals

6) Managing grants

If you are interested in grant services, training, or federal review services, or are interested in our career opportunities,  Julie Assel, CGMS, GPC, President/CEO, will be happy to talk with you about this opportunity and provide you with a quote for grant services.

This blog post is aligned with the Grant Professional Certification Institute’s Competencies and Skills.

7.03: Identify strategies that grant developers use in building social capital to benefit their communities and society at large

8.03: Identify methods of relationship cultivation, communication, recognition, and stewardship that might appeal to specific funders