Why You Should Educate Your Community (& Get Them Involved)

One of your biggest resources as a nonprofit is your community. In many cases, this is both your audience, and your inspiration. The community also makes your success possible by giving back and supporting you.

For your nonprofit, the community you may look to most are the relevant organizations that are willing to share resources and help each other grow.

When you help these businesses and organizations they help you back, and together you make the place you call home better. The emphasis here is on local – if they are local then they will want to help because they are personally invested in the community!

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How your community can give back support to you

There are many different ways local and relevant companies can help your nonprofit thrive. If you need it, chances are you can find it right in your own backyard.

Here are just a few examples of resources you could find in your community:

Funding
Event volunteers
Event sponsorship
Office help like accounting or graphic design
Maintenance services
Program supplies
Food and canned goods
Landscaping

Community support is better than doing it alone

Help from your community is never one-sided. Any business that helps will also be benefiting from their donation. If a corporate company in your town sponsors your fundraising event, their featured logo on the event collateral, website, and email marketing will gain them a ton of exposure, all from helping your organization.

Another example would be if a local bank sent a group of volunteers to plant tulips outside of your facility. They can wear their branded t-shirts or uniforms which will appear in all of the photos from the planting event, and both organizations can share the content in their email newsletters or website.

Gain exposure for you and your community partners

Now that you know the right organizations in your community, and why they would want to help, here are some ways to entice them to get involved:

1. Social media

Your followers have opted in to learn about your cause, and can be a great resource for donations or volunteers. Tell your story and promote your nonprofit to get them involved.

Get started:
Create a “Volunteer of the Month” program where you feature a community member who donated their time to your organization. You can include quotes from volunteers on what they love about your organization, which will encourage others to join.

2. Email marketing

Not only can email marketing help you educate your supporters on your cause, but it can also help you reach fundraising goals, increase social shares, personalize your brand, build rapport with donors, and more.

Get started:
Build an audience of donors and volunteers, then develop a consistent email strategy that offers valuable content. Show what your organization is doing to support the cause, and include opportunities to donate and volunteer. Your supporters will anticipate receiving your emails and look for those chances to get involved.

3. Face-to-face

The oldest and most impactful technique to garner support is good ol’ face-to-face interaction. When most interaction takes place behind a screen, actually talking to people in person will always leave an impression.

Get started:
Set up a table at the local farmers market during a busy Saturday and tell people what your organization is all about. Have information ready to hand out and business cards available for people who want to learn more. You could also guest speak at a local Chamber of Commerce or neighborhood meeting.

The more time you spend out in the community, the more people will recognize you as the face of your nonprofit. This will make it easier to think about your organization when they’re ready to donate or volunteer.

Start making your community a better place, with their help

Now is the time to get out there and educate your community so they know how to get involved. When you need something, your nonprofit organization will already be a familiar place, making it easier for the community to say yes.

Remember that when your community supports you, it’s a win-win situation, making the community a better place. All you have to do is remind the community that you need their help.