Raising funds for non-profit cultural organisations

13 Oct, 2017 - 00:10 0 Views

eBusiness Weekly

Non-profit cultural organisations operating in the business sector with no objective of gaining profit are funded financially through sponsors. However, raising these funds can be challenging as it requires good strategies that are able to draw the attention of potential sponsors.
Non-profit organisations have to sort a means of survival as not every organisation will be interested in their works enough to fund them. Raising funds involves building relationships that are able to last longer.
It is also about creating connections between donors and the cultural organisations.
For an organisation to be able to raise funds and have an insurance of survival there is need of certain marketing strategies to be used. It is also important to take note of the targeted sponsors, and also the organisation has to know what it is willing to offer its potential sponsors.
A non-profit organisation can be defined as an association or co-operative and or any other voluntary organisation formed to further cultural, educational and or public service goals.
It can operate as a for-profit business or as a non-profit organisation. As a non-profit organisation, for instance a gallery, it will rely on donations rather than selling artwork.
Funding is provided by their trustees, or other organisation who do not usually expect repayment. This will be where gallery fundraising is critical, as the gallery will need funding, community support and good overall marketing strategies in order to be successful.
The insurance of survival in not for profit organisation lies in the hands of the sponsors as they are their source of fund. It is important to know as an organisation what you have to offer to any potential sponsors.
The organisation has to question itself on what do the sponsors get out of funding the organisation. The agreement may include giving the sponsor an exhibition or placing their logo on event promotional banners if the organisation so happens to host an event. With this sponsors are likely to sponsor any of the organisation’s events.
Organisations that are interested in the specific artworks being exhibited are likely to sponsor an organisation as it falls in context with the organisation’s objective.
Social media is a great tool of gaining sponsors from potential business practitioners as it reaches a wider audience in a virtual space.
Tagging on different interested or potential business practitioners social media platforms such as Facebook, twitter and Instagram will increase the chance of long term good business relations.
It shows that the organisation is interested in collaborating with them not only in the present but also in the future. It is also important to tag the sponsors of the event hosted by the organisation in any post relating to them.
Provided the non-profit cultural organisation is not yet well established, it is wise to form a partnership with well-established organisations.
If the organisation does not have enough brand recognition to get sponsors on their side then outreaching to other organisations within the same industry to form some kind of joint event is the best choice.
This way, potential sponsors will note that you are partnered with an organisation that has a better reputation than your own and therefore, may be able to fund the organisation.
McCarthy (2017) states that an organisation should also be willing to be associated with potential sponsors. The key is to be effective in communication as this will show in clear terms what makes your organisation worth the sponsor’s funding.
Good communication and approaching of potential sponsors is done after a research you intended on reaching out to.
The organisation can study any current events the sponsor may be going through and offer to partner in the event.
This assures sponsors that your organisation is able to provide enough publicity for their new product and acquire a new audience base.
It is also important as an organisation to target the rightful potential sponsors. These are sponsors who are likely to be interested in your line of business.
This can be done by posting relevant posts on social media that link with the sponsor’s field of work and also tagging them in events an organisation is likely to be hosting.
Sharing some of their social media posts with your own audience can be another way of trying to raise funding as it is helpful in showing your interest in your sponsor’s works. It is also important to invite potential sponsors to events and also acknowledging their input which could have been helpful during the past as this will promote the chance of them funding again.

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