| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SOULUTIONS June / July 2008
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| in this issue | | Seven Questions to Ask About Your Brand | | The Question of Grantwriters | | Tell Us What You Think | | Tip of the Month: Setting up Settings |
| Dear Reader, Here's the latest issue of 'Soulutions'. Feel free to give us feedback on the topics below, answer the poll & see how others have answered, or post what you think in the Ning forum. Until then, sit back, read, and enjoy! |
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Seven Questions to Ask About Your Brand ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Companies selling refrigerators and toothpaste have brands. Martha Stewart has a brand. Even if you don't call it that, not-for-profit organizations have a brand.
Your brand is the promise you make to your constituents, and the way you live out that promise every day. Like every other asset your organization owns, it's important to be a good steward of your brand, but sometimes it's hard to know where to start, especially in times like this when every dollar has to go further, and everyone, it seems, is working harder than ever.
Is your brand working as hard as you are? One way to think about this is by asking a few key questions about what your brand could be doing for you. - Does your board understand the importance of a strong brand?
- Are you investing in the right brand strategies to attract supporters?
- Do your constituents hear a consistent message from every part of your organization?
- Do your supporters get what they expect from your organization?
- Are your communications and development efforts generating enough return on the investment?
- Does your brand help define the financial priorities for your organization?
- How often does your brand help your staff decide what they should or shouldn't be doing?
A strong brand can make it easier, and cheaper, to raise money. It can attract loyal constituents and high-performing employees. And it can guide the decision-making to make your organization more effective.
Do you have more questions about brand? Sign up for our on-line community, where you can find links to helpful resources and connect to people who understand brand and care about mission. Click here or go to http://vesperservice.ning.com. |
The Question of Grantwriters ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two recent issues of Blue Avocado discussed the relationship between not-for-profits and grantwriters and the 'how-tos' of trying to make this relationship a success...or if it's even necessary to go that route.
The first part of "In Search of Unicorns: Finding & Hiring Grantwriters" (http://www.blueavocado.org/content/search-unicorns-finding-hiring-grantwriters-part-1) deals with problems that arise for both not-for-profits and the grantwriters, as well as gives tips on when a not-for-profit should consider hiring a grantwriter or using one of the alternatives they discuss - one possibility being "growing your own grantwriter" from within your organization.
The second part of the article discusses how to find one if you want to use someone from the outside (networking is a great starting point), how to select the right person, and finally, how to contract with a grantwriter and how much to pay. (http://www.blueavocado.org/content/search-unicorns-finding-and-hiring-outside-grantwriters-part-2)
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Tell Us What You Think
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What part of the grants application process is the most challenging for your organization? Click below to answer our quick poll, and find out what other organizations are saying about pursuing grant money. |
Tip of the Month: Setting the SettingsIn order to keep up to date on all things posted on the Vesper Service Network community page, you can set it up so that you receive an email every time something new has been posted. There are two places that you can do this; the first is by clicking on 'My Settings' which appears in the welcome box at the top of the page on the right-hand side. Then, click on 'Email,' appearing on the left-hand side of the 'Settings' page. This brings you to a list of email notifications; the default is for most, if not all, of the boxes to be checked, but you can confirm that this is the case. Next, go to the 'Forum' page, and scroll down until the end of the forum topics. Make sure the message that appears says 'Notify' so that you receive an email every time a new forum discussion is posted. |
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