3. Table of Contents
Overview and Current Situation
Current Marketing Strategies
Communication
Social Media
The Issue: Homelessness
Review of Similar Service Providers
Review
Muskegon Rescue Mission Interview
Understanding the Millennial Generation
Primary Research Results
Perceptions of KGM
Summary of Key Research Insights
Problems and Opportunities
Engagement Recommendations: WMU
Engagement Recommendations: Kalamazoo Community
Strategic Recommendations: Messaging Strategy
Strategic Recommendations: Website Enhancements
Strategic Recommendations: Social Media Enhancements
Strategic Recommendations: Other Communication Channels
Strategic Recommendations: Staffing
References
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3
5. The Kalamazoo Gospel Mission (KGM), founded by
Jake and Anna Hildebrand, began as a non-denom-
inational depression-era soup kitchen. Today, nearly
80 years later, the mission of KGM has remained the
same: to serve the needs of the homeless population
of Kalamazoo. Today, however, those services have
expandedbeyondfoodtoinclude:awomen’sandmen’s
shelter; a children’s ministry; long-term programming
that focuses on overcoming addictions and mastering
new job skills; and, two different retail outlets --
Rescued Treasures and Rescued Wheels. Income
that is generated by Rescued Treasures and Rescued
Wheels supports the overall mission of KGM as
well as provides job training opportunities for the
men and women who are a part of the long-term
programming. In the past year, almost 11,000
individuals, churches and local businesses provided
financial support for KGM programming, amounting
to $3.67 million dollars in annual revenue. Almost
95% of funds received come from individual donors.
According to its 2014-2015 annual report, KGM
provided over 78,000 nights of lodging for men and
women, over 22,000 nights lodging for children, and
it served, on average, 565 meals per day. It’s Sonshine
Kids Daycare also served over 800 children and
over 100 individuals took part in KGM’s long-term
programming. KGM is led by Pastor Brown (CEO/
President) and is governed by a board of directors.
OVERVIEW & CURRENT SITUATION
5
6. KGM uses a variety of marketing communication strategies to accomplish its mission:
Direct Marketing: Direct marketing (mail) strategies are primarily targeted to
prospects and current donors. KGM relies on off-the shelf strategies developed and
executed by Grizzard Communications Group, a full-service agency that specializes
in nonprofit communications.
Events: KGM hosts and/or participates in several events throughout the year to
engage prospects and current donors, as well as the general public. These events have
included association meetings, lunch and learns, a winter mission concert, cook-offs,
an open house, several celebrations of accomplishments, a food drive, a worship
night, a walk and a 5K run. Holidays, such as Easter, Memorial Day, Labor Day,
Thanksgiving and Christmas all provide opportunities to serve the community.
Website: KGM has a website (www.kzoogospel.org) that was developed using the
free website builder WIX.com. The site has a landing page with rotating images and
a menu bar across the page that includes access to more information on: Who We
Are, What We Do, Get Involved, Events, Mission News, and Contact. There is also
a‘Donate Now’button in the menu bar and links to its social media pages.A Google
Analytics tracking code has been embedded into the website, but is not fully utilized.
The website is also optimized for mobile viewing.
Newsletter: KGM develops and sends a newsletter,“Healing Waters,” six times per
year to approximately 12,000 individuals in its active donor base. The content of
the newsletter typically includes a testimonial, words of encouragement from Pastor
Brown, information on upcoming events, a listing of volunteer opportunities and a
wish list for programming needs.There are no direct calls-to-action in the newsletter
and Facebook is the only social media channel identified.
www.
6
7. Social Media: KGM has established a presence on the following social media platforms:
Facebook:Therearecurrently3,456likes(asof 3.30.2016).Thepagewasestablished
in 2009. It includes photos (organized into albums), uses the events function (only
8 subscribers), and visitors can sign up for the KGM newsletter. There are no videos
posted. Timeline posts are irregular -- sometimes one post per day, other times
lagging for a week.
Twitter: The Twitter handle @kazoogospel has 420 followers (as of 3.30.2016).
The account was also established in 2009. A total of 778 tweets have been posted,
which accounts for less than 100 tweets per year since inception, or about one tweet
every 3 to 4 days.
LinkedIn: A company profile has been established on LinkedIn and currently has
638 followers (as of 3.30.2016). Basic company information is provided along with
the logo. There appears to be no posting activity or updates.
Instagram: There are 2 Instagram accounts associated with KGM. @KzooGospel
currently has 88 followers and only 22 posts. An account that is associated with
KGM’s building campaign, @KzooBuildingHope, has 14 followers and 9 posts.
YouTube: A channel was established in 2013 and currently has 15 subscribers (as of
3.30.2016). There are approximately 20 different videos uploaded on the site which
include a combination of Pastor Brown’s sermons, testimonials, and food service
related stories. The most recent upload was 5 months ago.
Other communication outlets previously used by KGM include public service
announcements and press (media) releases. Pastor Brown also is available for
speaking engagements and can be heard on The Touch radio station.
KGM wishes to raise awareness within the Kalamazoo community about what
it does and the services it provides, as well as find ways to engage the local
Millennial generation who will become the next donor base to assist KGM
with helping to solve the homeless issue in Kalamazoo.
7
8. According to the
Department of Housing
& Urban Development
=10,000 Homeless
in America
Unsheltered
Homeless
Children
under 18
Children
unaccompanied
THE ISSUE: HOMELESSNESS
In the United States
Homelessness is not a crime nor is it a conscious
choice one would typically make. It can be the
direct result of economic or personal hardship and
a manifestation of other factors afflicting a person
in a variety of ways. Across this nation hundreds
of thousands of individuals need and are seeking
help for this systemic problem.
The Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) reported that in January
2015, 564,708 people were homeless on a given
night and 31% if those were unsheltered. Nearly
one-quarter (23%) of all homeless people accounted
for in 2015 by HUD were children under the age
of 18; that amounts to 127,787 children who
have little if any influence on their environmental
circumstances.Among the youth population,36,907
were unaccompanied by an adult on a given night.
39% FEMALE
60% MALE
-
49% WHITE
40% BLACK
10% OTHER
564,708
175,059
127,787
36,907
8
9. In Michigan
There were a total of 10,516 homeless people
in Michigan during 2015 as reported by the
HUD; 9,444 of them were sheltered leaving
1,072 homeless people without adequate shelter.
The number of homeless people among families
was 3,970 and the number of unaccompanied
youth under the age of 25 was 975. The total
number of homeless children under the age of 18
during 2015 was 160.
In Kalamazoo
In Portage/Kalamazoo City and County there
were 568 homeless people, 351 of them were in
families. The number of homeless unaccompanied
youth under 25 was 44 and 12 of them were under
the age of 18.
10516homeless in 2015
568homeless in
Kalamazoo
351are in
families
44unaccompanied
minors
9444were sheltered
1072without shelter
160homeless children
3970were families
9
10. Research into the causes of homelessness point to several factors that
either by themselves, or taken together, contribute to an individual’s
probability of becoming homeless at some point in their life.It is a complex
social issue that, according to the Homelessness Resource Center, is often
the result of the intersection of structural factors, personal histories and
individual characteristics. This section details some of the most critical
factors associated with homelessness.
