Taylor suggested that organizations focus on collaborative projects, consider adding or improving fee-based income streams and applying for government and foundation grants.
“When we seem to have money, no one wants to work together,” Taylor said. “But when we don’t have the resources, we tend to come together and figure out ways of getting things done that can actually be more beneficial to the people we serve than going at it alone.”
Taylor sees a trend in donors and others demanding organizational effectiveness information from nonprofits. Marketers and communicators can provide valued skills and expertise here. By providing strategic communication on outcomes, they can enhance their organization’s standing and their own value to the charity.
“People want to know if you are effective in meeting your mission,” Taylor said. “Are you meeting your goals? I think it is important for organizations to share that information. People want to know if you are doing what you were established to do.”
Taylor encouraged communicators to keep pursuing media placements. Media might be more receptive to a story on how organizations are collaborating to solve problems in the community.
“When I talk to media, I tell them that virtually everything going on in society has a charity angle to it,” Taylor said. “For every problem we have, there’s a charity working to solve it in some way. If they want to, there’s a way to put a charity into every story.”
For more information on the BBB’s Wise Giving Alliance Standards, visit http://stlouis.bbb.org/.
A special note of thanks to Jim Judge, who directs the local BBB Wise Giving Alliance, and Michelle Corey, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the St. Louis BBB, for their long-term commitment to assisting local nonprofits and charities through this symposium.