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Centronía Memo To: Cristian Barrera, Diane Gardner From: Ravi Vaswani, Natalie Wood, Monica Buitrago Date: 8/12/2017write out date Re: Consultation for Fundraising Strategies Client Selection: Our group was introduced to your organization through our classmate Ravi Vaswani who also volunteers his time with your group as a tutor. After hearing of the great work and the positive experience Ravi has had with Centronía, the class members with an interest in community work gravitated towards this project. Organizational Challenge: Lack of funding for the Family Book Club program has decreased its ability to fully serve neighborhoods throughout the DC area. This decrease in funding has created an issue for the book club causing a strain in outreach and staffing limitations, both internally and externally. The Family Book Club is working with finite resources insufficient to execute the clubs as intended. Fewer communities will be served and fewer families will be reached. Research: Interviews with the Community Education and Engagement Department Family Literacy Program Coordinator, the Family Book Club staff and volunteers have helped us understand the current challenges the book clubs are facing. Areas of focus are the web page, collateral materials and current funders. Through these primary interviews, we were able to uncover areas for improvement. Recommendations: A change in marketing strategy is essential in highlighting the other facets of the program and may expose the Family Book Club to additional funding opportunities. The Centronía Family Book Club currently has two funding sources, indicating a need for additional grant options. The book club does not currently have a brochure but has flyers. A brochure is necessary to market and showcase the work and experience of the Family Book Clubs. Our group is prepared to assist in designing a brochure, providing a list of funding options, developing marketing strategies, and giving website recommendations. Family Book Clubs Consulting Project Presented to: Christian Barrera and Diane Gardner Prepared by: Ravi Vaswani, Natalie Wood, Monica Buitrago Monday, April 18, 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i CLIENT PROFILE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 SWOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-3 SELECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 RESEARCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-5 FUNDING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 COMPETITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 REACH OUT AND READ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-9 MARKETING STRATEGIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10-11 MARKETING THE BOOK CLUB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-14 DELIVERABLES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 DEVELOPING A BROCHURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 CENTRONIA BROCHURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-20 NONPROFIT DONORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21-23 ALTERNATE FUNDRAISING STRATEGIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-26 GRANTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27-31 WEBSITE SUGGESTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 EXPENDITURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 APPENDIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35-39 WORKS CITED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Paginate properly whenyou print this out for client Executive Summary As you know, the Family Book Clubs are currently experiencing a lack of funding due to the economic status of the nation. Your organization must develop strategies to cope with this decrease in funding in order to remain successful. While consulting with Centronía and the Family Book Club directors, we have gained a sense of your mission and have come to understand the toll that low funding has taken on your organization. At the start of our report, we analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the Family Book Club. Through this analysis, we have come to the conclusion that your weakness is a lack of marketing strategies. Your strengths include your diverse mission and your prime location. As a group, we maintained primary research through interviews and site visits. We were able to speak with Maria Silva and Diane Gardner about the current struggles the Family Book Clubs are facing due to their financial state. Maria and Diane both described the need for resources to maintain a successful atmosphere at each book club meeting. Centronía conducted a survey about the Family Book Clubs in September of 2009. This survey allowed our group to understand the reasons for joining the book club, along with many different skills that will be developed through participation in the club. We developed many deliverables for your company to implement in order to achieve an increase in funding. Our deliverables include: Website Suggestions Brochure Grant Listing Marketing/Fundraising Strategies We hope you find these techniques and suggestions helpful in your quest to expand the outreach of the Family Book Clubs. i Client A change in marketing strategy is essential in highlighting the other facets of the program and may expose the Family Book Club to additional funding opportunities. The Centronía Family Book Club program currently has two funding sources, indicating a need for additional grant options. The operation and staffing of the club is demonstrated below: Literacy Manager FBC Coordinator FBC Coordinator FBC Coordinator FBC