6 Tips for Fundraising with Print Campaigns

Nonprofit organizations and associations must often spend money to raise money for their cause. Of course, the most popular way to fundraise is with events. By creating social gatherings, nonprofits have the ability to develop a community of passionate individuals, and with people in a single location, the message becomes louder and spreads easier.

There’s also an alternative solution to raising money for a cause. Entrepreneur magazine highlighted the importance of running capital campaigns, which are scalable programs – typically occurring over longer periods of time, if not forever – that allow organizations and associations to continually collect funds until they reach a target amount.

Whatever the goal and the campaign of a cause, organizations and associates must disseminate information to the masses. While social media provides a great outlet for the public, this online channel doesn’t target the basis of charitable causes: the local community. After all, support comes in droves and attracting those individuals to an event or enticing them to donate relies a little bit on peer pressure. No one wants to be the person who doesn’t care.

This is where print campaigns can help. From hanging  posters up in local shops and stores to handing out flyers and brochures on the street, organizations and associates can inspire the populace to attend a fundraising event or donate supplies to a cause with a variety of print media. While this might seem like an easy task, getting the attention of a local community could prove to be a bigger hurdle than some may think.

Here are six steps to raising funds with a print campaign.

1. Establish a clear brand and stick to it

Organizations and associations need to be easily recognizable and consistent in their brand image to not only attract like-minded individuals, but also give the existing community a common banner to wave. With print advertising, brand consistency is king.

Kissmetrics recommended that nonprofits define brand guidelines, including design, tone of voice and personality. This ensures that all marketing media aligns, and the community will have a clear image of what an association represents.

2. Be creative

Thinking outside of the box is a much needed trait for all organizations, nonprofit or not. However, being creative is a critical aspect of print marketing. Posters, brochures, business cards and flyers need to be attractive, yet easy to read.

Some of the best advertisements are the ones that inspire an emotional response, so when creating marketing materials, designers should always have a message. But, without something to draw people’s attention, that message will go unnoticed.

3. Identify with the audience

An association is only as powerful as its supporting community. This means that nonprofits need to attract exactly who they want to join their cause. With that in mind, these organizations should try as best they can to identify with their audience.

The Campaign Workshop explained that associations should avoid slang as well as overly complex language. The message should align with the local communities’ beliefs and therefore be easily understood in a short glance.

4. Push people online

While many organizations know the power of print, some opt to stick to online channels. This is the wrong approach. Posters and flyers will attract a whole different set of individuals, and those communities will also be sent to websites and social media pages.

On all print marketing materials, associations should direct people to their websites. Posters and brochures will attract individuals right away. They can then learn more online, set dates on their calendars, or donate through a website.

5. Consider what collateral is required

After identifying brand guidelines, finding your target audience and coming up with a creative message, the next step is deciding what marketing collateral is required. Simply put, every organization will have different preferences, but in general, associations should use their audience and message to guide what medium they advertise with. For example, if targeting families in a small town, print posters around town are a best, but if Baby Boomers are more likely to adhere to the cause, then hand out flyers at local shops.

6. Find a good online printing service

Last but not least, organizations and associations need to choose their printer for all those marketing materials. In the age of the cloud, they should look to managed, online print services that allow for custom designs and the ability to send posters and pamphlets overnight. After all, these nonprofits should hit the ground running.

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