Do most nonprofits have a formal marketing plan?

[Joseph T. Dager]

I wonder if they really do? Though most nonprofits understand the field that they are in, have they taken the time to learn about marketing except for the one class they took in college? I wonder?

[Peg Fisher]

I better add this to my list of projects to work on. So far, our marketing is really
simple - ask for donations of art, produce, etc. then find buyers for it, with
proceeds benefitting our service project. We're raising money for Operation Smile -
www.operationsmile.org. They provide cleft lip and palate repair operations to
children. After the operations heal, children can smile freely for the first time in their lives. And we are giving each smile operation in memory of one of our loved ones.
We lost 32 good people - friends, family and colleagues - in the shootings at
Virginia Tech, 4-16-08. Their smiles are gone. Yet we can send new smiles out
into the world in their honor.

So far, we have sold flower bouquets to individual supporters, and we have pledges
of art prints, jewelry and crafts for our fundraising sale, in the works for October.
It's a decent start. Yet I'm sure there's a lot more we can do.

Regards, Peg Fisher of Team Blacksburg

[Renita Farrall]

With just getting my nonprofit started this pass year I am going to be having my Board of Directors meeting Monday and I am looking at how we can create a marketing plan. I have no idea about marketing but I can see it is something we are going to need to study and hope we can come up with a plan that will catch hold. I am more the open to learning about marketing.

[Joseph T. Dager]

Renita, I just looked at me e-mail before going to bed and saw that you have a tight schedule. If I had only one thing to pass on it would be that marketing a nonprofit in the future is all about "Tribal" management. On my blog is 100 minute presentation about Tribes, Seth Godin's new book. I would encourage you to watch this presentation before Monday, If I can be of any help, please feel free to contact me directly.

My blog is www.fundingyournonprofit.com

[Zack Byrnes]

At least at the local level, very few nonprofits appear to have a coherent marketing strategy. Most efforts are focused on "fire-fighting" problems as they arise rather than long-term (or even short-term) planning. The vast majority of time and money is spent on specific, non-unified fundraising initiatives with very little invested in terms of public relations, marketing, or organization development. Unfortunately, most boards and executive directors are easily preoccupied with immediate costs and gains and are unwilling to address broader plans that would ease funding difficulties in the future.