Why Fundraising and Public Relation Are Crucial to Strategic Planning - ActionAid - Case Study Example

How Fundraising and Public Relation is Crucial to Strategic planning Introduction Strategic planning is at the heart of most firms and is often affected by the creative measures employed during fundraising and public relations activities. The success of these activitieslargely depends on how well they are integrated into the strategic plan of an organization. Also, it can be influenced by how well the top management understands and supports the work handled by public relations and fundraising experts. Even though,these activities are often thought to be intrinsically linked, media coverage does not guarantee an increase in the rate of donations made by interested parties. To build a reliable strategic plan for an organization, it is important to understand the role of PR and how it can be integrated into fundraising activities. The essay discusses how fundraising and public relation are crucial to strategic planning and uses ActionAid China to quantify its major points. Public relations and fundraising encourage the development of the strategic plan of an organization through effective communication and planning. Fundraisers work hard to encourage and engage their supporters to raise adequate money to support their activities. Public relations reiterate and build on the key messages that are used by fundraisers as part of the coordinated strategy of the organization(Gregory, 2010). The PR and fundraising teams are expected to pull in the same direction while sharing information on a regular basis. The members need to talk to each other during the earlier stages of planning to ensure a successful strategy. Prompt communication through regular meeting encourages effective campaigns and improved relationships, which in turn build on the strategic plan of an organization. For instance, ActionAid China has an International Communications expert in their management team, who forms part of the Fundraising and Communications Directorate. The communication expert is tasked with the delivery of income and the visibility aspects that build upon the ambitious strategy of the organization. The Directorate is tasked with strategic communication activities and develops a cohesive identity profile as well as fundraising success across the digital and media platforms. Also, each fundraising plan initiated by ActionAid often includes a campaign communication strategy, which serves as a subset of the overall communication strategies of the organization. Its campaign communication strategies often describe how and what the organization needs to communicate concerning its needs and achievements. The communication is often targeted towards donors and supporters who influence the outcome of the organization’s fundraising efforts and the overall strategic planning process. Through PR and fundraising, organizations find it easier differentiating between donors and supporters. According to (Burnett, 2004), donating to charity can often be a one-off action that does not require a lot of emotional involvement. Their support could be motivated by personal experience, cause, a friend, or a colleague. On the other hand, supporters invest a great deal in the activities of an organization. They are capable of spending their energy and time in convincing donors to give money to the cause. When approached for economic support, supporters and donors often scrutinize the case study to discover signs of motivation before deciding to give their money. A reliable prompt is what causes supporters to support one charity over others. Whatever the case, efforts from donors and supporters should be recognized and responded to effectively. It is through PR that organizations can motivate supporters to fundraise for charity. For instance, in the earlier days, ActionAid found much resistance from the teachers in primary schools they approached to encourage funding for the poor. Teachers were busy people and couldn’t find time to support every cause of economic support. At that time in history, ActionAid was considered insignificant and often lost out most of the time to the experienced organizations in the industry. So, the PR and fundraising experts changed their approach and started the ActionAid Education Service that provided schools with a detailed illustration of problems faced in Third World countries(Burnett, 2004). Schools slotted these programs effectively into their timetables. The school children and teachers loved the new model and began asking how they could help ease the difficulties disadvantaged children faced. Also, the teachers started finding it easier to leave a few lessons to ActionAid representatives who provided handout notes and spread their requests to more potential supporters. Through such motivation, teachers began to request for the details of ActionAid projects and were keen to raise funds for them together with the students. Within a short-term, ActionAid was raising a lot of money from schools than they had done before. Also, ActionAid’s PR and fundraising team believes in the importance of ensuring that the public is satisfied with the quality of supporter care they receive from charity activities. Through its activities, the organization enables their supporters understand who they are and what they do in order for them to feel part of the movement aimed at eradicating poverty(Karp, 2004). They engage their supporters through surveys and focus groups that educate on proposed changes, as well as brainstorming ideas on effective fundraising. Moreover, the organization often organizes for supporter evenings where they talk to the visiting staff and provide feedback for their fundraising activities. On a day-to-day occasion, ActionAid uses the phone more to engage with the supporters in a less formal but professional manner. Thus, their turnaround times for quick responses are