How to Reach the Hispanic Market: March 2012

Monday, March 12, 2012

Be Attentive, Seek Attention!

Raising Community Awareness Through Nonprofit Organizations

oberholtzer-creative.com
/visualculture

In the typical hierarchical structure of high school, everyone knew if it was your birthday. Girls wearing “Birthday Girl!” badges and shiny plastic tiaras covered in mini pink boas walked around high school campuses with oversized balloons and a tray filled with amateur homemade cake. If all this didn’t attract attention or distract teachers from teaching, then you knew to have more balloons the next time around.

Interestingly enough, this isn’t far from the politics of non-profit organizations. To gain awareness, it all starts with the aesthetics of your displays and messages followed by the deeper meaning of your campaign, including jarring statistics. People want to be wowed by what they see and marketing a non-profit organization is similar to advertising clothing or other material objects. It all starts with seeking and getting attention.

Seek Attention

To raise community awareness through nonprofit organizations, the nonprofit organization itself first needs to have a solid stance, and have successfully running campaigns. The Latino Diabetes Association did so by partnering with The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. Together and in partnership with the Hispanic Federation, a Latino Diabetes Awareness Day was created for the first time on November 15^th, 2011.

Starting small is the best way get attention. Word of mouth has the potential to spread like wildfire and getting your immediate community involved will not only strengthen bonds through common interests, but will also be an attention builder. Attending local summits and gatherings like The White House Community Partnership Summits held in February 2011 can be a direct way to make your cause known and ask for help. The White House Community Partnership Summit used an innovative process called the “Open Space” to allow community leaders to set the agenda for open dialogues.

http://www.metro-studios.com

At summits like the one mentioned, officials and administrative attendees often attend, making your networking skills a prime necessity.

Working with your local call centers that focus on working with the U.S. Hispanic community will be an easy and efficient way to reach this dynamic market.

Start Small

As it is with any company from the ground up, a small investment might be needed. If it’s a new organization you plan to bring awareness to, it might help to build your organization into a brand.

http://www.highervisibility.com

It doesn’t cost much to get together a pack of t-shirts with the name and tag line of your organization. Volunteers will see the name and bring attention to it and others will ask about what it is. Simply putting your name out there is a great start to raising awareness.

Along the lines of building your brand, building a website will increase your community’s circumference into outer bounds and reach people with similar interests. Once the awareness starts to build, try to get free press! See if you can contact your local newspapers and piggy back on an article that can be related to your concerns.

In Summary

To garner attention and awareness for your nonprofit organization or through a nonprofit organization, the following tips might be helpful:

Do your research about upcoming events and summits
Have a thorough understanding of your needs and the needs of your organization
Build an organizational brand
Network!
Use resources like call centers to best aid your efforts and expand your community

Be proactive and bring awareness to your community, through your community.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Ask Away!

A look at popular nonprofit organizations in the Hispanic Community and how to engage with donors

jeffmoskovitz.biz

Team Building

Elephants are the epitome of a coalition like family structure that provides for each other regardless of their relation to one another. In fact, when a mother has a calf, a team of female elephants help raise the calf as her “baby-sitters” and provide enriching experience for expectant mothers while promoting togetherness within their clan.

freshtracks.co.uk

An elephant’s familial style of living is not far off from how humans engage with each other. Volunteering is a more direct form of help but the most indirect, possibly anonymous form of help comes through charity. The Hispanic community is active in their charitable endeavors but ironically are often viewed as clients or recipients of charity. As a result they are not consulted or included in various philanthropic and leadership opportunities (according to Hispanic Philanthropy and Leadership).

25 Is Just the Start

gbgm-umc.org

Persuading people to give to a charity should not be an act of convincing people to change themselves. The reason behind a charity and what it stands for should be promoted as a well-developed concept with tools to help persuasion take place. According to Hispanic Business, the following 25 Hispanic Nonprofit Organizations have topped out as receiving the most donations:

There are certain cultural characteristics that you need to be aware of in order to better understand the Latino frame of mind: degree of intimacy, level of interaction, social harmony, personal contact, and respect for authority.

There are additional variables that influence Latinos as distinct groups and as individuals: country of origin/heritage, language preference, generation, place of residence, socio-cultural level, acculturation, assimilation, and income level.

breakthroughcoach.ca

According to Latino Non-Profit Organizations by Frankie De Soto, Latino non-profit organizations here in the United States are like communities, they are created for the philanthropic purpose of helping Latinos within communities, both local and national in areas of education, employment, the arts, health and many more. What’s great about these non-profit organizations aimed at helping Latinos is that even those who have just arrived to the United States from Latin American countries have opportunities to be helped without the difficulty of both the language and culture barrier.

Where Does The Money Go?

onewritersvoice.com

The U.S. Hispanic community is as diverse as their culture with their charitable donations. A report from El mundo demando on Hispanic philanthropy and leadership found that 14.7% of the U.S. Hispanic population volunteer, and that number is rising. Donations are segmented 29% to faith-based institutions, 27% to community based organizations, and 26% to educational institutions.

Backtrack

Before following where the money is going, look back and see where the money came from. Why do certain Hispanic families donate to a certain organization and how do they have the means to do so? Do low-income families also donate? Looking at your target demographic and understanding the importance of giving to organizations is a necessary tool to further empowering your own organization.

Engage!

Provided now with the basic necessities to understand your target demographic, what can you do to engage with them?

eventslisted.com

Be direct! Asking for donations is the best form of engagement. Informing someone about why there is a need for donations is not only a sly way to start spreading the word, but is a good way for potential donors to connect to your need.

In line with engaging, connecting with the people and the culture, building relationships, and understanding your market also aids understanding charitable opportunities. Along these lines, make your organizational brand multicultural friendly!