Nonprofits, and their for-profit counterparts, are all seeking to raise awareness for their organization and mission to build and retain their existing supporter base while attracting perspective members. To succeed, they must deploy the right mix of messages to the right group at the right time. But unlike for-profit organizations, nonprofits are often faced with staffing and budget constraints that do not allow for robust integrated marketing campaigns. And with 1.5 million nonprofits in the U.S., the space is more crowded than ever before.

Luckily, nonprofit organizations aren’t known for backing down from challenges. There are several creative ways to increase the visibility of your organization through strategic communication. The following four tactics will help drive awareness for your mission by effectively communicating your message to the right audience under both time and monetary constraints.

1. Establish Consistency

Whether via social media, word of mouth or e-mail, your organization’s existing and perspective members can find you from anywhere, so it’s crucial that both internal and external messaging is consistent from channel to channel. Many nonprofits don’t have a dedicated marketing or PR role in place, so external language can be a schizophrenic mess to an outsider looking for information about your organization. Clear, consistent communication is the key to awareness, so before reaching out to perspective members and partners, it is crucial that you execute a clean sweep of all internal and external messaging. Internally, dust off your media kit and refresh any outdated language in your fact sheet, boilerplate and mission statement. Then, update your website, social media channels, blog, brochures, and any other public-facing marketing materials. Make sure your mission is clearly stated and that perspective members can easily find out how to get involved. Finally, craft three to five messaging points for all employees and volunteers about your organization and its mission. Display these talking points throughout your office or laminate them onto small cards to circulate the message. Whether running into a former colleague at the grocery store or at an industry conference, every staff member and volunteer should be equipped to evangelize your organization’s mission at any given moment.

2. Arm Your Army

Now that everyone in your organization is speaking the same language – and perspective members are receiving the same message – it’s time to cover some ground. Many nonprofits make the mistake of consistently sending the same outreach message to the same tried-and-true pool of donors instead of leveraging its member base and volunteers to reach an untapped group of perspective members. This active group wants to help – you just have to arm them with the tools to do it. Ahead of your next big fundraising campaign, create a toolkit for this group with messaging, talking points and clear instructions to spread the word:

• Create a personalized e-mail message with a clear call to action and donation link to your campaign. Ask you constituents to send this e-mail to their friends, family and colleagues.
• Create a sample Facebook post, tweet and Instagram post with a dedicated hashtag and link to a specialized blog post around your campaign. Ask the group to spread the word on social with this messaging.

Bonus: Take it a step further by amplifying your message with Thunderclap, a crowdspeaking platform that helps people be heard by saying something together, allowing a message to be mass-shared to rise above the noise of your social media networks.

The Power of Matching Gifts

According to one study by Dean Karlan and John A. List, simply announcing that match money is available considerably increases the revenue per solicitation by 19 percent and increases the probability that an individual will choose to donate by 22 percent. Matching gifts is one of the most effective fundraising tactics, so if you have a donor or board that is willing to match incoming gifts, reach out to them with a formalized action plan with clear goals early on.

According to one study by Dean Karlan and John A. List, simply announcing that match money is available considerably increases the revenue per solicitation by 19 percent and increases the probability that an individual will choose to donate by 22 percent. Matching gifts is one of the most effective fundraising tactics, so if you have a donor or board that is willing to match incoming gifts, reach out to them with a formalized action plan with clear goals early on.

3. Partner Strategically

Partnering with another nonprofit or similar institution is a great way to boost your organization’s visibility to an entirely new set of potential members. Partnerships also build excitement among your existing members and donors while alleviating some of the heavy lifting required to reach a new set of likeminded individuals.

Most nonprofits have a carefully cultivated e-mail list made up of donors, members, volunteers and potential members. For an upcoming event that you know will need a bump in ticket sales, consider coordinating an e-mail swap with an organization that complements yours. Create an e-blast with the event details and link to purchase tickets, and request that the organization send the e-blast to its full list on your behalf under the agreement that you will do the same for them down the road.

If you have more time, you can really get creative with strategic partnerships. One of the pillars of Lou Hammond Group is to foster and encourage client synergy, so we’ve had a lot of fun pairing clients together for events and initiatives to raise awareness for both organizations while amplifying the event to garner media coverage. We recently paired The Gibbes Museum of Art with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra for a “rush hour concert series.” During this collaboration, the symphony’s string quartet performed chamber music in one of the stunning galleries at the museum during rush hour, offering nearby professionals an escape from their evening commute with a 30-minute concert and the chance to explore the galleries before heading home.

4. Get Digital

Social media is one of the best ways to keep your existing supporters engaged and maximize your exposure to an untapped audience without breaking the bank. Simply getting a supporter to take action by sharing, liking or retweeting a post strengthens the chances that your organization’s information will be seen by their network of friends. Here are some new ways to engage online:

• Instagram Stories: No one likes oversharing on Instagram. Organizations apprehensive about over-posting should take advantage of Instagram Stories, a new feature that lets you share several photos and videos from the day without saving to your profile grid or feed. The photos and videos will disappear after 24 hours.
• Facebook Live: One great way to show potential members what they’re missing out on is through Facebook Live, a real-time broadcast video post that appears in your News Feed. Consider trying the feature at your next big event to garner attention for your organization and upcoming events. For expert tips on using Facebook Live, visit http://bit.ly/2h6HsOZ.
• The gamification of philanthropy is hotter than ever, and Twitter is the perfect forum to encourage friendly competition among your followers to raise money and awareness for your organization. Consider challenging your followers to tag a friend during a fundraising campaign with a link to donate for a chance to win a prize or membership.

Establishing consistent messaging, leveraging your members and volunteers, partnering with likeminded organizations and trying out new social media tools are just a few ways to boost your organization’s message. Before hitting the ground running with these tools, it’s important to benchmark the current status of your organization and set clear goals to gauge the effectiveness of any new outreach initiatives. Then, make sure you’re closing the loop with your constituents. Your board members, donors, members and volunteers have invested their time and money toward your organization’s mission, so it’s important to report back what’s working and what’s not. This transparency builds trust among the group while spurring excitement for the future of your organization’s mission.