Another Way to Look at Cutting the Fat

Flickr photo:Roadsidepictures

Nonprofits are charged with the stewardship of our donors’ dollars, meaning we always need to do more with less. In these tumultuous economic times, we’d be well-advised to be just as thrifty in our marketing and communications and deliver a focused message for maximum results.

Chris Brogan wrote a great post on “Who Cares Advertising,” reminding and encouraging advertisers to remove “your superfluous words and claims.” Nonprofits should also take that advice and stick to the messaging essentials. Our products may not sit on store shelves, but we still package them in hopes of getting consumers to buy. So let’s simply answer the question: what’s inside the package?

All too often, nonprofits go overkill in their packaging, struggling to tell the organization’s entire story instead of focusing on the product at hand. By all means, make the information easily accessible for donors who want it, but don’t feel it’s all gotta be forced onto the box! Don’t worry- if they want more, they’ll seek it out!

And as Chris asks – what would you want to see on the package (for a nonprofit ‘product’)?