FBC FBC FBC Coach Coach Coach Coach Literacy Manager oversees the strategic plans for the year and implements policy. The Literacy Manager reports to the Executive Director. Under general supervision, the manager develops and supervises the literacy program for adults, children and special needs populations to meet the educational demands of the community. FBC Coordinator trains and works with the FBC coaches. The Coordinator tracks the book club meetings and ensures proper execution of the Family Book Club Program. The Coordinator also supplies coaches with books and necessary materials. Under good funding conditions, it is ideal to have 3-4 Coordinators. Presently there is only 1. FBC Coach promotes meetings and invites families to attend. The Coach hosts the club meetings with a capacity of up to 10 attendees. The Coach is responsible for outreach and confirms sites for meetings. The Coach also coordinates club meetings and recruits potential coaches. Under good funding conditions, it is ideal to have 30 coaches. Presently there are 12. Page 1 SWOT Analysis: Strengths Weaknesses Large membership and good management Dedication to mission Location in Washington D.C. Poor web presence High operating cost ($5000/club) Poor marketability Opportunities Threats Affluent population in DC Close proximity to foundations Unique mission Competition for funding Continual need for support Future budget cuts Strengths Centronía has a large membership and a strong community presence. Your management is well-informed about the community’s needs. You are dedicated to your mission statement and to the people you serve. Washington DC has a large multicultural presence, and the recent influx of immigrants makes the program necessary. Weaknesses The program has a poor web presence, lacking an informational web page. In addition, its marketability needs to be improved. A Family Book Club weakness would be the need to be fully funded. Each club cost approximately $5000 to operate, and this estimate does not include administrative costs. The full encompassing influence of the book club has been under-rated, and, additionally, self-funding has not been fully explored. Opportunities Washington DC has an affluent population, and the city is politically oriented. There are many foundations in the area, from which you can acquire resources. Furthermore, the Family Book Club concept is unique and different from what other organizations are doing. Threats There are many non-profit organizations that are competing for funding, but there is not enough funding for all of them. If you do not acquire more funding, the program cannot exist and be effective. There could be more budget cuts in the future that would further inhibit your success. Page 2 Summary: The Family Book Club is an integral program that has helped cement and create a sense of community. Centronía’s programs, especially the Family Book Club, have served many families in the community. Although the focus is on reading and supplemental education for pre-kindergarten children, parents and children gain valuable skills that can be transplanted into the future success of their communities. In order for you to continue this success and expand in the future, we will be working to pursue new fundraising opportunities. We will also work with you to improve your marketing strategy by maximizing exposure on your website and advertising the multitude of services and skills the book club provides to enrolled families. As a team we will work to showcase Centronía’s unique and essential approach to community building. Page 3 Selection: Working with your organization was a beneficial choice for our group in a few ways. Being able to help increase the funding of this program would directly benefit the less fortunate community. Not only are we improving funding, but we are also giving children and parents the chance to learn how to read. In addition to helping others, we are also gaining experience in community work. We are a group of three students at the University of Maryland, who are well aware of the personal benefits reading can bring. Without knowing how to read, none of us would be as successful as we are today. Finally, a member of our group volunteers at Centronía, so we would have accessibility to the directors of the program. Research Interview with Maria Silva As a group, we met with Maria Silva and got the opportunity to interview her about the Family Book Club. This interview was very informative, and it allowed our group to understand the importance of the book club and the benefits of reading. Maria started off by explaining how most people associate reading with being a chore. Most parents use reading to occupy a child or to promote bed time. These associations create a negative connotation on the word reading. Ms. Silva described how being a part of the family book club releases the negative connotation on the word book or reading and allows children and adults to think of a “book as a friend.” Maria also went over the basic layout of the family book club. She explained that they separate the members by age groups. The children can be as young as six weeks old. At the beginning of the meeting, they read a book aloud then they do a comprehensive activity. Each member of the book club receives a book at the close of the meeting. Children are not the only ones who benefit from the Family Book Club. Maria described the Family Book Club to be “a very helpful resource for both of them.” The parents and children are learning in a bilingual atmosphere. This aspect of the club helps to develop effective communication skills. Parents are also exposing their children