Stop worrying about the new tax law

Because of the GOP’s Tax Cut and Jobs Act approved in 2017, the nonprofit sector punditry is predicting individual giving calamity, to the tune of $12 to $20 billion in potential losses for the nonprofit sector.

 

If your individual giving dynamic is solely based on donors receiving a tax deduction, you’ve got bigger problems to worry about.

 

You may think you have a revenue problem. And you may have that, too.

 

Your bigger issue is a marketing problem.

 

Too many organizations:

• Mistake posting on Facebook for marketing.
• Generate endless content with no end goal in mind.
• Lack a current marketing strategy.
• Have no marketing staff, in-house or external.

The marketing function of any organization is to create a positive selling environment. (And yes, persuading someone to make a gift to your organization involves selling.)

 

In a new era in which donors no longer have a tax deduction incentive to give means you need to create a more important incentive — personal values and mission.

 

With the right strategy, your organization must focus on:

• Creating an emotional connection between what you do and your supporters’ beliefs.
• Educating audiences about the value of your organization, your business model, and your impact.
• Initiating and nurturing great relationships with donors, sponsors, and funders who care about your work.
• Building and supporting a community that shares the credit for your results.

The new year is still young. Start now to build momentum so that by the end of 2018, you have no worries about the tax laws.

 

I’ve been improving organizations’ marketing strategy effectiveness for over 25 years — across 70 industry sectors — and am a pretty quick study on how business models work. If you’re stuck and don’t know what to do next to improve or create a marketing strategy, I can help.