Resources

Resources to help tell your story

Overview

Tool Kit

FAQ's

Links

 

>> NEW << Is your nonprofit getting attention?

Nancy E. Schwatrz helps nonprofits succeed through effective marketing and communications as the publisher of the Getting Attention blog and e-newsletter. As president of New York-based Nancy Schwartz & Company, Nancy and her team provide communications planning and implementation support to a wide range of nonprofit clients. Click here to access her blog and other valuable nonprofit marketing resources. (8/25/2010)

 

>> NEW <<  Toolkit and much more

The good people at Cause Communications, producers of the incredible Cause Marketing Communications Tool Kit, share a wide range of other nonprofit communications resources on their website. Click here to access the toolkit and much more. And the Saint Luke's Foundation has a few copies of the Toolkit available to interested Cleveland-area nonprofits. Call 216-431-8010 if you would like a copy. (8/25/2010)



 

A must-see resource for nonprofit communicators!

Mashable is The Social Media Guide - a place for tips, how-tos and the latest information about social media for web users, brands, news organizations, marketers and charities. (7/28/2010)

 

Following us?

Are you into social media? If you are, then follow the Saint Luke's Foundation on Facebook, Twitter, You Tube and Flickr. Click the icons below or at the top of any Saint Luke's Foundation webpage.

 Facebook Link Twitter Link YouTube Link Flickr Link

 

 

Sifting through the clutter

Anyone with even a passing interest in social media knows there is just enough information out there to make even a social media expert feel overwhelmed. That's why thought leaders are so important -- those people who've proven they know what they're talking about and are willing to share what they know with others (often for FREE). Thought leaders like the folks at thunder::tech in Cleveland, who share a boatload of great info on their company website - click here to access. (7/22/2010)

 

Great tips from Nonprofit Marketing Guide.com

When you've been doing marketing communications as long as I have, you figure out who the thought leaders are and you follow their work. Kivi Leroux Miller is one of those thought leaders - she knows nonprofits and freely shares relevant information to help nonprofits grow and thrive. Click here to check out her free resources.  (7/20/2010)

 

Ah- ha's about social media

Earlier this year at a Council on Foundations conference, Foundation staff person Kim St. John-Stevenson served as a guest blogger for the Foundation and offered her thoughts -- via the blogsphere -- on why nonprofits should just "do it" when it comes to social media.  To read the blog, click here.

 

And if you are still wanting more information about social media, the team at Cause Communications has developed several documents that can help nonprofits plan their way into the social media realm.

(7/8/2010)

 


 

News you definitely need!

Twice a month, the team at Hennes Paynter Communications publishes the Crisis Comm & Media Relations E-Newsletter, a great online resource covering a wide variety of stories, tips and best practices. To access the web-based version, or for more resources on the Hennes Paynter website, click here. (7/6/2010)

 

Article compilation from PR 20/20

For a great collection of must-read articles on marketing - click
here! Thanks to the good people at PR 20/20 for this compilation! (7/2/2010)

 

Should we be on Facebook?

"We know we should be on Facebook, we just don't know how to figure it out." The good folks at The Shoestring Creative Group, an award-winning, full-service marketing communications agency that exclusively serves nonprofits, address that issue and more in a great post linked here. (6/16/2010)

 

The Powerful Design of Nonprofit Campaigns

Check out this great article from the Nonprofit Quarterly on how good design can make (or break) a nonprofit marketing campaign. (6/9/2010)

 

"Are we there yet?" Guide for Measuring Communications now available

Produced by the Communications Network, this guide was designed for philanthropic organizations and nonprofits that want to be more effective with their communications. Whether you are using
communications to instill healthy nutrition habits in a community or promoting a national energy policy, an effective evaluation strategy can help you keep your communications on track and use your limited resources effectively. (3/11/2010)

 

Hubspot offers amazing list of marketing resources

Anyone looking to tell their nonprofit's story needs to check out Hubspot for its vast list of resources --everything from marketing webinars, toolkits and whitepapers to an Inbound Marketing University for folks who want to pursue marketing certifications. Click here for more information.

 

Google supports nonprofits

Did you know that search engine giant Google offers in-kind advertising through its Ad Words program? It's worth checking out...for more, click here.