to different feelings. Not only are books about sharing, “they have hidden meanings and can also display family issues”. Parents are taught to use these books to help their children develop psychologically. Being exposed to situations that can cause different feelings to arise allow parents and children to learn how to help each other during these situations, and also how to deal with the feelings they experience. Maria Silva is a book club leader who also runs a daycare. Her daycare is filled with books, but she stressed the fact that she can never have enough books. The importance of funding was very evident in the interview. Ms. Silva explains how having a different variety of books helps the parents teach their children at home when she isn’t there to oversee. She also explained the resources she could buy to compliment her curriculum if she had the funding. Page 4 Interview with Diane Gardnersince you have addressed this project to DG, I question the way you refer to her here—You need to be addressing her. “You told us…” We met Diane Gardner who is most hands on with the Family Book Clubs program. Diane has worked with the Family Book Club (FBC) since 2006 as a Parent Family Book Club Coach. She later assumed the role as FBC Coordinator of the literacy project, supervising 12 to 30 Family Book Clubs in various wards throughout the DC area. The Centronía Literacy Department, works as a team to promote literacy and language development of children and parents/guardians. Diane has worked with the project from the beginning to present. Ms. Gardner is aware of the challenges and successes of the program as a trainer, coordinator, and coach. The Family Book Club work is done with a focus on building pre-literacy skills and strengthening parental literacy skills. Current Study Findings The survey you conducted in September of 2009 was very helpful in providing statistics to support your program. The data you found would be appropriate to include on your website or in any literature you have describing the program. The survey provided information about many aspects of the book club, including facts about members and reasons for joining the club. They also asked one question twice. This question determined the level of reading involvement in the home, and it was asked before the first session and after the last session in order to show the increase of reading in homes. According to the survey, the top three reasons for joining the book club were to get free books to take home, to learn how to read for children, and to enjoy an activity with children. Also, the survey showed that 100% of children displayed at least noticeable improvement in attention and listening skills by the end of the last session. In addition, families increased story telling by 26%, increased reading in the home by 17%, and increased reading picture books by 20% over the course of 9 meetings. Your survey also showed the development of 13 skills seen in the children. All of this data will help you in persuading potential donors that the FBC is not just a book club. Incorporate this data anywhere possible to show the realm of your mission and the effectiveness of your program. Page 5 Current Funding Strategies Your program normally depends on federal funding for most of its monetary income. You also apply for grants and receive some donations. The family book clubs have experienced a decrease in funding due to the economic crisis that the nation is experiencing. Insufficient funding has created an issue for the book clubs, causing a decrease in your outreach. You have also been left with limited resources to distribute to club members. Fewer families will be reached, and they will not be able to take advantage of the opportunity of having a family book club in their community. The well being of the communities that Centronía works in and the educational advancement of the children in those communities are being compromised. Federal and local budget cuts have strained funding for this program forcing you to seek out other private donors and grants. A change in your marketing strategy to highlight the other facets of your program may alleviate this problem, as the program has a broader reach and impact than what is portrayed. Competition among Nonprofit Organizations The nonprofit organization landscape is growing quickly, and with this growth, competition between organizations for external foundation funding is also becoming much greater. In the last four decades, the number of nonprofit organizations has increased from 300,000 organizations in 1967 to more than 1.5 million organizations in 2010 (NCCS 2010). This trend suggests that competition will only grow in the near future, making it very hard for nonprofit organizations to convince potential donors that their method or strategy is superior to those of other organizations. Barman outlines a strategy of emphasizing what makes a nonprofit unique in comparison to other similar organizations. She says that establishing this differentiation factor is critical for fundraising success. A nonprofit organization “must propose a criterion for judgment and convince others of not only the suitability of that criterion but also their superiority according to it” (Barman 2002). Through searching the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board’s database, we found that there are two other schools similar to Centronía, one of which is new and will open beginning fall 2011. The existing school is the Latin American Montessori Bilingual School (LAMB), which is also located in Washington DC about three miles from Centronía. While the two organizations have similar goals, it