There are 3 important questions your nonprofit should be able to answer. As your nonprofit grows, whether it be fast or slow, there are going to be a number of things that the community, or communities, you are helping will want to know. As an organization that focuses on the betterment of communities, it is your duty to answer the questions or curiosities of the people you are helping. Not only does this presents PR opportunities, but if not handled properly can be damaging to your public image and result in a lack of community engagement. As mentioned previously there are a number of important questions and curiosities that the public will have, but here are X things your nonprofit needs to be prepared to answer.
Who You are and Your Nonprofits Background
Though this seems like a basic question, the more you grow the more new people will be coming to you. You need to be able to say who you are and your goal in a fast, simple way. As you develop more programs or begin establishing yourself, it is important to remember your end goal and your nonprofit’s mission. Oftentimes communities support a nonprofit because of the backgrounds or mission supporting it. It is also hard to help if you are constantly changing what you are doing, no one will be able to help spread the word of what you are doing if no one ever knows what that is.
How You Are Helping Communities
Oftentimes as a nonprofit, you are going to be asked the question “how are you helping communities”. The first thing to remember is to not feel threatened by this question. Whether it is a community member asking you or a journalist. It can be a small project, or massive, one person or thousand. If you have done anything at all to make your community and its citizens better, you are doing a great job. Here are a couple of ways (or phrases) to handle this question:
- Small and simple things will bring great change.
- If even one life is improved, is that not a good thing?
- By creating a domino effect, we help the masses one by one.
A Success Story
The day will come when you have dozens of donors and sponsors, the love of your community, and will be standing on a stage giving a speech for your nonprofits gala. However, in order to maintain this level of recognition, you must continuously have success stories. The success rate is what helps keep a nonprofit alive.
Your goal may be good, but if you are not successful, another nonprofit who is will remove you from the equation. This may not seem like an important question, but for may it is. When sharing a success story, it needs to be looked at from various angles. Below are a few:
- Who has overcome the most adversity or which project presented the most challenges?
- Who or what project had the biggest turnaround or impact?
- Does anyone or project have testimonials of how it affected anyone other than the individual or community?
Transparency is Key
Whether they are asking about how you are helping individuals and the community, or a bad situation that happened internally, it is vital that you answer everything truthfully and with transparency. At the end of the day, the communities and people you help just want honesty in any of the important questions they have.
A bad situation (unless extremely bad) will pass. And the time will be even shorter if questions are answered honestly. As your nonprofit answers the questions placed before it, you will gain the trust of those you help and your community.
Blue Field Law
Now that you know important questions to answer as a nonprofit, if you are thinking about starting a nonprofit or have questions about how to get started, reach out to us here at Blue Field Law. Not only do we have a 100 percent success rate, but we help you with every step along the way at a flat-rate (no hidden charges!). We look forward to hearing from you!