Mt. Vernon Register-News

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March 5, 2010

Non-profit groups explore marketing strategies at development conference

By RORYE O’CONNOR

rorye.oconnor@register-news.com

MT. VERNON — Representatives of non-profit organizations from all over Illinois came together Friday to learn how to build a support base and market their programs.

“I thought it was great,” said Carla Donoho, Director of Development and Communications of Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services. “It was very nice for us to come together and for them to learn from the ground up.”

The 2010 Development Conference for Non-Profits, sponsored by BCHFS, United Methodist Children’s Home and Peacock Printing, featured four segments.

The segments were “Creating an Effective Development and Communications Plan,” with keynote speaker Doug Morrow from Trusted Counsel in Savannah, Ga.; “Using Print and Direct Mail Effectively,” with keynote speaker Mark Smith of Peacock Printing in Mt. Vernon; and “Marketing Your Agency or Service,” with keynote speaker Neil Kuvin from Business Communications Group out of Louisville, Ky.

During the “Marketing Your Agency or Service” segment, attendees learned about marketing, public relations, advertising and how they could use each to increase the visibility of their organization or business.

Kuvin told the attendees that as many as 3,000 messages are seen and processed by any one person in a day.

“If you think you’re doing the right thing by running a bunch of ads, think again,” Kuvin said. “Find new ways to be visible.”

He mentioned the importance of image and provided the examples of businesses like IBM and McDonalds who “generate positive images with community involvement and public service.”

“UPS does a lot in the community in Louisville,” he added.

He said the morale of employees is extremely important to a company or organization.

“Don’t ignore your employee base,” he said. “Make sure you do some things for them. ... They become one of your most valued resources in telling your story.”

Donoho said she wanted to name the event “It’s not about golf, it’s about relationships.”

“Sometimes organizations think they can just have a golf scramble once a year and it’ll be OK, but you have to have the people,” she said.

She said one of the main messages she hoped was sent at the event was that organizations must have a plan, work by and with the plan and be flexible.

Deborah McKinney Huff, with the Hamilton Memorial Hospital District, said she found the event very relevant to her career.

“It brings all the aspects of my job into a focal point,” she said. “It’s about sharing and networking with like-minded people. It reinforces for me that marketing, PR, advertising and fundraising are all relevant whether in a large city or a small, rural area.”

Becky Whisenant, executive director of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Board of Jefferson County, said she felt the information imparted by the presenters would be useful to her and CASA.

“It really made me think about getting people to invest in our cause,” she said. “It’s very important to match with the donors and make them feel good for their donation.”

CASA has already done a few things to increase their profile in Jefferson County, she said.

“We are operating with no state funding,” she added. “We’re really looking to the community to keep us here.”

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