is clear that your mission is much more far-reaching and has a broader impact than that of LAMB. Both offer early childhood development and bilingual education for elementary school students, but that is the extent of LAMB’s reach. Centronía, on the other hand, offers community education for parents and adults, food and nutrition education, and programs for youth leadership. These diverse qualities are valuable marketing tools that show potential donors the impact you have on the community and your attention to community needs. The Family Page 6 Book Club alone provides resources for child literacy improvement and parent development. Its multi-faceted approach is unique and should be the main focus of marketing campaigns that are designed to attract community donors. Furthermore, there are only a few other schools in the area that offer a reading experience similar to the Family Book Clubs. One is a local elementary school, but it appears to only have resources for parents. The book club meetings are a chance for parents to learn from other parents how to make reading an enjoyable and worthwhile activity for their children, but the children do not actually come to the sessions. The other book club, offered by the parent academy, is geared toward parents and does encourage children to come as well. However, the event description for this book club presents it as an open event each week, meaning that families are not able to establish connections with others and cannot see a progression in their skills. You offer a family book club that accomplishes many different goals and fosters a sense of community with the families. These unique qualities should be highlighted in any marketing campaign in order to differentiate your approach from the various book clubs that are available in Washington DC. Reach Out and Read Reach Out and Read is the Family Book Club’s most similar competitor. It is an organization that uses doctor visits to promote the importance of reading. The professionals involved use their expert positions to prescribe age appropriate books to children and also stress reading aloud to families. Reach Out and Read’s mission parallels that of the Family Book Club. It concentrates on exposing children to books at a very young age. For a six month check-up, the doctor or nurse practitioner introduces strategies to enhance the child’s language skills. This process continues throughout the pediatric development of the child in order to increase their vocabulary and reading skills. According to the Reach Out and Read website, studies have shown that reading aloud with children gives them a “sixth month developmental edge” when starting school (Reachoutandread.org). Needless to say, Reach Out and Read is a very successful program. Some of their techniques and fundraising strategies could be very useful for the continued development of the Family Book Clubs. Reach Out and Read gives businesses around the country the opportunity to sponsor its cause. This fundraising strategy creates a partnership that is very beneficial for the community and the businesses. The businesses receive recognition from the people in the community for their support, and the employees experience the personal benefit of being involved with different people in their region. While the businesses enjoy helping the cause, the program receives the support it needs for success. Page 7 On the website, it explains that Reach Out and Read provide businesses with reasonable ways to help the cause within the area. They do not ask for a specific amount of money or give businesses certain tasks to complete. Reach Out and Read simply provides a realm of needs that businesses can help with, while also maintaining an environment where any donations are appreciated. Its program has many different sponsors who are recognized on its website. For example, Target is recognized for supporting the organization by donating five percent of their profit to the local community efforts. They are also supported by other companies such as BAE Systems and Proctor and Gamble Personal Care. These businesses are all supporting the mission in different ways that accommodate the company, but also support the program’s mission. In addition to sponsors, Reach Out and Read seeks the support of businesses that are associated with its cause. It works with Scholastic Inc. and Borders, along with many other corporations, to provide books and resources for the program. Working with corporations that can donate material goods other than money allows for more flexibility with potential donors. Scholastic Inc. may not have a budget big enough to donate monetary funds to Reach Out and Read, but it can donate extra books or resources to the program. In addition, potential donors may be looking to donate time or resources for the program. Along with donations from community businesses, Reach Out and Read receives federal funding. The Department of Education has an Education Appropriations bill that allows Reach Out and Read to receive funding because its goal is to improve education (Reachoutandread.org). Reach Out and Read also receives funding from states and private donors. Its website is very user friendly, and informative. It is very easy to find different ways to help the program. Reach Out and Read’s website is very effective in giving community members options when it comes to supporting its efforts. If Centronía had more donation options, it would be easier for potential donors to help your cause. Reach Out and Read also does an excellent job of persuading the investor that their money and materials are being used for a positive and productive cause. The Reach