THE ANTECEDENTS OF HOMELESSNESS
Foreclosure:
As of November 2014, Forbes reported that
about 567,000 homes across the country
were in some stage of foreclosure, according
to CoreLogic’s tally. Individuals and families
losing their homes to foreclosure is a clear
pathway to homelessness.
Eroding Work Opportunities:
There are several economic variables that
contribute to an individual’s successful
employability. Most of these structural
variables are outside an individual’s control:
low wage-earning workers, value of the
minimum wage, decline in certain job
sectors, increased exportation of labor,
unemployment rate and inflation.
As a whole, these variables may lead to an
unstable employment environment which,
in turn, increases the probability of being
homeless.
Availability of Affordable Housing:
Lack of affordable housing is a key
antecedent of being homeless. There are
also limited scale and inefficiencies of
housing assistance programs and federal
and state policies, as well as an excessive
waiting list for public housing.
Lack of Affordable Health Care:
An individual or family living pay-
check-to-paycheck and struggling to pay
their bills, among being able to afford
other life sustaining essentials, can be
dramatically set back by unexpected
events to their health or the health of their
family members. This is especially true for
those who do not have appropriate health
care coverage, or have a health care plan
with high premiums,or a plan that doesn’t
cover catastrophes. With the increase in
health care expenses and hospital bills,
debt can build up quickly and be insur-
mountable to overcome for the individual
faced with costly medical bills.
$
10
11. Domestic Violence:
Impoverished women living with an
abusivespouse,orwhomaynothavealocal
support group or many resources, have
two options; 1) move out, which separates
them from the abuse yet causes them to
face the challenges of finding housing or
2) stay in the abusive relationship, which
is detrimental to their well-being, yet
guarantees housing. Approximately 50%
of all women who are homeless report
that domestic violence was the immediate
cause of their homelessness.
Mental Illness:
According to HUD’s 2013 Annual
Homelessness Assessment Report, of those
whoexperiencehomelessness,approximately
257,300 people have a severe mental illness
or a chronic substance use disorder.
Addiction Disorders:
The relationship between homelessness and
addiction is a complex one. An inquiry into
this issue can lead to opposing viewpoints
about which one causes the other. However,
according to the National Coalition for the
Homeless there is a disproportionately high
rate of alcohol and drug abuse among the
homeless. This concerning insight amongst
these individuals highlights a probable
correlation between the two.
Poverty:
Poverty is typically indicated as the
percentage of individuals living below
the United States Census Bureau income
thresholdsforpovertystatus.Itisintricately
tied to homelessness.For 2010,the poverty
threshold for a single individual was an
income of $11,139 and for a family of
four the threshold was $22,314. In 2014,
the official poverty rate was 14.8 percent.
There were 46.7 million people in the
United States who lived in poverty.
Thepovertyratein2014forchildrenunder
age 18 was 21.1 percent. The poverty rate
for people aged 18 to 64 was 13.5 percent,
while the rate for people aged 65 and older
was 10.0 percent.
According to the National Center for
Children in Poverty, in 2009, 44 percent
(1,012,918)of childrenlivedinlow-income
families (below 200% of the federal
poverty level) in Michigan, compared to
the national rate of 42 percent. Children
living below the federal poverty threshold
in 2008 was 22 percent compared to the
national rate of 21 percent.
!?
$
11
12. There are many different public services organizations that mirror
the services provided by KGM in Kalamazoo and the surrounding
area. These services span from foster care management to community
shelters and from low-cost retail establishments to spiritual guidance.
The most widely available service to the community are halfway/
transitional homes offered by eight major organizations within the
Kalamazoo market. There are a select few organizations that offer very
specialized services tailored specifically for either youth or women of
the community. Many of these services can be found within downtown
Kalamazoo as well on the outskirts of the city. The communication
paths for contacting these organizations are for the most part fairly
similar to the KGM and each has established social media sites outlets
of varying quality.
REVIEW OF SIMILAR SERVICE PROVIDERS
Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Service
Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Service is a clinic in
Kalamazoo that provides the community with behavioral
healthservices,includingtherapy,counseling,psychological
assessment and testing, intensive outpatient treatment for
substanceusedisorders,psychiatryandmedicationservices.
Samaritas (Lutheran Social Services Of Michigan)
Samaritas is a social ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church inAmerica (ELCA).The church has been meeting
people’s needs since the early 1900s by offering case
management foster care services, senior citizen services,
disabled persons’ services. Samaritas spans the state’s
Lower Peninsula with more than 70 programs in 40 cities.
Kalamazoo Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
Kalamazoo Community Mental Health and Substance
Abuse Services delivers services and programs to improve
the lives of those in the community for over 30 years.
KCMHSAS works with youth, families and adults and
offers services such as case management, assessments
including psychological and developmental, therapy, crisis
interventions and many more.
Indirect Competitors
12
13. HRI (Housing Resources Inc.)
HRI also known as Housing Resources Inc. is a 501 c (3) non
profit organization offer transitional housing and shelters for
those in crisis situations. HRI works towards finding housing
solutions for people with housing crises, their services are
designed to stabilize homeless households and help those in
jeopardy of losing their housing, so they are more likely to
avoid a repeat situation.
Open Doors
The Open Doors for men and Next Door for women are
residential programs for those who don’t have anywhere to live.
The focus of the programs are on becoming financially stable
and self-supporting. There are also resources for those people
who are struggling with substance abuse through personal
recovery plansand programs to help residents earn GEDs.
YWCA
The YWCA provides both short and long-term
safe shelter for victims with or without dependent
children who have experienced domestic violence from
a partner or ex-partner in an intimate relationship.
Food, personal needs items, clothing, and emergency trans-
portation are provided to shelter residents. Other activities
such as free counseling, support groups, legal justice, and court
accompaniment are available to clients who reside in the shelter
or are from the community.
Ministry With Community Day Shelter
The Ministry With Community Day Shelter provides food,
daytime shelter and other basic services to central Kalamazoo’s
homeless, poor, mentally ill and hard-to-serve adults.
The Ark
The Ark provides voluntary short-term crisis intervention
shelter for youth ages 10-17 who are homeless, have run away
from home or are experiencing a crisis in their lives.
Direct Competitors
13
14. To gain a better perspective of what the Kalamazoo
Gospel Mission’s competition looks like, atotal
competitive breakdown analysis was done on the
Muskegon Rescue Mission (MRM) that is located
at 1715 Peck Street in Muskegon, Michigan. The
MRMwasestablishedinearly1907andtheirtagline
is“Reaching out and Touching Lives Since 1907.”
JustlikeKGM,theMRMoffersamultitudeof public
services like homelessness and emergency helter
options, community ministries, food and personal
care pantry as well as some children’s daycare
services. One ability that the MRM has (that they
are not afraid to enforce) is that they bear the right
to say “no” to any potential client. This means that
for people who are potentially disruptive or hard-to-
serve, the MRM has the right to refuse services.
