Marketing strategy is a must-have for any business – and mission-based nonprofit organizations are no exception! Especially in a digital world that moves as fast as ours does.
Here are five must-read books on nonprofit marketing so you can learn everything from how to make the most of social media to – you guessed it! – how to get funded.
1. Dollar Dash: The Behavioral Economics of Peer-to-Peer Fundraising
by Katrina VanHuss and Otis Fulton
Dollar Dash: The Behavioral Economics of Peer-to-Peer Fundraising looks at the success of some of the biggest peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising initiatives – like the Relay for Life and the Ice Bucket Challenge internet phenomenon – and applies the fundamentals of behavioral economics.
With a stated target audience of development departments and events managers, Dollar Dash aims to help nonprofits understand how to organize their campaigns around the basics of human behavior and volunteer psychology to leverage the popularity of and raise the ceiling on P2P fundraising efforts.
2. From the Ground Up: Digital Fundraising For Nonprofits
by Brock Warner CFRE
In an ever-evolving mobile world, digital fundraising is more important than ever. From the Ground Up: Digital Fundraising For Nonprofits aims to help nonprofit organizations build a foundation for launching and growing a successful digital fundraising program.
Meant to be an easily-referenced handbook, this nuts-and-bolts primer will help you understand how to implement the right digital tools for your organization, what it means to convert website visitors into supporters, how to leverage email marketing and digital advertising strategies, how to track your analytics and measure ROI, and more.
3. Responsive Fundraising: The Donor-Centric Framework Helping Today's Leading Nonprofits Grow Giving
By Gabe Cooper
Responsive Fundraising: The Donor-Centric Framework Helping Today’s Leading Nonprofits Grow Giving posits that it’s beyond time for nonprofits to rethink their donor outreach and meet the challenges and opportunities presented by an Internet-fueled increase in access to information.
This book proposes a three-step solution for development professionals to catch up, engaging more donors by applying the same kinds of personalized outreach we save for major donors to all of our donors – raising more money for our communities, meeting donor expectations, and otherwise avoiding the burnout so prevalent in our sector.
4. The Networked Nonprofit: Connecting with Social Media to Drive Change
by Beth Kanter
Over the years, social media has gained a larger and larger share of our collective attention – and it shows no signs of slowing down. Donors, funders, supporters, and our communities now have an expectation that our organizations will be present and active on one social platform or another.
And social media really does have the power to connect and drive change – as long as we wield its power correctly. In The Networked Nonprofit: Connecting with Social Media to Drive Change, author Beth Kanter leads nonprofits through a new approach to meeting their mission in an ever-connected world, leveraging our social connections effectively to create change in our communities.
5. Content Marketing for Nonprofits: A Communications Map for Engaging Your Community, Becoming a Favorite Cause, and Raising More Money
by Kivi Leroux Miller
If your head swims at the thought of jumping in, catching up, and learning all about content marketing on your own, Kivi Leroux Miller’s Content Marketing for Nonprofits: A Communications Map for Engaging Your Community, Becoming a Favorite Cause, and Raising More Money might just be the perfect antidote to your overwhelm.
In this book, Miller explains not only the what of inbound marketing for nonprofits but why it’s critical for organizations to jump on board the content marketing train. She’ll guide you through designing and implementing a strategy to bring supporters to you – from planning, creating, sharing, and maintaining your system.
