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• CrisisLink (Arlington, VA)
• Coptic Orphans (Falls Church, VA)
• Muslim Association of Virginia (Prince William County, VA)

Nonprofit organizations play an important role in the operation of day-to-day activities in the United States; furthermore, they can be very sophisticated international entities that are operated by “well-trained MBAs and ex-businesspeople” (Strategic Marketing, 5). The Washington, D.C. metropolitan area is home to a lot of nonprofit organizations including three from Virginia that will be analyzed in this report: CrisisLink, Coptic Orphans, and the Muslim Association of Virginia. Each of the aforementioned organizations is unique in their respective missions and also overlap in certain aspects of their services. Throughout this report we will analyze how they fall into the following five aspects of nonprofit marketing: Customer Orientation, Strategic Planning and Organization, Developing and Organizing Resources, Designing the Marketing Mix, and Controlling Marketing Strategies.

All three of these nonprofits have introduced a customer-centered focus into their organizations; nevertheless, they are amidst different levels of the customer-centered stage. These variations in stages are a result of many factors including cross-cultural efforts, international activities, and years in business. The Muslim Association of Virginia (MAV) maintains a mosque and a host of services for the Muslim community in the Prince William County region of Northern Virginia. MAV is different from the other two organizations because its customers are the same group of people that receive its services, so when people come to worship and/or receive assistance from the community service programs they are encouraged to ‘give back’ by donating money. MAV relies heavily on customer research and gains information through surveys, board meetings, and question-and-answer sessions to identify how they can better serve the local Muslim community. For these reasons, MAV’s adaptation of the customer-centered mindset has been easier than the other two organizations; however, this very dual-integration of customer and recipient of service presents the lack of a true marketing plan. MAV publishes mini informative brochures about services and mosque information; in addition, it organizes community events that are more so a result of community need than an attempt to apply marketing principles. It can be concluded that the marketing success of MAV is a coincidence of simply serving the customer (the Muslim community).

CrisisLink is a hotline that is in place to serve as a support network for individuals that have experienced trauma, life crises, and are at-risk of suicide. It holds events that inform customers of new offerings and thank them for contributions – one such event is the Outback Steakhouse Luncheon & Fashion Show that took place last April. CrisisLink has a good organizational structure and has developed several marketing initiatives that contribute to their customer-centered focus. They use events to learn about their customers’ current perceptions about services and provide customers with community recognition for donations. Two of the major distinctions of customer-centeredness are that CrisisLink does not mechanically translate for-profit marketing techniques to their nonprofit world, and they don’t substitute marketing for organizational management.

Coptic Orphans is based in northern Virginia but all of its services take place in Egypt serving needy children and providing them with basic needs, education, and mentoring. Out of the three organizations in this report Coptic Orphans appears to have grasped the customer-mindset the best. They have several printed publications that contribute to better customer service like informative brochures for various programs, a DVD detailing their service offerings, and impressively designed annual reports. In defining the full marketing mix and its application to the organization Coptic Orphans makes customer dealings easy and fruitful.

The basic framework for strategic planning, the Organizational Marketing Planning Process (OMPP) is obvious in CrisisLink and Coptic Orphans but not in MAV. This is so because of MAV’s unique customer relationship (its customers also use its services). OMPP involves the completion of Analysis, Strategy, and finally, Implementation. For MAV the OMPP is, except for a few points, completed coincidentally through day to day operations rather than with marketing principles in consideration. All three organizations have specific mission statements that state their purpose and customers – they also have stated objectives and goals that are quantifiable. Examples of goals are the ‘Valuable Girl’ program at Coptic Orphans, the ‘Dar-al-Noor Mosque’ project at MAV, and ‘CareRing’ at CrisisLink.

Analysis of the external environment is important to the success of any marketing plan and the publics are well-defined for each organization as well as the competition. CrisisLink’s competition includes other national hotlines like Girls and Boys Town and local community service providers that serve at-risk individuals. Coptic Orphans faces competition from organizations that are known for sponsor-like programs aimed at impoverished youth like Jerry’s Kids. MAV’s competitors are other local area mosques and community centers, not limited to Islamic organizations since all other centers have the ability to cater to Muslims. While competition is obvious for all three organizations it should be brought to attention that all three organizations bear no hostilities towards competitors. As a matter of fact they have alliances and partnerships with organizations that offer similar services CrisisLink and Coptic Orphans are partnered with United Way and MAV works closely with other area Islamic organizations.

One of the reasons Coptic Orphans expresses advancement in the customer-centered stage is its segmentation and positioning practices. Coptic Orphans strives to help as many children as possible and would help everyone in need, as would the other two nonprofits, if the budget was appropriate – but the reality is that they cannot and they focus on serving Christian children in Egypt. This segmentation also segments their customer base, sponsors then become people that have a particular interest in helping Egyptian children and the even broader segment of regular good Samaritans. MAV and CrisisLink does not segment as accurately as Coptic Orphans but they also break down there potential customers into Northern Virginia Muslims for MAV and people in need of guidance for CrisisLink.

