At JJR Marketing, we love marketing for nonprofit organizations! We appreciate how the values of nonprofit organizations drive decisions, and it is that appreciation that helps us effectively help them reach their audience with innovative programs.
Through the years, we have helped numerous nonprofit organizations expand their audience and donor base, and our experience has created a service niche for us within our agency. One of the first nonprofits we helped was the Sheliah Doyle Foundation (for children who have lost one or both parents to homicide, ages 7-17). Since then, we have continued to champion many nonprofit causes, such as Freedom Golf Association (which helps disabled persons discover the joy of golf), the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) (which actively supports women entrepreneurs), and A Safe Haven Foundation (which helps homeless individuals transform their lives). For these organizations and more, we help them continue giving back to the community as we amplify their vision of a better world. With public relations and marketing campaigns to gain media recognition, we embrace their stakeholders and ultimately increase support of their organizations.
In 2014, inspired by the work I saw the nonprofits around me doing, I launched my own nonprofit called the Fig Factor Foundation.
The Fig Factor Foundation is designed to offer mentorship, scholarship, and other programs to “unleash the amazing” in young Latinas, ages 15-25. It was my response to my broken heart as I looked about the city and suburbs of Chicago and saw so many young Latinas with unfulfilled dreams and barriers to success. Most of the time, it was because they had no role model or access to resources to help them become the woman they most wanted to be. I understood where they were coming from and wanted to help. Today, the Fig Factor Foundation gives them access to scholarships, mentors, and a mentorship program to help them activate their passion and forge a path to a life of significance.
The most beautiful thing I’ve realized working extensively with both nonprofit and for-profit organizations, is that they need not be mutually exclusive. They can help one another! How? Here’s a few ways that JJR forges initiatives to equally benefit the for-profit and nonprofit organization at the same time!
The Grand Donation
Making a grand donation to a nonprofit is a great way to get media attention and build lots of good will for any for-profit company. During the pandemic, Little Caesar’s Pizza promoted a campaign to donate $1 million in pizza sales. One of the nonprofits we work with, A Safe Haven, was the recipient of $200 of those pizzas. The story went viral,and both A Safe Haven and Little Caesar’s benefitted in a big way from the publicity.
Another one of our clients, a large law firm, made a sizeable donation to the Northern Illinois Food Bank on behalf of their employees. The goodwill and publicity they received for the donation went far in the eyes of their clients!
The Special Day
Imagine what you could do to celebrate a day that was dedicated to the mission of your nonprofit! It took some advocacy and hard work on our part, but for the past four years, the Fig Factor Foundation has sponsored a special celebration for “Young Latina Day” which has been declared in the State of Illinois on April 11. Our celebration has now grown into a bus tour which includes stops in a variety of Chicago area town halls to meet with officials who recognize the event. The best part is that the “Inspirational Bus” itself and all banners, t-shirts, etc. is sponsored by for-profit organizations who benefit from our work as well! We are sure to mention them in all of our marketing materials and publicity so they get credit for their good works, and we are ever grateful for their contribution to our efforts.
The Triangle
Another marketing niche we have at JJR Marketing is to help authors market their books. “The Triangle” adds a book author to the collaboration between a for-profit and nonprofit business. It works when the newly published book covers a topic of interest to the members of the nonprofit.
Here’s how it works. The for-profit business purchases a number of books through the author to distribute on behalf of the nonprofit organization. Often this is done in conjunction with an author event, sponsored either at the for-profit or non-profit’s venue. It’s a win/win/win!
We did this with a financial client of ours who produced a financial journal for young people. We were able to help them get it distributed to a youth-oriented nonprofit with their name on it as the donor. The youth in the nonprofit organization were grateful for the financial tool and we were able to publicize the for-profit organization’s generosity.
Likewise, we are currently working on a “Pay it Forward” promotion with A Safe Haven, a nonprofit which helps those affected by homelessness and addiction to transform their lives. The nonprofit recently produced an anthology of stories from their formerly homeless clients called HEALING. It features uplifting stories to inspire the human spirit, and the nonprofit is now talking to for-profit agencies to distribute it to their employees and clients, on behalf of the sponsoring author, who is the founder of A Safe Haven. All proceeds from the book donations go to the nonprofit!
Truly, with a little ingenuity and an open heart, a for-profit organization can make an incredible difference in the lives of those within a nonprofit organization. It’s a great way to help others, your business, and the community at the same time.
Wondering how you could partner with a nonprofit for your business? Call us and let’s start brainstorming! Working together, we can create a win/win.