An example MRM event:
The general public comes to the MRM to“play” a game to become educated
about services offered in the community. Members of the general public are
given a card with a desperate situation (homeless, loss of job, etc.). Then
everyone with a card has to wander around the room to different tables to
learn about public services that are available in the community. Lots of free
food and drinks are provided at the event.The focal point of the event is to get
the word out about offerings in the Muskegon community.
COMPETITOR SPOTLIGHT:
MUSKEGON RESCUE MISSION
In terms of marketing, the MRM offers very little
print promotional material in the community. They
have approximately one or two printed flyers and/
or trifold folders in circulation in the surrounding
area. After conducting an interview with MRM, we
learned that they rely heavily on word-of-mouth
marketing and community engagement at different
events around the Muskegon community.
They have a run-of- the-mill social media presence
with accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter,
but the real highlight is their website. The MRM
does a very good job at having one continuous
message that is conveyed across their entire
website. You can find “Donate,” “Volunteer,” and
“Services Offered” tabs on every page you visit on
their website. The website does a very good job of
having all the information that people need in easily
accessible locations without having to spend a lot of
time searching. Very targeted messages of children
and single mothers are used to help brand the issue
at hand,as well as very impactful testimonials.There
is also a promotional video that is located on the
opening page of the website that shows exactly all of
the meals donated, services offered, nights of shelter
given and the impact made on the community.
14
15. Conducting an in depth interview with the
Assistant Executive Director: Dan Skoglund
Q: Tell us about your marketing efforts and how it relates to engaging
Millennials in the community:
A: A lot of social media, events radio, and print. We are very heavy in Google
ad words, and have lots of social media presence. We utilize a lot of different
options that Google offers. There is a lot of print and outsourced efforts.
Q: What do you feel is the “perception” of the Muskegon Rescue Mission
in the community?
A: We began 1907 and are one of the oldest organizations in town. We are
highly respected and seen as the expert in the world of homelessness.Religion
is present in every message that we send.
Q: Are you struggling in terms of people not really knowing/understanding
what you do?
A: People don’t know all that we have to offer. People envision the rescue
mission as a place where people just come and sleep and eat 3 meals a day.
Basically, people don’t really know everything that we do.
Q: What are some of the things you are doing to correct that perception?
A: In all the marketing pieces that we put out, we strive for those pieces to
have a uniform message and strategically select what causes and issues we put
on the forefront. We strive to have a single voice and a select cause.
15
16. Since one of the goals of KGM is to more effectively reach the Millennial
generation, it is important to review what is currently known about this
generation. The more organizations understand their intended target
audience, the better off they will be when crafting strategies that are relevant
and will resonate with them.
UNDERSTANDING THE MILLENIAL GENERATION
Overall Demographic:
With 83.1 million people between the ages of 18
to 34, Millennials represent more than 25% of the
population.Thisnumbersurpasses75.4millionbaby
boomers and is considered the largest generation in
the United States. Compared to other generations,
Millennials are the most diverse group. Due to the
influx of Hispanic and Asian immigrants coming to
the U.S, 43% of millennial adults are non-white,
the highest in any other generation. The percentage
of Millennial Caucasians is the lowest out of every
generation at 57%. Other than Caucasians and
African-Americans, Millennials have the highest
percentage of Hispanics, 21%, and Asians, 13%.
Debt:
While Millennials have become the most educated
generation, they also are buckling under the
burden of debt. According to a recent Wall Street
Journal report, “among the college-educated, a
staggering 81% have at least one source of long-term
debt.”From home mortgages to car loans or the most
worrisome,studentdebt,thesefactorshaveimpacted
Millennials like no generation before. By the second
quarter of 2014,total outstanding student loan debt
had increased to over $1.12 trillion. On average,
66% of college educated households, have student
debt. A 2015 survey by Bankrate.com found that
56% of people between 18 and 29 have been forced
to delay major life events because of student debt.
Education and Employment:
Millennials are the most educated generation with
27% of women and 21% of men holding a college
degree.Thatiscomparedtothesecondmosteducated
generation, Gen X, with only 20% of women and
18% of men holding college degrees. However, with
more bachelor degrees in hand, this does not mean
that Millennials dominate the workforce. The job
market has been less than promising for Millennials
compared to other generations. When men of
the Silent generation, Gen X, and Baby Boomer
generations were between the ages of 18-33, 78%
were employed. That number is now at 68% for
men in the millennial generation. For women, 69%
of Gen X were employed compared to 63% of
millennial women.
This trend of employment has caused some
delay amongst Millennials when it comes to
being financially stable. Eighteen (18) percent of
Millennials still live at home and are financially
dependent on their parents. Out of the 18%, 25%
still have a full-time job and 20% work part-time.
While Millennials are still living under their parents’
roofs, 55% of them believe that their personal
financial situation will improve within the next year.
16
17. Psychographics–TechnologyasaLifestyle:
Comparedtotheothergenerations,Millennialsare
the most tech-savvy. They grew up during the age
of technology and have taken full advantage of the
digital era.Eighty-seven (87) percent of Millennials
use between two and three tech devices at least
once on a daily basis.Millennials are so comfortable
with technology that 81% say that they sleep with
their smartphones. On average, Millennials tend to
check their smartphone at least 43 times a day. This
explains why 37% of younger Millennials said that
they feel as if they are “missing something” if they
are not on Facebook or Twitter every day,compared
with just 23% of non-Millennials.Coupled with the
useof socialmedia,technologyforMillennialsisnot
used as a means to an end, but rather, a large part
of how they interact with their environment. Twice
as many Millennials as Baby Boomers said that
they check prices, look up product information, or
search for coupons or promotions on their mobile
devices while they are in a store. The use of reward
programs has become more popular with this
generation. With the constant use of technology,
Millennials are now able to live in two worlds: one
real and one virtual.
These digital tendencies have led marketers and
brands to develop new and innovative strategies
to reach this demographic. According to Modern
Tips (?), outbound marketing methods, such as
ads, direct mail campaigns, radio spots do not
impress Millennials. These strategies lack the
personal marketing that this generation craves.
A 2014 survey, Engaging Millennials: Trust and
Attention Survey, revealed that 84% of Millennials
do not trust traditional advertising. This also
leads to Millennials favoring businesses that are
dedicated to improving their customers’ lives
with informative
content. Instead of informing customers of product
details and services provided, connecting with
Millennials through e-books, whitepapers, blog
posts, videos, and other how-to information proves
to be more effective. While 44% of Millennials will
trust experts,Millennials are still more likely to be
influenced by blogs and other social networking
sites.Themoreeducationalcontentthatisprovided,
the stronger the customer-brand relationship will
become. Millennials appreciate honesty and
implementing a transparent campaign proves to
have more of an impact.
AnotherkeycomponentofmarketingtoMillennials
is collaboration. Millennials are interested in
becoming part of the process of developing a new
product or service. It allows them to feel more
involved and believe that this product or service was
created specifically for them. This unique strategy
also focuses on building relationships with the
customers and allowing them to express their own
views and establish their own personal brand.