monitored on the basis of quality. The staff also undergoes supporter care training on a regular basis to assist in the delivery of their objectives in terms of recruitment, retention, and empathy. Through PR and fundraising activities, organizations can make strong case studies that encourage support from well-wishers and enhance the development of the strategic plan. There can be several charities related to a single cause or issue. Through PR activities and the use of strong case studies, supporters understand why funds are needed by an organization and the difference the funds will make in the society(Gregory, 2010). Case studies also give supporters a clear cause to respond to, and allow PR to demonstrate to supporters how their money will be spent appropriately. These elements allow supporters to feel powerful and encourage them to deliver meaningful change. Also, the powerful feeling allows supporters to raise money again and again. ActionAid is popularly known for using case studies that quote from the real issue linked to an ActionAid program or area of work(IIED, 2011). These case studies include a detailed description of the situation at hand, the challenges, and problems and how they could be be resolved. The case studies are usually written by the ActionAid’s communications staff for purposes of campaign and media work and are drawn on by the staff for purposes of their reports(IIED, 2011). The case studies also offer an insight into the work handled by ActionAid and are useful when used as illustrative examples during fundraising activities. The organization tends to use more case studies for purposes of knowledge building both internally and externally. But, case studies enhance more communications through media and influence efforts for strategic planning. Social media also influences PR and fundraising efforts with the aim of impacting positively on the strategic planning efforts of an organization. There are roughly 27 million ‘tweet’s each day, and people are spending close to 500 billion minutes each month on Facebook and related social media platforms(Asencio, Sun, & Global, 2015). These and other related channels can be used by organizations to support fundraising activities. However, for these efforts to be successful, organizations have to be ready to invest a lot of time in the careful planning of the responses to expect from supporters regarding messages, pictures, or case studies provided to them. Organizations must think about the route they would love their supporters to take in case they are inspired to make a donation or engage in a fundraising activity on behalf of the organization. There must be a linking point between social media communication and the supporters. While using social media, organizations often think about the visual elements of platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, or Flickr. Inspiring video footage or photo of the fundraising event often rewards those who take part in support activities and motivate others. One suitable use of social media by ActionAid to promote fundraising activities was witnessed just before International Women’s Day 2015. They planned charities that focused on the aspect of the work that involves women and their role in society. Thus, ActionAid used its blog to share stories of five women who were being helped to realize their potential with support from charity(Civil, 2015). The charity case studies highlighted women working as rights activists, teachers, and health workers in helping to improve the communities within. At that period, the blog was shared over 100 times on Twitter and Facebook and those touched by the stories were quick to respond on how best to help in charity work for the disadvantaged. In 2014, ActionAid managed to help over 100,000 women gain access to land, 230,000 girls finish primary school, 6,600 women build resilience in their communities, 35,000 women earn their incomes, and 180,000 women stand up against violence (Lowery, 2015). Success in PR and fundraising activities does not have to include sending press releases to your supporters at all times. Undisputed, sending press releases on supporters climbing a mountain, running a marathon, or rather sitting in a bath of baked beans for the purpose of raising funds is normal among fundraising organizations. However, with PR and fundraising tools, organizations spend time more effectively in extra activities such as sponsoring strangers covered in newspapers and sharing such information to their supporters(Civil, 2015). Covering such activities has the potential to reward the organization for the time spent on PR. Fundraisers also use individualized toolkits that enable them do their media relations. Through these extra sponsorship activities and media coverage, organizations find it easier including key messages, tips and guidelines on how they can contact you whenever they are touched to donate too. For instance, apart from organizing fundraising activities, ActionAid also runs a sponsorship program duped ‘Sponsor a child with ActionAid’. The organization then uses pictures of young children from third world countries to appeal for extra monetary support from donors and supporters (ActionAid, n.d). These measures are what make ActionAid different. The organization has been helping children around the world for over 40 years and is now rooted within many communities in developing countries. The staff members are local to the sponsored children and know the problems the children face and their needs as well. Such support brings out real change to the society that lasts, meaning that the organization achieves as much as possible in its PR and fundraising activities. Also, the organization has a unique way to inspire more support from the donors. Instead of preparing press releases and other similar PR materials for presentation to the public, they send out photos of children and their life stories, handwritten