Because of their varying levels of segmentation each organization differentiates their marketing for different segments such as corporate donors, individuals, and employer donation matching; in addition, their customer-centered mindset has created brand loyalty that ensures repeat customers.

All of these nonprofits are successfully balancing their mission statements with fundraising activities; furthermore, they receive funds from donations and grants and revenues. CrisisLink, MAV, and Coptic Orphans acquire funds from the four donation and grant categories that are major individual gifts, corporate donations, non-corporate foundation grants, and cause-marketing proceeds. Individual gifts can be a big source of income, it comprised about 88% of income for Coptic Orphans in 2005 – and made up for 90% of income for MAV. Coptic Orphans earns revenues through sales of products and MAV earns revenue from membership dues.

Coptic Orphans opened an online store in May 2005 that sales various items from audio CDs to handcrafted ornaments. MAV charges its association’s members annual membership dues up to $90 for a family of four. All three organizations also continuously seek funds from government grants which are difficult to attain and many times vary in dollar amount. Coptic Orphans and CrisisLink participate in Combined Federal Campaign funding efforts, among the organizers are United Way.

Coptic Orphans has about 200 volunteers located throughout the world, CrisisLink has about 150 volunteers, and MAV has an ever-changing number of volunteers since they come out of the ranks of the local Muslim community when particular as particular needs arise. Each organization has a traditionally organized board of directors as well as paid personnel that operate in each office. Volunteers are always being sought by all three nonprofits and this is clear on their respective websites and corporate literature that invites helping hands. Volunteers have been with these organizations since their inception and provide expertise for newcomers; however, there is also inevitable turnover ‘ which is an accepted fact that the nonprofits are prepared to deal with. As a matter of fact volunteers are sometimes recruited for temporary positions such as fundraising drives and walks, manual labor, and in the case of Coptic Orphans the ‘Serve to Learn’ program is in place to send volunteers for the purpose of teaching English to Egyptian children.

Because all three organizations engage in activities that benefit society as a whole their products/services for the most part are intangible. The only case where the product is actually tangible includes the products that Coptic Orphans sells on its website. CrisisLink protects the lives of people at-risk of committing suicide as well as the well-being of anybody undergoing trauma or life-crises. The society benefits immensely from the counseling services offered by CrisisLink and in their printed collateral one is made aware of their accomplishments – the benefit is made tangible when publics learn the possible loss of income to the community in the case of a successful suicide. In CrisisLink it is made obvious that there are immense expectations in handling such sensitive issues – the comprehension of nonprofit marketing principles, particularly in social marketing, has contributed to their success to date.

Coptic Orphans attempts to drive continuing behavior changes and because of the social marketing fact the benefits of these behavior changes are difficult to portray and have invisible benefits. When one orphaned Egyptian child is sponsored and provided with healthy nutrition along with the resources to become educated the possibilities are endless as to where the boy or girl may go in life – he or she may go on to begin another nonprofit organization; furthermore, the costs on society of not helping impoverished youth can only contribute to more illiteracy, poverty, and the hopelessness that breeds criminal behavior and violence.

MAV provides just about the same services that the other two organizations offer through its community service center. When MAV does not possess the resources to help an association member it refers them to a trusted source for any given issue such as marriage counseling, domestic abuse, and poverty.

Communications that explain and call customers and service-seekers to an organization must be adequate and specific for different markets and consumer types. MAV at present does not make any efforts to market through any physical form of communication aside from mailing out membership renewal forms and reminders about upcoming dues. They need to design an appropriate marketing plan that sets adequate objectives for communications; however, it is not of great importance to form intricate advertisements as it benefits from the ‘automatic’ participation and donations from local worshippers and community members that utilize MAV services, particularly onsite at a mosque.

Coptic Orphans has an impressive array of communications ‘ as mentioned earlier they include pamphlets, CDs, and even informative DVDs in attractive packaging. Direct mailing efforts to secure a customer’s donations are processed by all three organizations ‘ it is the most common form of physical advertising. CrisisLink would benefit from a spot on television or even on the radio, though it should be known that they are already operating near capacity and their support hotlines are constantly busy.

The most important stage in successful marketing for these nonprofits is to gauge the success of their initiatives. All three organizations utilize a form of the survey to gain a better understanding of their successes and failures and estimate the level of target audience member satisfaction. Coptic Orphans sees the successes in young girls that become bright young ladies as a result of the ‘Valuable Girl’ project; CrisisLink realizes positive results when they counseled the traumatized staff of the Pentagon after the 2001 terrorist attacks; and MAV is slowly but surely acquiring the funds needed to build a one million dollar project that is the new ‘Dar-al-Noor’ mosque in Prince William County.

Recent developments in the nonprofit marketing world have been analyzed in this report and contribute to the advancement and appreciation of the field. These factors are the growth of social marketing, the increasingly international scope of nonprofits, corporate involvement in the nonprofit sector, and the importance in attention to the ever-controversial ethics.

Bibliography

Andreasan, Alan R.,and Philip Kotler. Strategic Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2003.

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