17
18. Psychographics–Technology as a Challenge:
For all its perceived benefits, the ubiquitous nature
of technology and having unlimited data at their
fingertips has created a situation of information
overload for Millennials. And with it has come a
reduced attention span. If attention is a commodity
in the world of advertising, then marketers have
their work cut out for them when dealing with
Millennials. According to Forbes, of the Millennials
who were surveyed, only“1% said that a compelling
advertisement positively affected their image of
a brand.” When researching specific brands or
charities, Millennials tend to focus less on adver-
tisements and more on websites, e-newsletters or
content they can share.
Purchasing Habits:
Millennials also have a very unique way shopping
for products. Their path to purchasing is more of
a journey than with shoppers of other generations.
It tends to rely more on word-of-mouth than any
other source.Sixty-eight (68) percent of Millennials
do not buy into celebrity endorsements,they tend to
listen more to their close friends or family. The same
percentage (68%) asks for advice from their friends
and 59% ask their significant others. Even 38%
ask opinions from their parents before buying a
product. This explains why 93% of Millennials
buy a product after asking for advice and why 89%
trust these recommendations more than claims by
the brand. Millennials value their own opinions.
Therefore, after the purchase of a product, 59%
explain their personal experience with the product,
while 43% will then share their opinions and rec-
ommendations through some form of social
media. Millennials do their research too -- 93%
of Millennials have read reviews of a product prior
to the purchase. They read reviews from several
different sources. Data shows that 77% trust the
reviews they read from the brand’s website while
97% trust anonymous reviews from e-commerce
websites, such as Amazon and Target.
Social Awareness:
Millennials tend to be more socially aware
comparedtoothergenerations. They understand
the causes that are important to them and tend
to choose brands or organizations that support
them. Three-quarters (75%) of Millennials have
said that it is very important for a company to
give back to society instead of just operating for
profits. They have a negative view towards Wall
Street and corporations and would like to see
businesses become more socially involved.Seventy
(70) percent of Millennials say that a firm’s
commitment to the community is a factor in their
employment decisions.
In regards to donating, Millennials do not just
give blindly. They research different charities to
understand the cause it is supporting. Favorite
charities are those that affect a family or friend,
orhavestrongtiestothecommunity.Millennials
are also moved by inspirational stories. Seeing
the impact of their actions helps Millennials feel
more involved and builds relationships between
them and a brand. Millennials favorite brands
are the ones that support their communities and
would rather do business locally.
ItisaknownfactthatitiseasierforMillennialsto
donate time rather than money,clothes,or food.
With that being said, Millennials also prefer to
volunteer with their peers. Group activities that
offer recognition tend to be the ideal setting for
Millennials.Thisgenerationlovestransparencyand
having an idea of their purpose for volunteering.
Millennials tend to thrive when given clear
guidelines and expectations, complemented with
the possibility of ownership of a project of task.
Communication is vital. Having feedback as a
priority allows Millennials to feel involved and
feel that they are contributing to the cause. It
also creates an opportunity to build trust between
the volunteers and the organization.
18
19. Millennials and Religion:
Unlike previous generations, religion is not as
dominant as it used to be. Only 45% percent of
Millennials say that religion is important in their
lives. This is compared to 54% of adults 30-49, 59%
of thoseages50-65,and69%of people65andolder.
One religious trend that has declined significantly
among Millennials is attending religious services.
While 38% of Baby Boomers and 51% of the Silent
and Greatest Generation still attend, only 27% of
Millennials claim that they do. The other trend
that is slowly declining is praying at least once a day.
While 69% of the Greatest Generation, 67% of the
Silent Generation, and 61% of the Baby Boomers
say that they pray daily, only 42% of Millennials do.
Eventhoughreligionisnotaspopularasitoncewas,
Millennials are still as spiritual as the generations
before them. Forty-six percent say that they have a
“deep sense of wonder” about the universe at least
once a week. This notion of spirituality is very close
to the other generations.
Nowadays, Millennials are less likely to be
affiliated with religious tradition or identify
themselves as part of a Christian denomination.
One-quarter (25%) of people under age 30 claim
to be either atheist or agnostic, while only 19% of
people in their 30’s, 15% in their 40’s, 14% in their
50’s,and less than 10% of those in their 60’s claim to
be. For the Millennials who are affiliated with with
a religion, their beliefs are just as strong as those in
the previous generations.
19
20. Method and Sample:
Anonlinesurveywasdraftedanddeployedthrough
Survey Monkey in late February 2016 to assess
perceptions of KGM and overall awareness of
the services provided by KGM among the WMU
campus community.A total of 312 responses were
collected and analyzed. The snowball sampling
method was used and therefore is not representa-
tive of the entire Kalamazoo population.However,
it does provide valuable insight particularly with
regards to the Millennial generation.
The sample was almost equally split between
females (51%) and males (49%). Seventy-six
percent (76%) of the sample were between the
ages of 18-24, 13% aged 25-34, 6% aged 35 to
44, 3% aged 45 to 54, and just over one percent
were aged 55-64. The majority (82%) identified
themselves as White/Caucasian, 7% Black or
African American, 5% Hispanic or Latino, 3.5%
Asian or Pacific Islander, and 1% identified as
American Indian or Alaskan Native. Just over
three-fourths of the respondents (75.5%), have
completed some college, 10% have graduated
college, and 5% have only finished high school.
When asked about their religious affiliation,
66% noted they identified with Christianity,
but 26% of respondents noted that they do
not identify with any religion, while almost 5%
identified with Islam.
PRIMARY RESEARCH RESULTS
Volunteering Behaviors:
In regards to donating time or money to a charitable
organization, 31.5% of respondents indicated they
are more likely to contribute if the organization is
of their same religious affiliation, while 17.5% said
they were less likely to give if the religious affiliation
is different, and 51% answered that religious
affiliation does not matter.
When it comes to volunteering, 72% of respondents
indicated they volunteered last year, while 28%
did not. However, in the last month, almost half
(48%) of respondents had not volunteered, 34%
volunteered 1-2 times,9% volunteered 3-4 times,and
8% volunteered more than 5 times.
Results suggest that respondents volunteer at a
variety of different places,however,the most frequent
responsewasthatmostvolunteeredinsomecapacity
at their church. While many of the responses did
not specify which church,several did.These churches
included: Christian Life Center/Stones Church,
Valley Family Church, Cross Community Church
of Nazarene, Calvary Bible Church, and Kalamazoo
Valley Community Church.
Since WMU provides a wealth of volunteer
opportunities to its students, it was not surprising
that many respondents indicated that they volunteer
their time on campus.Whether it is with a fraternity,
at the Rec Center, or within their area of study,
WMU-related opportunities were the second most
prevalent volunteer activity noted by respondents.
The next most popular choice among respondents
was Salvation Army, followed by Habitat for
Humanity. Only 9 respondents indicated that they
volunteer their time at KGM.
