Building NGO Awareness Campaigns

By Brian Lariche (Lariche Community)

When I first heard about the talk by a Nan Aron, I wondered who on earth she was. Later, upon reading her impressive bio, I decided to attend the talk.

Nan Aron is President of Alliance for Justice, a national association of public interest and civil rights organizations in the United States. Nan, who founded AFJ in 1979, guides the organization in its mission to advance the cause of justice for all Americans, strengthen the public interest community’s influence on national policy and foster the next generation of advocates.

Nan is nationally recognized for her vast expertise in public interest law, the federal judiciary and citizen participation in public policy. She is the author of Liberty and Justice for All: Public Interest Law in the 1980s and Beyond and has appeared as an expert in such media outlets as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, The Nation, Vanity Fair and National Public Radio. She is also a frequent guest speaker at universities, law schools, corporations, nonprofits and foundations.

Nan’s talk was at the Annexe Gallery in Central Market. This unusual venue for such a talk has a steady following of NGO friends and supporters and a crowd of over 50 people turned up on a Wednesday afternoon to hear her speak. The talk was divided into 2 with the first half being an introduction and a focus on Awareness campaigns.

Nan’s message for campaigns on awareness was fairly simple. She gave a set of simple rules to follow. The first rule is that awareness campaigns have to be short, clear, and to the point. The 20 second rule requires that the gist of any message be delivered in 20 seconds.  The language used must be simple, without any big words.

Next, Nan emphasised that the message must be targeted towards a specific audience — there is no one-size-fits-all.  The message must be delivered in a creative manner, using stories and examples rather than cold hard statistics to deliver the point.  The campaign must also highlight the ‘negative’, illustrating what might happen to the audience on a personal level if a particular issue goes unaddressed.

Nan also discussed the role of the spokesperson.  She emphasised that the most effective spokesperson is approachable, inspiring,  confident, and is someone who walks the talk and lives the life that he advocates.  By sharing a vision rather than talking down to his audience, the spokesperson can best engage them in active dialogue.

It is important for NGOs to work within the system as well as outside it. The strategy of ‘helping’ the government whilst working on the issues is one good example of this.  NGOs need to collaborate and form coalitions for a greater voice and at the same time constantly readjust their goals to reflect the changes in society. The challenge in awareness campaigns, after all, is to reach the ‘unconverted’ and not only those who already agree with you.

After a short break, Nan went on to talk about fund-raising, sharing how she raises money for her own organisation.  Fund-raisers need to be vibrant and excited, rather than pitching a sob story. She emphasised that donors want to be part of a vibrant NGO, not a depressing one.

In fund-raising, Nan maintains, it is best to be clear on a few issues at the beginning. Anything less amounts to shooting oneself in the foot and destroying any hope of financial support. Her key points are as follows:

1. Budget:  The amount needed for any project or work has to be clearly calculated and justifiable. Asking for more than is required will mean that the NGO does not know its work.  Asking for less  means the work will not get done.   The target amount should precise, with a bit extra for contingencies.
2. Time management:   It is important to have a project calendar with milestones and deadlines.
3. Making it fun and a team effort:   There must be a fund-raising team who manage the process.  Otherwise, it may eat into the administrative work of the office.
4. Proposals:   The proposal has to be short –  more like a brief (4-5 pages) to get the donor’s attention.   A more detailed proposal should be available if requested.
5. Relationship:   It is important to develop a relationship with the donor, regardless of the size of the donation.
6. NGO board:   It is important to get board members who are part of good networks and are willing to work those networks to bring in the funds.
7. Think big, start small:   Set optimistic but still realistic goals.
8. No permanent friends or enemies:  Political powerhouses today may be out tomorrow, and people who are outside now may be of influence later.  Maintain relationships with all, and be neutral on political divides.
9. Ethical standards:   This point raised a strong debate in the audience with no clear conclusion. However,  knowing the source of any donation is important.
10. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good:  This highlighted the issue that everything cannot be 100% all the time.  With their often limited resources, NGOs must occasionally settle for less than perfection in order to continue their work.

Nan ended her presentation by giving the last golden rule. When in doubt, just ask.  This refers also to asking for donations. The worst a donor can do is to say no,  a result no worse than never having asked at all.

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