by admin on January 25, 2012
In today’s market place the consumer is taking a more active role in deciding the products they purchase, this is especially true for the health care industry. It is expected that more individuals will continue to purchase health insurance or pay more for their own health care costs as a result of federal health care reform.
This is forcing hospitals to market specific services, particularly ones that are revenue producers, to attract new patients and retain existing ones. Often the services that are big revenue producers are services where the patient has a choice and hospitals in the marketplace are fighting to build brand equity in the mind of the consumer and among the physicians in the market.
With a marketplace that is quickly becoming highly competitive, hospitals have sharply increased their advertising spend. The majority of the advertising investments focus on differentiating the hospital services in the marketplace and into educational materials that provide patients information about hospital services such as bariatric surgery, which has become a highly competitive business.
Due to the competitiveness of the market for these services coupled with the time and investments that are put into the campaigns it is critical that hospitals are able to maximize their returns on their advertising and marketing investments. This requires a truly effective message that has the ability and power to get into the mind of consumers and physicians in the market, and since misguided efforts related to branding and advertising can create powerful setback that can ripple through an entire organization hospitals cannot afford to wait for hindsight to determine how effective their marketing strategies were.
The good news is that a hospital can partner with a market research firm to conduct research prior to a hospital’s campaign that will provide valuable insights determining the optimal messages for the target population for the services the hospital is promoting. With a little bit of research, hospitals can ensure that every marketing dollar is used most effectively.
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by admin on September 14, 2011
More bad news for nonprofits — the main funding source for his $447 billion jobs bill is a limit on the deductions for those individuals making $200,000 a year or more.
Specifically, the proposal would limit the value of itemized deductions to 28 cents for each dollar of income deducted. Currently, the value of deductions for high-income earners is 35 cents on the dollar if they’re in the top 35% tax bracket.
Read a related article from the Wall Street Journal here.
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by admin on August 9, 2011
You run a nonprofit firm in a soft economy. The donation stream has slowed. Your goals seem harder to reach. The short-term objective? Open financial floodgates. Here is a good read by Cord Cooper at Investors.com that will help you through this journey as such a tough time:
• Map it. Scope the key people in donor firms, says “The End of Fundraising” author Jason Saul. “Once you’ve identified the decision makers, determine their priorities and personal agenda,” he said. “What are they looking to accomplish within the organization or within their career?”
Some key people have two agendas — the firm’s reputation and their own. Giving to your nonprofit could improve both. Find out how. “Locate your (donor’s) points of greatest need or desire and connect those to your work,” he said.
• Leap. What hurdles do you face in getting a donation? “More common obstacles include timing, budgets, personalities involved and political considerations,” he said.
In addition are common excuses like these, Saul said: “I’ve never heard of your organization.” “There are lots of people already doing that kind of work.” “That doesn’t fit our funding guidelines.”
Knowing the roadblocks can help you steer around them. Counter objections before they’re raised.
• Delve. If you face unexpected hurdles during interviews, ask the donor “what’s missing or not resonating,” he said. If the answers don’t lead to a connection, note the obstacles and schedule another meeting. Then come armed with convincing arguments.
• Point. If the donor isn’t familiar with your firm, “find a way to lower the risk” of giving, Saul said. Outlining past gifts to similar nonprofits “will help relieve that concern.” The key: Stress why the donor should give to you.
• Build it. When seeking donations, present a “case for support,” which is “a philanthropic justification for funding” a cause, Saul noted. In your case for support, state your vision and mission, history, budget and the problem you’re trying to solve, says the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
Also include your track record (in solving problems or reaching goals) and the benefits to the donor. Make the report short and to the point. Limit it to 10 PowerPoint slides or three to five pages.
• Segment. Grouping donors by giving level helps you eye big spenders. It can also help move midscale givers to the top tier. You know what you’re dealing with and can target more effectively, says attorney Ilona Bray, author of “Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits.”
• Value ‘em. Every dollar counts. A large group of small givers can easily outpace larger donors, notes Burke Keegan, author of “Fundraising for Nonprofits.” Track regular donors who give smaller amounts.
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by admin on August 3, 2011
It appears that, for now, charitable tax breaks have been left untouched after the Senate passed the deficit deal on Tuesday.
But not so fast….
These tax breaks could come under fire as “Super Congress” needs to find an additional $1.5 trillion to cut. Philanthropic deductions could come under fire at that point, according to Philanthropy.com.
“We assume that the new committee will certainly consider the cap on deductions,” said Jason Lee, a lawyer for the Association of Fundraising Professionals, a trade group that is opposed to reducing the value of the charitable deduction. “So we’re working under the premise that we still have our work cut out for us.”
Read more on this here.
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by admin on July 28, 2011
I came across some good trend data from the Nonprofit Quarterly on rural philanthropy in the US, where it has been and where it might be heading.
Find the full article here.
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by admin on July 26, 2011
Ever wonder which nonprofits big corporations are supporting? Wanna know who’s giving the most?
Find out how much money the some of the largest corporations have given to nonprofit groups over the past three years and see who they gave to here!
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by admin on July 19, 2011
Another good read on how to keep your tax exempt status here.
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by admin on July 14, 2011
“If you can’t beat them join them” is a common strategy for many marketers. Why? Simple, because its usually an effective strategy. The key is to find the right “team” or campaign in this instance, you want to clone the most effective strategy or campaign.
With over 220 current appeal “exhibits”, SOFII or Showcase of Funraising Innovation and Inspirations is a great place to start learning more about effective donor appeals. The SOFII collection aims to be the most comprehensive, best organised, and most inspiring collection of fundraising related content from around the world.
You can access the site here.
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by admin on July 13, 2011
Who’s in for some ideas for inexpensive and creative ways to help your fundraising effort?
Then read a good article on this subject by clicking here!
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by admin on July 12, 2011
Fundraising in any media is about the relationship between the nonprofit and the donor or prospect. Strengthen that relationship and you increase the frequency and amount of donations as well as the number of donors.
Done right, online and offline fundraising efforts leverage each other to maximize donations and donor loyalty. A free webinar on the topic of integrating these two efforts is Relationship Building: The Secret to Effective Online Fundraising, should be worth checking out!
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