20
21. The three issues respondents are most
passionate about are: Education, Health,
and Animal Welfare. Homeless and poverty
alleviation were among the causes respondents
were least passionate about.
The amount of money our respondents donated
varied greatly. Almost 4 out of 10 respondents
(38%) did not donate any money while the
same number of respondents indicated that they
donated up to $100 dollars.
The following chart summarizes how respondents
prefer to be involved with charitable organizations.
Overall, respondents “probably” or “definitely
would” provide goods (81%), time (75%) or
services (72%) to a charitable organization, while
60% would “probably” or “definitely” participate
in fund-raising events, and just over half (52%)
would give money.
50
40
30
20
10
0
Fundraising events
Donate Goods
Donate Money
Donate Time
Donate Service
21
22. The survey also asked respondents what they
perceived as the most pressing issues in the
Kalamazoo community on a 5-point scale, where
0 = not a problem, and 5 = very problematic. The
chart below summarizes the mean score for each
social issue. Respondents indicated that the most
problematic issue was drinking and driving (M=
3.97), followed very closely by homelessness (M=
3.96) and poverty (M=3.88). It is interesting that
although respondents may not be passionate about
the two issues most closely aligned with KGM, they
recognize that these issues are problematic in the
community.
Almost 6 out of 10 respondents indicated that
they have heard of KGM. When asked how they
have heard heard of KGM, 60% indicated through
word-of-mouth, 29% of respondents said social
media, and 24% heard about KGM through a
fundraising event or news story. Respondents
were also asked to describe KGM with three words.
Hundreds of unique words and phrases were
reported by respondents, but the overwhelming
majority (352) were positive words (such as Helpful,
Caring and Religious). Only 11 negative comments
or associations were reported (such as Biased, Dis-
criminatory, Alienating).
PERCEPTIONS OF KGM
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Despite having heard of KGM, it was clear that
respondents were not very familiar with all the
services it provides the community.The chart below
suggests that in six of eight service categories,, more
than 60% of respondents are not at all familiar
with what KGM provides.
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Very
Somewhat
Not At All
22
23. Based on the secondary and primary research
gathered, the following are the key insights about
Millennialsthatwillinformrecommendedmarketing
communication strategies designed to engage them.
SUMMARY OF KEY RESEARCH INSIGHTS
Most diverse and educated generation,
but not financially stable and less likely
to be affiliated with religious traditions.
Most socially aware generation that
favors giving time over money to
charities with strong community ties.
While not necessarily passionate about
homelessness and poverty, Millennials
are cognizant of these issues in the
Kalamazoo community.
Technologically driven, but crave informative,
transparent and authentic communication
about how a company, organization or brand
improves peoples lives.
Strong base of Millennials in the WMU and
Kalamazoo community that volunteer on a
regular basis, but have limited awareness
of KGM, its mission, or its services.
HELPFULCARING
RELIGIOUSGIVING
GOOD
CHARITABLE
COMPASSIONATE
GENEROUS
LOVING
KIND
HOPE
IMPACTFUL
IMPORTANT
THOUGHTFUL
INSPIRING
REHABILITATIVE
LIFE-CHANGING
WARMTH
ENCOURAGING
HEAVENLY POPCORN
DISCRIMINATORY
ALIENATING
UNDER-FUNDED
BIAS
CONDEMNATORY
23
24. Marketinginthenonprofitindustrycanbechallenging,butisnecessaryforsurvival.Fundingis,
at best, unpredictable and developing a stronger connection with the next generation of KGM
volunteers and donors is crucial.Currently,there is no clear strategic“owner”of the KGM story
within the organization and the strength of its story is lost across fragmented media channels
thatarenotfullyoptimizedorintegrated.ItisimperativethatKGMstayproactiveindelivering
the right message, to the right audience, at the right moment to make the greatest impact.
KGMhasanimportantandcompellingstorytoshare.Thekeyis
todevelopacoordinatedmarketingstrategyandcommunication
plan that will inspire the community to engage with it.
PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES
The following pages outline specific problems and opportunities uncovered through primary
and secondary research. In addition,specific strategies will be recommended to further engage
Millennials. Whether it is to better connect KGM with opportunities within WMU or in
the community, KGM has multiple possibilities to most effectively use relevant marketing
communication tools in order to reach its strategic marketing goals.
Problems
Limited awareness among Millennials
Limited understanding of Millennials
Outdated visual identity standards
Insufficient human resources
Opportunities
Increase engagement strategies with WMU
and surrounding community
Develop relevant and compelling content that
can be easily shared across platforms
Create contemporary, consistent, and more
effective visual identity standards
Create marketing & communication internship
24
25. “Marketing is a vital part of any organization’s
success in fulfilling its mission and reaching
those whom it exists to serve.”
– Siri Epsy, author, Marketing Strategies for
Nonprofit Organizations.
25
26. Despite the positive perceptions of KGM as a helpful and caring organization,
primary research indicates that the WMU community, and in particular
Millennials at WMU, are largely unaware of all the services KGM provides.
An opportunity exists for KGM to share its engaging and informative story
with WMU Millennials through various low-cost points of contact. This
section describes just six unique events, activities, and WMU offices that
KGM can use to reach out to and connect with Millennials.
ENGAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS: WMU
First-Year Experience Program
Another way for KGM to be involved with campus
is through the First-Year Experience Program.
This WMU program is designed specifically for
first-year Western students to become acclimated
to college life and to Kalamazoo. The Program
includes: New Student Orientation, Fall Welcome,
First Year Seminar, and Transfer Student Services.
One of the requirements within First Year Seminar
is to perform community service. KGM could
potentially reach out to first-year students and
inspire them to volunteer not only for this class,
but continually volunteer during their time at
WMU, providing a stable base of committed and
knowledgeable KGM volunteers.
Maleeka Love
First-Year Experience Program Manager
maleeka.love@wmich.edu
(269) 387–2387
Bronco Bash
Bronco Bash is a yearly event that takes place on
Western Michigan University’s campus and attracts
over 20,000 people, students and non-students alike.
Many local businesses, organizations and WMU
Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) use this
event to raise brand awareness among students and
provide information on how students can become
involved. Many of the businesses and organizations
hand out flyers along with free promotional material
to raise awareness.
Laura Darrah
Assistant Director of Residence Life
laura.darrah@wmich.edu
(269) 387-4463
26
27. WMU’s Residence Life
WMU’s Residence Life is an office that strives to
foster a positive residential experience for students
on campus. The office employs students who are
Resident Assistants, Graduate Assistants, and
Hall Directors who all have to complete up to 3
hours of volunteer activity during a semester of
employment. The office’s leadership team sets up
multiple days for students to complete their service
hours together. This creates a sense of community
among these working students and enables a bigger
group of people to give back to the Kalamazoo
community. By reaching out to the Residence Life
Office, KGM can become another recommended
nonprofit for students needing to fulfill this
employment requirement.
