GR8 Ideas for your favorite charity
Non-Profits are businesses, too!
Sometimes a non-profit's challenges are
the same as any business person's: Sometimes they're so busy meeting
the needs of one set of their "customers" who receive their services
that they forget that they have other "clients."
WE are also their
clients: those of us who donate time, money, goods and services. Other
business challenges are similar, too. Non-profits need to create a
positive image and market themselves to their prospective "customers" -
again, US. They need to get out in the community because the principles
of marketing apply: you do business with people you know. How can you
get to know what a non-profit does if you never come in contact with
someone from the organization? That's why attended networking events is a must.
For instance, here's what Candace Mayo said when she was with Habitat for Humanity of
Northern Colorado. She would attend networking events and tell everyone: "We need women who have the time to do
fund- raising, planning, coordinating with the family (we call those
folks family advocates), a public relations type (that can hype the
build in the press), a grant writer (fundraiser). And of course, as in
any project, we need good people persons who are great administrators
and can sell the Women Build concept to others. Women business owners
who would like to help are great go-getters. We always LOVE those!! If
you are looking for a materials list (what it takes to build the
house--sticks and bricks) let me know."
So does networking work for the non-profits as well as it works for
you? Oh, YES! Here's what Diana Larson of Project Self-Sufficiency
said: "…networking really does work. After I shared with others that
Project Self-Sufficiency needed a computer consultant, several
contacted us and I'm pleased to say that we are starting to work on our
project with one of them. It was very helpful for our organization to
receive recommendations of qualified individuals from others."
It's not me, ladies--it's YOU who are connecting on many levels to
help our businesses grow and our communities become an even better
place to live. YOU are the ones who are doing exactly what the
wonderful Linda W. Norton encouraged us to do: to blend business with
community service. It's up to YOU to make your community a wonderful
place
to rear a family.