messages from the children, newsletters from staff members in the community of the child, and detailed updates showing where the donations are channeled. The one-to-one relationship between the supporter and the sponsored child allows for motivation and transparency. Organizations need to recognize the contribution of the supporters and donors through PR activities in order to encourage improved contribution towards sustaining the strategic plan of the organization(Karp, 2004). For instance, the PR department could organize a few events each year to motivate the supporters, and give them a chance to visit and socialize with some of the people they are helping. Events are strong tools towards strengthening relationships and will certainly make the next fundraising activities much easier for the team in-charge. Even though useful, events must be planned carefully by the PR and fundraising team to ensure the perceived objectives are met effectively. Also, the supporters often like feeling appreciated, but it is important to ensure their money is not utilized more on the event rather than the fundraising activity. Recognition is more important when corporate support is required in an organization. Businesses and individuals usually want their contribution to be visible through the public relation department, potential customers, and the local community. Organizations should be clear about their expectations and those of the supporters when using PR activities to recognize supporters. Otherwise, the PR activities might achieve different goals and objectives not intended by the organization. ActionAid is often at the forefront in scheduling events where supporter involvement is encouraged. The ActionAid staff often work with some of these supporters and use their power to build the influence of the NGO. However, one challenge that faces ActionAid is the viewing if supporters as sources of finance only(Hickey & Mitlin, 2009). Instead, it should visualize them as allies in the common struggle for justice and use them to improve the lives of the disadvantaged children in society. Fundraising are campaigning tactics are important aspects of the global solidarity of organizations and ActionAid should work more effectively to achieve more contribution from the supporters. More work is needed in the development of such approaches, but one good example is seen in ActionAid’s efforts to engage the youth as the potential activists without making attempts to raise support funding from them. Lastly, organizations should use PR tools to measure the success of the fundraising activities(Davis, 2012). But, it is not easy to determine how much PR activities have contributed towards the funds raised during fundraising activities. One favorable measure to use in determining the success of the PR department towards fundraising activities involves asking your supporters from where they heard about your organization. However, that might just be one of the scoreboards of a fundraising team. Moreover, the major role of PR should be motivating people to raise money for supporting the disadvantaged children. Furthermore, the only certainty is that the chance of success in the strategic plan of an organization depends on a positive and coordinated relationship between the PR department and the fundraising team. Thus, the PR department should concentrate on the most influential tools and incorporate them with fundraising activities altogether to enhance the strategic planning process of the organization. Conclusion In order for an organization to sell their services to target supporters, potential coalition partners, the media, and donors, the PR department ought to create an accurate, clear, consistent, and coherent description of the organization. The mission statement or message sent to sponsors should communicate the essential nature of the organization, the scope of work, purpose, target populations, and unique characters. A good statement from the PR department will help you gain cooperation and support from all the kinds of external supporters and allies. Furthermore, a visionary public relations department will help the staff members understand the bigger picture involved in seeking support from donors and supporters. Public relations are a beneficial management by objective tool that is used to guide the planning and decision-making process, based on the purpose, mission, and vision of the organization. Works Cited ActionAid. (n.d.). CHINA. Retrieved from ACTIONAID: http://www.actionaid.org.uk/where-we-work/china Asencio, H., Sun, R., & Global, I. (2015). Cases on strategic social media utilization in the nonprofit sector. Hershey, Pennsylvania: IGI Global. Burnett, K. (2004). Relationship fundraising : a donor-based approach to the business of raising money. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Civil. (2015, March 6th). Fundraising. Retrieved from Civil Society Fundraising: http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/fundraising/blogs/content/19203/social_charity_spy_msf_actionaid_and_plan_uk_on_international_womens_day Davis, E. (2012). Fundraising and the next generation : tools for engaging the next generation of philanthropists. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons,. Gregory, A. (2010). Planning and managing public relations campaigns : a strategic approach. London; Philadelphia: Kogan Page. Hickey, S., & Mitlin, D. (2009). Rights-based approaches to development : exploring the potential and pitfalls. Sterling, VA: Kumarian Press. IIED. (2011). How wide are the ripples? : from local participation to international organisational learning. London: IIED. Karp, R. S. (2004). Powerful public relations : a how-to guide for libraries. Chicago: American Library Association. Lowery, M. (2015, March 4th). Voices from the field. Retrieved from ActionAid: http://www.actionaid.org.uk/blog/voices/2015/03/04/our-top-5-most-inspirational-women Read More