Laura Darrah
Assistant Director of Residence Life
laura.darrah@wmich.edu
(269) 387-4463
Individual College Connections
Another way to increase awareness and engagement
is to form a relationship with individual colleges or
programswithintheUniversity.Forexample,theLee
HonorsCollegerequiresstudentstoobtain a certain
amountof volunteerhoursinconjunctionwithother
requirements in order to graduate from the Lee
Honors College. The college provides information
to students about different organizations students
can work with to obtain those hours, and KGM
should be on that list. In addition, there are several
registered student organizations tied to the college,
such as Alpha Lambda Delta, Phi Kappa Phi,
and Tau Sigma which also encourage community
involvement among their members.
Dr. Carla Koretsky
Dean and Professor of Geosciences
carla.koretsky@wmich.edu
(269) 387-3230
Nonprofit Leadership Minor
WMU also has a nonprofit leadership minor
through the School of Public Affairs and Admin-
istration. The program was recently named one of
the best in the nation. One of the requirements
for students in this program is completion of an
internship, for credit, within the nonprofit sector. If
KGMdevelopedanongoinginternshipopportunity
for a student pursuing this minor, it would open
additional doors not only for increasing awareness,
but also to provide the KGM with an avenue for
future talent acquisition. There is also a Non-profit
Leadership Student Association that holds weekly
meetings where KGM could engage interested
students in relevant topics related to nonprofit
leadership, challenges or career opportunities via a
guest speaking event.
Janice W. Maatman
Master Faculty Specialist and Director of
Undergraduate Nonprofit Programs
janice.maatman@wmich.edu
(269) 387-8945
Government and Nonprofit Job Fair
KGM could be featured at the Government and
Nonprofit Job Fair the WMU Career and Student
Employment Services puts on in conjunction
with the College of Arts and Sciences during the
Spring semester. This fair recruits college students
interested in working or interning for nonprofit
organizations. The fair is another avenue to create
more brand awareness amongst WMU students.
Buffy M. Nespodzany
Assistant Director, Employer
Relations & Job Development
Buffy.M.Nespodzany@wmich.edu
Phone: (269) 387-2745
27
28. Church Involvement:
Pastor Brown is the public “face” of the KGM and
works hard to create opportunities for growth.
When Pastor Brown schedules guest appearances
at churches to speak on behalf of the KGM, the
churches should be involved in promoting his
appearances. KGM can partner with the church
to create promotional materials informing church
members that Pastor Brown will be there to
collect in-kind donations previously specified and
monetary donations that could potentially go
towards, but not limited to, the Building Hope
campaign. Church members will need to have
advance notice so they can be prepared to help the
KGM. In addition, Pastor Brown can work with
churchestocreatea“GiveBackSunday”eventwhere
the congregation gives back to the community
instead of going to church that Sunday. This a great
way to get the message out about KGM, and for the
church community to build relationships with one
another through volunteering efforts.
KGM could provide their social media handles
to the local church Pastor Brown will be speaking
at on a particular Sunday. Then, the church could
put those handles in the bulletin for several weeks
leading up to the Sunday that Pastor Brown will
be speaking. This provides advance notice for the
members of the congregation to find out more
about KGM before Sunday. In addition, KGM
should“like” local churches’ Facebook pages. Those
churches could post content about their upcoming
sermons on social media, and should tag KGM
when necessary. This will create even more social
media exposure for KGM.
Parochial School Volunteer Partnerships
Kalamazoo has many parochial schools in the area.
These schools align with the belief system of KGM.
Schools like Kalamazoo Christian and Hackett
have a day every year where the whole school system
takes a day off from scholarly learning, and gets
involved in the community by volunteering. Inviting
studentsinforthedaywillincreaseawarenesswithin
the community, as well as inspire future volunteer
efforts. The students could be encouraged to share
their volunteer experiences via social media with
specific hashtags for the day.This will not only create
buzz within a specific group of volunteers, but also
becomes a viable creative asset collection strategy.
The goal is to give these students an opportunity to
see what the KGM is all about, and inspire them to
becomeregular,activevolunteersintheircommunity.
In addition, parochial schools have a minimum
number of volunteer hours students need to obtain
in order to graduate. Therefore, the students could
potentially obtain those hours through involvement
with KGM.
Park Street & Farmers Market
The Kalamazoo Farmers Market provides locally
grown food to the community and also helps
supportlocalbusinesses.Bydevelopingrelationships
with food vendors in the area, KGM can build
long-lasting partnerships within the community.
Having a presence at the Farmers Market allows
KGM to promote their cause with the people of
Kalamazoo. This presence creates an opportunity
for members of the Farmers Market to donate food
to the KGM year round.This will provide fresh local
meals for the homeless. In addition, the Park Street
Market located on the North side of Kalamazoo
could donate food for large meals that the KGM
provides around the holidays. This is a great way to
get local businesses involved with helping the KGM
achieve their goals of serving the community.
ENGAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS: KALAMAZOO COMMUNITY
28
29. Storytelling is powerful. It has been proven that
people love to listen to stories, especially stories
where the underdog overcomes adversity to become
successful or empowered. For example, TED is a
nonprofit organization that is devoted to spreading
ideas, in the form of short (15-18 minutes) but
powerful stories. TED talks have exploded around
the world because of the power of great storytelling
and its ability to not only entertain,but move people
to action in an engaging way. Therefore, we believe
highlighting success stories of the individuals who
have used KGM’s services will resonate well with
the Kalamazoo community. KGM can create short
videos where the people who stay at KGM explain
their situation and talk about how KGM has
helped them become successful and empowered.
The “stories” can be launched via social media on
multiple platforms utilizing certain hashtags to get
them noticed by other people who do not follow
KGMonsocialmedia.Creatingashortyetengaging
introduction to what the video is about and then
posting the video will be the most effective way to
engage millennials with social content. We believe
a video is more effective in persuading a person to
get involved with KGM because the person in the
video will convey their story in a more emotional
and impactful way than just mere words on a page.
STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS: MESSAGING STRATEGY
In addition, we believe creating videos that highlight
the Building Hope campaign would be especially
helpful. KGM should create a video of women who
are affected by the shortage of women’s housing
within KGM and how having that expanded housing
for women and children would change their lives.
This could be related to the previous social media
campaign,but would ask people to donate specifically
to the Building Hope campaign.In addition,the post
could ask that they follow Building Hope on social
media to keep updated with the progress.
29
30. The KGM website contains a lot of great information for individuals who are interested in the
organization. However, there are some things that could be revised or changed in order for the
website to be much more effective.
STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS: WEBSITE ENHANCEMENTS
Consolidation
Currently, the KGM website contains many tabs
and layers that make navigation difficult for users.
We recommend that you utilize the “three-click
rule.” This “unofficial” rule of web design suggests
that a user of a website should be able to find any
information on your site with no more than three
mouse clicks. Users of sites often become frustrated
and will leave if they cannot find the information
they need within the three clicks.
One way to achieve this principle on the website is
to consolidate your tabs so that a user can be taken
any place on the website within those three clicks.
Visual Clarity & Tone
Users normally don’t “read” websites – they scan
them. When a new visitor approaches a design
layout, the first thing he/she tries to do is to scan
the page and divide the content area into digestible
pieces of information. They are looking for fixed
points or anchors that guide them through your
page. The KGM website contains many elements
and with so many of those elements on the page
(and a pin-striped background), it makes it hard
for the user to know where to focus the eye.
