How well
resourced is your club’s promotional department?
In addition to stepping into the role of District
Membership & PR Chair in July, I was also appointed to the same role in my
own club. One of my priorities this year at Edwardstown has been to complete an
audit of our promotional resources, and I found there were a few areas that
needed attention. I want to give a bouquet to the club’s board members, because
they have supported every request I have made 100%. There has been no
procrastination, I’ve just been told, “go and organise it”. In the last six
months we have had new club fliers printed, a new pull-up banner, new display
boards, new pens and new promotional bags.
What were the bags for? I’m glad you asked! In
December we participated in a local “Welcome to Australia” event where new
arrivals were invited to participate in sports and meet local community groups
in an effort to better integrate into the community. It was a great opportunity
to tell our Rotary story. OK – we cooked some sausages as well! It crossed my
mind that everyone attending would end up with fliers and handouts from the
participating groups, and they might appreciate a bag from our club to take
away with them. No-one ever throws out these bags, they end up getting taken to
the supermarket or given to friends, and as a result, the Rotary wheel gets
seen over and over again.
But I know there are many clubs where these decisions
appear a lot harder to make, because these things all cost money. Try not to
choke on your cornflakes when I say this, but it’s OK to responsibly spend a
portion of funds you raise to promote your club. I know this concept
may seem foreign to many Rotarians, but in fundraising circles, it is
completely normal.
When we conduct our fundraising initiatives such as
sausage sizzles, we obviously have to deduct expenses such as sausages, bread,
sauce, gloves, etc from our takings before we can declare a profit and pass on
those funds. Everyone understands that. The point I’m trying to make is that promotion
and advertising should be considered a legitimate expense.
According to the American Institute of Philanthropy, it
is considered “reasonable for most charities” if 60% of the total funds raised
are spent on charitable programs, with the remaining percentage being spent on
fundraising and general administration (I’m not necessarily endorsing that
ratio). Many of the most recognisable charities worldwide spend over 10% of total
funds raised on promoting themselves: including Doctors Without Borders
(11.8%), World Wildlife Fund (20%), World Vison (10.2%), Oxfam (15%), PETA
(14.9%) and Greenpeace (10.3%)*. It makes complete sense to me, because if they
don’t promote themselves, how do they expect to raise the funds they need to
pay for the work they do? Who do you think pays for the TV advertising you see
for these charities? The donors of course!
Likewise, if we don’t promote ourselves, how do we
expect to attract the members we need to do the work we do?
Our members already pay subscriptions (to cover
administrative costs for the running of our clubs, district and Rotary
International). It’s not reasonable to ask members to pay again out of their
own pocket to promote their club to the wider community. Money spent on club
promotion needs to be seen as an investment, an investment that will bring us a
return. By all means be responsible in your spending, but be innovative, and be
prepared to invest in the promotion of Rotary and your club.
*source: www.charitynavigator.org
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