Out and Read website is filled with many different facts and statistics that prove the effectiveness of the program to investors. The pictures included on the website are very joyous and leave the website visitor with the feeling that this organization concentrates on the happiness and development of others. Visiting the website is an experience in itself that provides warmth in a person’s heart knowing that they have an opportunity to help those in need, at a cost that is reasonable for them. Since Centronía and Reach Out and Read are very similar, the techniques that Reach Out and Read uses to attract donors should work effectively for you. You provide the same development as Reach Out and Read and have the data to prove to donors the Page 8 effectiveness of your program. With that said, it is important for you to display your statistics in a way that is easy to interpret and also effective. Reach Out and Read Webpage snapshots Page 9 Marketing Strategies Assessing the Markets Available Washington DC is a diverse cultural center that also has a considerable wealthy population. Many of these individuals look for worthwhile causes for potential recipients of funds. Therefore, it is important for you to request funding from these sources in a planned and controlled manner in order to increase your chances of receiving financial support. In Strategic Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations, Kotler discusses the four different markets available to organizations: Mass anonymous small gift market Members and their friends Affluent citizens market Wealthy donors market The mass anonymous small gift market consists of the small donations that the general public may be convinced to give based on mass marketing techniques. An example of this technique is sending mail filled with information about the organization and an explanation of how the funds donated will help improve the community. Door-to-door marketing is also very effective, as it allows for more personal communication between the organization and the donors. While each individual donation is relatively small, the large number of donors means that this is a large and deep market for nonprofit organizations to utilize. The members and their friends’ market consists of people who are already invested in or are a part of the organization’s mission. They may already contribute a regular donation, so in order to persuade them to donate more, a nonprofit organization should host a fundraising event with some sort of entertainment value. Examples of this strategy include cake sales or raffles, in which the donors have an incentive to give more money than they already have because of the prospect of winning something. This type of fundraising requires careful planning and execution. Page 10 Mass Anonymous Small Gift Market Direct mail Raffles Street and sidewalk solicitation Readathons Walkathons Door-to-door solicitation Members and Their Friends Market Art shows Auctions Book sales Dinners, lunches Telethons Fashion shows Benefits (theaters, movie, sporting events) Affluent Citizens Market Convocations Letters from high-status individuals Wealthy Donors Market Testimonial dinner for wealthy individuals Committee visit to person’s home, office Telephone calls Dinners, lunches Bequests Figure 1: Major funding markets, according to Kotler in Strategic Marketing for Nonprofits The affluent citizens market includes the local wealthy residents of the area who are looking to donate to a charitable organization. Since their donations are usually much larger than the average anonymous donor’s, it is important to engage in more personal communication, which builds trust quickly. Typically, these affluent individuals are invited to a dinner held by the organization, in which a portion of their ticket payment is used as funding. The director of the organization can also write letters or make phone calls to these wealthy individuals in order to better demonstrate the needs of the institution. The wealthy donors market consists of individuals who are willing to donate very large sums of money. They are usually members of the community who are well known for their donations, and they oftentimes establish foundations to manage their charitable donations. By developing effective fundraising strategies that target each of the aforementioned markets, you will be able to convince many potential donors to donate fund to the Family Book Club. Page 11 Marketing the Book Club As a non-profit organization, you must be highly marketable. The Family Book Club is a program that has a very good cause, but what will set you apart from other non-profit groups? Throughout our partnership with Centronía and the Family Book Club, our group has noticed that the current marketing strategy is not fulfilling its potential. The program that you are currently trying to fund is much more than a book club, and should be marketed as such. The Family Book Club is focused on the exposure to reading and child-parent interactions. Throughout the course of this program, the participant develops reading and vocabulary skills, along with enriching interactions between family members. In addition to developing their reading, the parents and children both acquire many other skills. These skills include but are not limited to leadership skills, public speaking skills, creativity skills and communication skills. Each of these skills should be incorporated into the focus of your marketing strategy. If a potential donor has a certain budget for donations, he is going to consider a few things. First, he will consider if they believe in the cause of the program. According to a study