We recommend that you strive for visual clarity
by utilizing more white space in your web design.
The utilization of white space will help to reduce
cognitive load for your visitors, but will make
it possible to easily perceive the information
presented on the screen. We also recommend that
you change the pin-striped background to a solid
color so that it lessens the busy-ness of the page.
The tone of the website is a bit confusing.
Homelessness is a very serious issue, but the fonts
used on the website have an almost whimsical
and childlike tonal quality. We recommend
that you stick to fonts that match the tone of an
organization that is deemed safe and trustworthy,
such as Cooper Hewitt, Helvetica, or Avenir.
Also, the colors of the website could be revised
to better match the tone of the organization.
Currently, the website utilizes olive green with
goldish/yellow accents. Olive green is a tricky
color because it often has military overtones
for some people. However, blue is a great color
to utilize when you want to convey trust and
helpfulness. The color of the sea and sky, blue is
seen as trustworthy, dependable and committed.
30
31. Visual Consistency
A logo identifies a business or product in its simplest
form. Logos are the ways that customers or clients
recognize or identify your brand/organization and
sum up who you are in one single image. Currently,
there are a number of different logos for the KGM
used on the website. In order to for your logo to be
most effective, it is important that you establish a
consistent visual identity across all marketing efforts.
Maintaining a consistent visual identity will help
you shape how people perceive your organization.
Consistency connotes professionalism, purpose
and stability. The goal of a consistent identity is for
your audience to immediately recognize your brand
when they see your website, a business card, or even
something as basic as an envelope. This means that
those marketing materials need to have a unified look
and feel,which includes establishing visual standards
for your brand.
Developing a set of brand guidelines gives anyone
who works with your brand a blueprint to adhere to.
Your branding guidelines do not need to be complex.
You can create a simple document that details fonts,
colors and some basic styling information.
If you keep your visual identity and key messaging
consistent and you’ll effectively develop and
strengthen your brand, helping your organization
make a far stronger, long lasting impression.
31
32. Social Media is a critical component of an effective content marketing strategy. Maintaining a
consistent presence is becoming more and more imperative for nonprofit marketers.According
to Dave Kerpen,founder and CEO of Likeable,there are several reasons why nonprofits should
use social media, including:
Unfortunately, most nonprofits think that social media is all about them. It’s not. It’s about the
audience.Posts need to be relevant and resonant with the audience,and not be just another way
to push out information about the organization or cry for help or donations. Posts need to be
consistent, in the quality and frequency of posts, as well as in the“voice” or tone. This form of
marketing communication proves to be very successful when communicating with Millennials.
STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS: SOCIAL MEDIA ENHANCEMENTS
Facebook
According to a Pew Research Center Internet
Social Networking Study, 72% of online adults say
they use Facebook, making it the dominant social
networking site in the United States. In 2014, 95%
of nonprofits reported using Facebook for marketing
and fundraising. Here are five key strategies that
work well for nonprofits:
•Eye catching,compelling photos that elicit an emotional
reaction or inspire action
•Article links to outside sources that provide content
that is relevant and interesting to your audience, and
provides your community with news/information they
will stop and click on
•Sharing content from another Facebook page that is
helpful, interesting or fun
•Questions,brief polls,orfillintheblanksthatencourage
interaction and feedback with your community
•Impact moments, such as photos, short videos or brief
quotesthatdirectlyshowtheimpactof yourorganization
A good rule of thumb is to post once per day. In
addition, all photos posted should have a caption
explainingthephotosotheaudienceismoreengaged.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional
network with over 380 million members in over
200 countries and territories. It is where business
professionals go to network. According to Myrna
Greenfeld, Principal of GoodEgg Marketing, there
are several reasons why nonprofits should use
LinkedIn, including:
•Establishing a “company page” where an organization
can share status updates, job opportunities, news
mentions, new hires, tweets and blog posts.
•Encouraging employees to create pages that further
the organization’s network and reach.
•Positioning the organization as a“thought leader”on a
particular topic or industry.
•Getting or giving expert advice in LinkedIn Answers
or LinkedIn Groups.
•Helping with Search Engine Optimization.
•Helping with recruiting staff and volunteers.
Although KGM has a LinkedIn company profile
page, it is not fully optimized.
•Getting the word out faster and cheaper
•Driving friends of friends to participate
•Building a community of supporters
•Finding & engaging influencers
•Becoming a thought leader in your space
•Better telling your story
32
33. Twitter
Twitter is a social network that enables users
to send and read short, 140 character messages
called “tweets.” As of May 2015, Twitter has more
than 500 million users. Robin Stephenson of
Bread for the World, says being on Twitter is not
enough -- organizations need to interact with their
communities. In her article “10 Rules for How
Nonprofits Should Use Twitter” she encourages
organizations to:
•Follow back your followers
•Develop relationships (i.e., follow) with influential
community members, volunteers, media and other
organizations that share your cause or mission
•Interact with your community (i.e., hold“chat”)
•Acknowledge your followers (i.e., give thanks for
retweets and mentions)
•Be authentic
Instagram
Instagram is a platform that offers the unique
ability to highlight visual content. A recent study
by Forrester Research found that Instagram users
were 58 times more likely to like, comment, or
share a brand’s post than Facebook users and 120
times more likely than Twitter users.According to
Justin Rezvani’s article“Why Every Brand Should
be on Instagram,” content on Instagram is simply
“more sharable, easier to understand, and far more
universal than other types of content.”
According to launchSquad, there are several best
practices for having and maintaining a successful
Instagram page:
•Keep captions short, sweet, and to the point
•Tag other Instagram users who are relevant to the
post
•Use hashtags, but make sure to put the majority of
the hashtags as a comment under the caption
•Keep it consistent. Make sure that majority of the
pictures posted by KGM have the same look and feel
•Engage followers
The main KGM Instagram page should also
post images that pertain to the Building Hope
campaign and therefore consolidate posts to one
Instagram account. Having multiple accounts
from the same organization makes it difficult and
confusing for followers.
33
34. Social Media Scheduling
Managing multiple social media platforms may
seem overwhelming. Luckily, good planning
strategies and scheduling programs are there to
help. First, plan out how much time KGM has to
devote to keep up with their social media platforms.
Define the content KGM wants to convey for
the month, such as events, upcoming need for
donations,or volunteers for high traffic dates.Next,
create the content KGM wants to post to their
followers for the month. KGM will then be able
to place that content into an automated scheduler,
such as Hootsuite. Hootsuite is a program that
helps organizations track, schedule and manage
various social media accounts. It allows users to
schedule posts in advance and determine which
posts are posted at which time and day across all
social media platforms. It will also aid in linking
the platforms. The goal is to provide a consistent
message and image across all platforms.In addition,
KGM should check the feeds at least twice per day.