 

Tech Soup serves up wide range of resources

Technology served the way nonprofits need it -- that's the mantra of Tech Soup. Click here for more on the amazing resources available to nonprofits. (12/04/2009)

 

Making Sticky Stories -- According to Chip and Dan Heath, co-authors of "Made to Stick," sticky stories of all kinds, ranging from the "kidney thieves" urban legend to JFK's "Man on the Moon" speech, have 6 traits in common.  If you make use of these traits in your communications, you'll make your stories stickier. (You don't need all 6 to have a sticky story, but it's fair to say the more the better.) Click below for resources on how you make your story stick (11/30/2009):


Tips for Designing a nonprofit website
If your organization is building a new Web site from scratch or updating an existing one, Tech Soup suggests you may need to rely on professional help when it comes to design and implementation. The guidelines in Tech Soup's article (click title above to access article) can help you plan and design a polished, functional site that meets your organization's needs. We discuss some of the major phases of a design project, some of the lingo and jargon you'll encounter, and the tools and skill sets you'll need to set your sights on a great, new site. (6/19/2009)

 

Strengthen the identity of your organization

Local freelancer Debbie Martinko offers suggestions on how your nonprofit can beef up its identity and increase awareness at the same time. Click here to read Debbie's article. (4/30/2009)

 

Marketing the greater good

In a survey “Marketing the greater good in Northeast Ohio,” 47% of survey respondents track visitors on their website and 31% of respondents have streaming video on their site. Click here for the presentation with all the details. (3/16/2009)

 

How do you measure up?
Cause Communications has created an online self-assessment tool to help communications and marketing professionals compare their practices with the more than 500 organizations that participated in a data study.  Interested in learning more? Click www.CommunicationsEffectiveness.org (1/29/2009)


Getting your message out

With the economy in a recession, many nonprofit groups face an increased demand for their services. And they must meet this higher demand at a time when many of their financial supporters are cutting back. This tension is prompting many organizations to step up their marketing and fund-raising efforts. Now, more than ever before, it is important that they communicate effectively with supporters, the news media, and their communities about the challenges they face and the good work they perform. So what can your organization do to make sure these efforts are meaningful? Whom should you try to reach? And how can you stretch your resources to make sure your messages gets to as many people as possible? Click here to read The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s transcript of the online discussion from Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009. In the discussion, marketing and communications experts responded to those and other questions.

 

Putting the web to good use

CauseWired on Leading Podcast: How Nonprofits Can Use the Web to Create Real Causes - by CauseWired Communications. CauseWired consultants work with organizations to inspire others to take action. They also publish the most widely read online resource for the philanthropic sector: onPhilanthropy.com.

 

No more jargon!

The Communications Network's Jargon Finder can help keep your writing and speaking free of muddy words and convoluted phrases, so you can find out how to avoid using "bad words for good."  Click here to access the Jargon Finder. (1/6/2009)

 

Guidestar offers helpful tips

Guidestar, the leading source of information on US nonprofits with a searchable database of more than 1.7 million IRS-recognized nonprofit organizations, publishes a monthly newsletter chock full of useful information for nonprofits. Click here for more. (12/8/2008)

 

Online tool helps create successful campaigns

The Just Enough Planning Guide™ is a new online tool from Spitfire Strategies Strategies and the  Communications Leadership Institute that can help create “winning policy campaigns, issue campaigns, corporate campaigns or public education campaigns.”  More (12/05/2008)

 

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has launched The Knight News Release Workshop, a website that offers a step-by-step guide to thinking about, writing and polishing a clear and useful release. More

 

A new Resource Media guide shows how to create and manage an online newsroom, which can help establish your organization as a news source, provide reporters story angles, and attract traffic to your website. Download

 

Interesting in the latest on technology for nonprofits? Click here for the latest newsletter from Tech Soup.  Founded as CompuMentor, the nonprofit TechSoup has been working for over 20 years to help nonprofits in North America and around the globe obtain, use, and sustain technology to heighten their impact.

 

Like the Saint Luke's Foundation, the Meyer Foundation believes in the importance of good communications in helping nonprofits achieve their goals. The folks at Meyer have compiled a great list of frequently asked questions and associated communications resources.  For more, click here.