done by Riecken and Yavas, a person is more likely to donate to a program if they have a personal connection to the cause (Riecken 2005). For example, someone who has fought breast cancer would be more likely to donate to the Susan G. Koman Foundation as opposed to someone who does not have knowledge on the effects of the disease. Next, a potential donor will try to do the most he can with the money specified for donations. If there are two groups competing for donations from a large donor, the one that has a wider scope will most likely receive the donation. If a book club was trying to receive donations, it might not receive the money because its scope is smaller when compared to other programs. If the Family Book Club was competing for the donation and marketed well, it would most likely receive the donation over another book club because its scope is much wider. The program not only develops reading skills, but it develops many other skills that were previously mentioned. According to the study by Riecken and Yavas, there are many motives for donating to an organization. If the Family Book Club was well aware of these motives and used this knowledge to their advantage, it would attract more donors for its mission. The two tables below include data from the Riecken and Yavas study on donors. Page 12 Figure 2: Demographic profile of donors (Riecken 2005) Page 13 Figure 3: Donor Survey Results (Riecken 2005) Page 14 Deliverables Through research our group has developed some tools and recommendations to help address the marketing and funding gap of the Family Book Club. Brochure We have designed a brochure to replace the existing flyers you have for the book club. The flyers are good and the addition of the brochure will add to your marketing capabilities. Flyers are an informal promotion of the clubs. The brochure adds a professional and more formal touch to your current marketing collateral. Website Suggestions Your website is welcoming and provides a lot of information. In regards to the Family Book Clubs, the site does not mention the full scope of what the program does. Additionally there is no more than a sentence mentioning this program. Our recommendations address this issue. Current Centronía webpage snapshot Grant Listings The Family Book Club is currently funded through two grants. Our recommendation is an aggressive application to at least twenty grants. We have researched and listed twenty-five possible grantees for the book clubs, which are enclosed. Fundraising/Marketing Ideas There are many clever fundraising techniques currently being employed by other non-profit groups. In order to maximize incoming donations and funding we are recommending the use of Adopt-A-Book-Club, Wish List, online donation button and Groupon. These additional tools can help the book clubs market themselves in addition to raising the additional funds to keep the clubs in operation. Page 15 Developing a Brochure A brochure is an entry point for people unaware of your organization to be introduced to who you are, what you do and when. Presently you have been using flyers and informational sheets. Although these are a good starting point, a more refined and designed brochure can help you more effectively market yourself. As a part of your marketing and fundraising strategy, we have developed a brochure for you to send to your potential donors. This brochure encompasses the realm of your mission. It is important that the brochure stresses that you are not just a book club. Displaying other ways that the book club is beneficial will attract more donors. Using the colors from your website and a design similar to what you currently use we have made a brochure for you. After researching effective designs and pictures, this brochure informs people of who you are, solicits potential hosts and gives pertinent contact info should people decide to donate. Example of an effective brochure Note these important features: Who We Are: Explains your organization Initiate: Asks parents to initiate reading Participate: Invites parents to grow with their children in a new way Donate: Asks for support to keep the clubs in the communities Requests for Club Coaches made clear in a page of the brochure with benefits The brochure is easy to read and can be mailed to potential donors, club coaches and parents. When sending out these brochures to potential donors, be sure to include an extra envelope in case they would like to donate right away. Also, include a letter introducing yourself and your organization. It is important to be polite and provide flexibility when it comes to donations. It is better to have a donation of things other than money than to not have donations at all. Before sending this brochure to potential donors, be aware of whom you are sending it to. Be sure to research the values of the organizations or corporations in order to create a better outcome. Page 16 Obtaining valuable leadership training to run a Book Club in your neighborhood? Receiving free children’s books? Earning $$$! For more information, Contact Diane Gardner at (202) 332-4200 or by email [email protected] “After the club, I found the courage to read in English.” FBC Member, September 2009 “A book is like a friend” -Maria Sylva “With FBC, I was able to have Spanish books at home to read with my daughter. My daughter was able to learn more of her native language.” -FBC Member, September 2009 Centronía Family Book Club academic skills? 1420 Columbia Rd., NW Strengthening your child’s Washington DC 20009 Reading with your child? 