Each year, Rivers Agency partners with nonprofit organizations to create promotional campaigns that may involve a combination of public relations, marketing, and design services. This is a great opportunity for us to give back to our neighbors, maximize our creativity and network with community members — all for a great cause.
When we work through a creative process with a nonprofit, we’ve found there are common themes that emerge when promoting nonprofit work:
Prioritize
When working for nonprofit, there are often many needs that the organization is seeking to address. Be clear about the objectives of a single campaign and address each issue one step at a time. Muddled messaging can reduce the effectiveness of a campaign.
Play to your audience
It’s a true pleasure to work with a client that is offering real solutions to social or environmental issues. The content of these campaigns makes it easy to communicate an organization’s goals with passion. Creating emotive and compelling creative is of paramount importance to drive interest and garner support.
Work efficiently and effectively
Nonprofits often work on limited budgets, which means efficiency is a high priority. This theme carries through in our for-profit work as well, but working in the non-profit world allows us to push ourselves to become more efficient while maintaining a high standard of quality in our product.
This year, Rivers has partnered with the Goathouse Refuge, a sanctuary in Pittsboro that houses nearly 200 abandoned or injured cats, and has seen skyrocketing demand in this economic turbulence. Through close collaboration with Siglinda Scarpa, world-renowned artist and proprietor of the Refuge, we have created a campaign to boost adoption numbers and raise funds for the organization.
Most recently, our public relations and design teams helped organize and promote a Spring Art Show at the refuge that raised over $10,000 — no small feat for this volunteer-run organization!