How your nonprofit can prioritize and plan for marketing

Too often, despite best intentions, nonprofits fail to prioritize and plan for their marketing. There is simply so much to do! A core teaching principle of Do More Good and Nonprofit Hub is that nonprofits have one and only one purpose; and, that is to grow a supporter. Without support, you can’t fulfill your mission. As much as we’d love to take credit for this wisdom, it was actually the business guru Peter Drucker who originated this perspective. In this episode, Katie talks to Lindsay LaShell, the founder of Open Lines Communication and long-time teacher of Nonprofit Hub’s Marketing Bootcamp portion of Cause Camp. Lindsay shares how nonprofits can prioritize marketing even when they think they don’t have time or capacity. 

Marketing Bootcamp sounds…intense. Is it?

The short answer is YES. Marketing Bootcamp is a two-day, fast-paced exercise in understanding the importance of marketing and creating a marketing plan and strategy. Despite the intensity, the Cause Camp add-on has sold out every year, and the reviews are incredibly positive. 

This year, Cause Camp will feature Lindsay LaShell during a half-day intensive track where she will cover the topics of marketing planning and prioritization. In a sector where capacity, time, and funding are precious commodities, Lindsay will teach attendees how to evaluate opportunities and prioritize the tools and campaigns that will be most effective.

We Have Time for What We Prioritize

Lindsay points out that we always have time for what we deem essential. If marketing our organization is necessary, we must find time to do it well. She quickly points out that it feels like there are endless opportunities, and the sky is the limit, but nonprofits do not need to do it all. Nonprofits simply need to show up where it matters. Lindsay’s intensive session at Cause Camp will help nonprofits reserve their resources by getting honest about what is working and what isn’t. Once they have that knowledge, they can organize, plan and get buy-in for a more significant impact. 

Listen to the full episode for more insight and details on Lindsay’s approach. 

Meet Lindsay LaShell

Lindsay Dayton LaShell is a Marketing Activist and the Open Lines Marketing Framework creator. Her work is to advance justice, equity, and sustainability through access to excellent marketing strategies for women, indigenous, queer, or POC founders, B Corps, and nonprofits. Through workshops, speaking gigs, and consulting, she’s helped thousands of organizations reevaluate and realign their marketing strategies to be more empathetic, efficient, and effective. To see what she’s up to, follow her on LinkedIn or subscribe to her newsletter at open-lines.co.