Creating engagement with followers is important,
but if followers are going to respond,they expect the
organization to respond to their posts. Followers
seek to create a relationship with organizations via
technology, so KGM should be very active in order
to create a better relationship with users. Lastly,
KGM should create benchmarks to measure the
amount of success certain social media methods
have created.
YouTube:
Media is slowly transforming more into digital
content than text. Therefore, video will soon
become the more popular form of sharing content
with users. Therefore, KGM should work to
create exciting and engaging videos on YouTube.
Posting these YouTube videos to Facebook will
also bring more of the Facebook followers to
KGM’s YouTube page simply by clicking on the
link. In order to capitalize the visibility of the
videos, KGM should tag videos generously, title
descriptively, and upload consistently. As an
example of a previous strategy from the YouTube
Playbook Guide, “Mark Horvath started In-
visiblePeopleTV to share first-person stories
of homelessness using only a simple handheld
camera, and his channel has nearly 13,000
subscribers and three million views.”KGM should
follow this tactic to communicate the stories of the
many lives saved due to the assistance of KGM.
34
35. Blog
A blog enables an organization to publish a constant stream of relevant, updated and
linked content to volunteers and the public at large. Creating a blog is actually pretty
simple. One of the best features of blogging is that search engines love fresh content,
and as a result, the likelihood of KGM to appear at the top of search engine results
increases drastically. Blogs also help show donors, volunteers, and supporters that your
organization is active and effective.
According to Rebecca Lindegren, there are several reasons why a nonprofit should blog:
•Blogs provide fresh content
•Blogs increase your credibility
•Blogs build your community
•Blogs spread awareness
•Blogs are economical
•Blogs increase search engine rankings and traffic
•Blogs attract prospective volunteers
The obvious opportunity is for a blog to come from the voice of Pastor Brown. His
“Words of Encouragement” are already published in the “Healing Waters” newsletter
and there is a “Pastor’s Letter” section already on the website. Some tips for writing a
successful blog include:
•Focusing on the donors and volunteers (it’s about them, not you)
•Telling stories about real people
•Using pictures
•Calling them to action (e.g., visit social media, come to an event, sign up for the newsletter,
submit a story/photo/comment)
•Posting regularly (at least once per month if not more frequently)
Writing posts on topics related to KGM’s mission can help to shape the way everyone in
the organization and community thinks the mission altogether. A blog can focus on the
impactKGMmakes,coverevents,orshowthepersonalsideof theorganization.Content
in a blog can be shared easily across multiple social media platforms such as LinkedIn
and Facebook, and can help KGM connect with people who share their passion.
STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS: OTHER COMMUNICATION CHANNELS
35
36. Newsletter
The current “Healing Waters” newsletter is sent out
six times per year to approximately 12,000 donors.
The current newsletter format and content embodies
many “best practices” in nonprofit marketing,
including making the focal point of the newsletter a
successstoryof acurrent/previousKGMparticipant.
However, as the cost of printing and postage
continues to increase, KGM should investigate the
viability of moving the newsletters to a digital format
that is distributed via e-mail.
According to a recent post on NonProfit Tech for
Good’s website, (http://www.nptechforgood.com),
despite the rapid rise of social media, more online
donations are made from a click in an e-newsletter
than any other source.Some best practices of moving
to an e-mail only newsletter format include:
•Prioritizing for a mobile design (more email is read
on the mobile phone then desktop)
•Limiting stories and calls to action to 5 or less
•Integrating your donate button and social media
networking icons
•Enabling social sharing
•Adding screenshots of videos
•Addingopt-instothenewsletteronotherplatforms
•Never sending the newsletter as a PDF attachment
Newsletters, like other communication tools, need
to be tailored to the audience reading them. Make
sure the content matches what KGM donors want
to read, not just what KGM wants to say. Keep the
design elements simple, clean and uncluttered.
Direct Mail
Directmailremainsthemainstayof manynonprofit
fundraising strategies. While KGM works with
a strategic partner, Grizzard Communications
Group, it is imperative that this relationship be
reviewed to ensure that the right message is getting
totherightpeople,attherightmomentandtheright
number of times, in the right channel.While it may
be cost-effective and convenient to use off-the-shelf
campaigns developed by a third-party provider, the
downside is that KGM’s unique, local story is lost
and the ability to tailor and personalize messages to
different groups is severely limited.
Accordingtointernaldocumentsandconversations,
it appears that the main segmentation strategy
behind KGM direct mail is behavioral in nature -- a
classical recency, frequency, and monetary amount
(RFM) analysis. This RFM analysis is also coupled
with a geographic segmentation strategy (zipcode
analysis). Unfortunately, RFM and geographic
segmentation strategies don’t get to one of the
key questions in nonprofit marketing: “Why does
someone give?”While we can assume that someone
gives to a particular cause or organization because
it aligns with that individual’s personal beliefs,
motivation is a key psychological driver to donor
behavior. We recommend that additional research
be conducted with KGM donors and volunteers
so that a deeper understanding can be ascertained,
and hence, more relevant and resonant strategies
can be developed.
Furthermore, one of the main benefits of using
direct mail (or e-mail) is its testability. Valerie
Kagan, president of VK Direct (a direct marketing
company for nonprofits) states that the number
one best practice in nonprofit direct mail is: test
everything. It is uncertain if Grizzard and KGM
test multiple messages across different channels.For
example,the ability to customize different visuals in
pieces, like using a photo of a women with a child
versus a photo of a more mature, single male could
significantly impact donation rates and/or amounts.
Every direct mail campaign should be tested. The
adage“if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it,” doesn’t apply in
direct mail. The point is to continually test different
strategies for continuous improvement.
36
37. The KGM has a talented workforce made up of
many staff members and volunteers. However,
effective content marketing strategies require time
and effort.It is clear that KGM is short- staffed when
it comes to fundraising and marketing efforts. If
hiring a full-time marketing or community manager
is not a viable option due to funding, there is still
an opportunity to get talented help. As previously
mentioned, there are WMU Offices, colleges, or
individual programs that could uniquely support
the mission of KGM through the development of a
nonprofit internship program.
Oneortwomarketinginternpositionswouldimprove
the effectiveness and efficiency of a coordinated
strategic marketing communication plan for KGM.
These interns could potentially help with:
•The creation of creative assets (videos, blogs,
newsletters, e-mail, or photos)
•Providing support in updating the website and/or
database
•Monitoring the effectiveness of website, social
media or other marketing campaigns
•Maintaining a consistent and interactive social
media presence
A typical marketing intern position could potentially
last an entire academic year if the intern is a good
fit. Beyond specific technical skills, such as excellent
communication skills and working knowledge of
social media platforms, the intern should have a re-
sults-driven attitude with a sincere desire to improve
lives in the Kalamazoo community.
STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATION: STAFFING
37
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39
40. Credits:
Dr. JoAnn Atkin, Project Leader
Lisa Garcia, WMU Business Connection
Christopher Heimrich, Research Assistant
Phillip Kary, Research Assistant
Ryan Kenny, Graphic Designer
Laura Mullen, Research Assistant
Matthew Smith, Research Assistant
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