 

Communications consulting firm Spitfire Strategies has created SmartChart, a free online tool to help organizations create and implement communications plans.  Click here for more information.

 

According to Amy K. Harbison, Director of Communications at The Meyer Foundation in Washington, D.C., many nonprofits don't have the staff power to devote full-time to communications. Yet good communications is critical in creating understanding of your organization's mission and core values; recruiting and cultivating donors, board members, staff, and volunteers; and gaining the attention of the media and other key influencers.  To read Amy's thoughts and suggested resources for improving your communications efforts, click here. (added 7/8/2008)

 

Founded in January 2001, MarketingProfs specializes in providing strategic and tactical marketing know-how for marketing and business professionals in organizations worldwide through a full range of online media. With over 314,000 members and 300 contributors, MarketingProfs provides members with practical marketing tools and information in many forms, including articles, online seminars, case studies, workshops, templates, benchmark survey reports, buyer’s guides and thought-leader panel discussions. Updated weekly, the content enables professionals to stay current and effective. To access this great resource, click here. (added 6/25/2008)

 

Who is the audience for our stories? How is the internet impacting how we reach people to tell those stories? The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation "makes grants to help transform journalism and communities...to ensure that citizens get the information they need to thrive." Click here to access the Knight Foundation's journalism research and other publications of interest. (added 5/7/2008)

 

The McKnight Foundation features a Nonprofit Management Toolkit for Communications that provides a variety of resources to help nonprofits develop key messages and then share those messages with the media, the public, and policymakers.  Click here to access the Toolkit. (added 5/5/2008)

 

The Communications Network is another great resource for technical assistance on telling your story. Click here to learn more. (added 3/21/2008)

 

Is your good work going unnoticed? If the answer is "yes" (or even "maybe"), click here. (added 3/21/2008)

 

The logo is the most visible identifying mark associated with
So it’s in any group’s best interests to make sure it’s appealing
Click here to learn more about the qualities good logos have in common. (added 3/19/2008)

 

Marketing is something you need to do – and it’s something you can do. And if you work smart, with an outline in place, it won’t be the monumental task you might imagine. Click here to learn more.
(added 3/19/2008)

 

Are you really working to get out the right messages about your nonprofit? NonprofitPR.com offers tips, ideas and inspiration that nonprofits can actually use! (added 3/6/2008)

 

The SPIN Project, a communications consulting firm based in San Francisco, provides a great overview of Strategic Communications Planning -- from purpose through process to follow through. Additional communications resources can be found at www.spinproject.org. (added 2/20/08)

 

Click and download a great list of Budget-wise Communications Online Resources, compiled by Barb Cagley of SCK Design for the recent Champagne Marketing, Beer Budget seminar. (added 2/12/08)

 

Bring Your Brand to Life: Harnessing the Power of Remarkable Video Stories to Ignite Conversations and Spark Action, by Thomas Clifford, a Connecticut-based video guru

 

Nonprofit Resource Kit, produced by the Norfolk Foundation. Features information on a variety of topics of interest to nonprofits, including communications and marketing, publications and e-newsletters.

 

Communications Tool Kit, produced by The Rasmuson Foundation of Alaska . Don’t be deterred by the references to Alaskan nonprofits – the information in this toolkit can be applied generally to any nonprofit.

 

Communications Tool Kit, produced by The W.K. Kellogg Foundation. This kit was designed "to help nonprofit organizations use communications to achieve their" goals.

 

What Should You Look for in a Vendor? Cinecraft Productions in Cleveland offers tips to consider when "shopping" for a video/DVD/podcast or web/Internet vendor.

 

What's a .eps file? What is RGB printing? For definitions for these and other graphic design and printing terms, click here for helpful definitions provided by Tom Ruffner of Villa Beach Communications. (added 1/24/08)

 

Attention communicators: Do you really know whether your communications campaigns are working? According to a guide from Fenton Communications, you can measure results.  Proving Your Worth provides 10 ways to help determine the effectiveness of your communications activities. Click here to download the guide. (added 1/25/08)

 

Are you a Saint Luke's grantee with a story to tell? Click here - we want to hear about it!

 

To recommend a resource, click here.