Today I met with the public policy liaison from the Denver Department of Human Services. She's been around government and nonprofits for a long while and so has a unique perspective on what's happening in our community.
I asked the usual informational interview questions, but I knew I had a wealth of information at my fingertips, all packaged up in this little bundle of energy. So I asked, "What do we need to be doing to move the community forward?" She talked about the major issues: homelessness, child welfare and protection, public and higher education, transportation infrastructure, and welfare reform.
But her main message was this: market effectively. She didn't say it like that, but that was it in a nutshell. The public is blissfully unaware of how human-services and other public policy issues affect our community. Coloradans are notoriously low givers in a state with a relatively high income per capita. Whose fault is that? If you want to educate and raise awareness of and funds for a cause, what do you do? MARKET THE MESSAGE EFFECTIVELY.
Too many of us in nonprofits focus on the day-to-day and putting out fires without investing in the future. How many human-services nonprofits have development staff but no marketing staff? Governments and nonprofits MUST build the marketing infrastructure to support the necessary fundraising infrastructure. If not, we'll keep serving up the same meal day after day--would you like the crisis du jour?
3 comments:
Hi Erin! Just came by via Pajama Gardener and am happy to "meet" another Denverite who's a writer and blogger with social concerns at the top of her agenda. Carleen is indeed cool (as is her blog); I imagine you two have a lot in common with your awesome gardens and all the care they require. Good luck with your imporant work raising awareness here in Denver and in the blogosphere of issues that matter most. K.
Thank you for your support! I am so glad to be a part of the nonprofit and socially conscious community here. And speaking of small worlds, are you related to Mary DeGroot?
Hi Erin! Not the Denver Mary DeGroot who ran for mayor a while back. I do have a sister Mary in St. Louis, but I figured you meant the local celebrity. :) Happy New Year! K.
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