202.332.4200 T Are you a parent who is interested in: 202.745.2562 F [email protected] Become a Family Book Club Coach! Family Book Club Who We Are CentroNía’s Family Book Clubs project is developed in partnership with the District of Columbia’s Early Care and Education Administration. The purpose of the Book Clubs is to increase the literacy skills, language development and school readiness of children ages 0 to 5 while simultaneously strengthening parental literacy skills. To achieve this goal, parents and children are brought together in small groups where they read, share stories and build relationships based on mutual trust and respect in a multicultural setting. Currently, neighborhood book clubs are up and running in Wards 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, but the goal is to make the Family Book Clubs a city-wide program. Parent participation is crucial to the success of the Family Book Clubs. Prior to the beginning of each 9week session, parents are trained to recruit and lead a group of 10-15 children and parents in weekly meetings conducted in their neighborhoods. Parent leaders receive free materials, including a set of books, and stipends in compensation for their time. These coaches are responsible for recruiting participants and for holding the 1 ½ hour weekly meetings in public spaces in their neighborhoods. During the weekly sessions, parents and children from diverse backgrounds come together to read, tell stories and have conversations about traditions and culture. Parents read a story to their children, after which there is considerable time for literacy activities and group discussion, followed by a snack. Each parent and child receives a copy of that week’s shared story to take home and add to their private library. Additionally, weekly sessions provide an opportunity for bonding between parents and their children and build strong parent leaders within individual neighborhoods. The benefits of the Family Book Clubs are many. It has been documented time and again that children whose parents read to them consistently do better in school than children whose parents do not. By targeting the District’s low-income African-American and Latino families, the Family Book Clubs seek to establish a culture of academic achievement and parental involvement among the city’s underserved population. Book clubs can be held anywhere where the community comes together, like a child development center, a local coffee shop, library or police station! ¡Initiate! The Family Book Club gives your child a jump start to success. Exposing them to books at as young as six weeks old will give them an educational edge. Becoming a member of the Family Book Club is an enriching experience that will allow you and your children to develop a learning bond. You will also be expanding your personal library with books given to you each week on behalf of the book club. ¡Participate! While watching your child develop into a successful reader, you too are growing. The Family Book Club is for everyone. As a parent you are able to read and interact with your child. Development of leadership skills, communication skills, and public speaking skills are just the beginning of what skills you will acquire. Participating in the Family Book Club with your child will bring you the Satisfaction of watching and helping your child develop, and at the same time it will enrich your family interactions. ¡Donate! The Family Book Club is a nonprofit organization that works to promote literacy in the surrounding communities. We provide books and learning resources for our members in order to give them the best developmental experience possible. With your help, we can expand our realm of outreach to further decrease the illiteracy rate. Donations are greatly appreciated. There are many ways to donate to the Family Book Club including: Monetary donations, books, time and services Ganando la capacitación valiosa para dirigir un club del libro en su comunidad? Recibiendo libros para niños por gratis? Ganando dinero?! Para más información, Contacta Diane Gardner: (202) 332-4200 o por email: [email protected] “Después del club, tenía la confianza de leer en inglés.” Miembro de FBC, septiembre 2009 “Un libro es como un amigo” -Maria Silva “Después de FBC, podía tener libros en español a la casa para leer con mi hija. Mi hija podia aprender más de su lengua nativa.” -Miembro de FBC, septiembre 2009 Centronía Family Book Club académicas de su hijo? 1420 Columbia Rd., NW Mejorando los capacidades Washington DC 20009 Leyendo con su hijo? 202.332.4200 T ¿Es usted un padre que está interesada en: 202.745.2562 F [email protected] Sea un entrenador en un club del libro de familia El Club de Libro de Familia Quien somos El proyecto del club del libro de familia se desarrolla en colaboración con la administración de Atención y Educación Temprana de Washington DC. El propósito de los Clubes del libro es mejorar la alfabetización, el desarrollo del lenguaje y la preparación para la escuela de los niños de edad 0 hasta 5, mientras al mismo tiempo fortaleciendo las capacidades de alfabetización de los padres. Para lograr este objetivo, los padres y los niños se reúnen en grupos pequeños, donde leen, comparten las historias y construyen relaciones basadas en la confianza mutua y el respeto en un ambiente multicultural. Actualmente, los clubes del libro de están en marcha en los distritos 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 y 8, pero el objetivo es diseminar los clubes del libro de familia en toda la ciudad. Participación de los padres es crucial para el éxito de los Clubes del libro de familia. Antes del comienzo de cada sesión de 9 semanas, algunos padres están capacitados en cómo reclutar y dirigir un grupo de 10 a 15 niños y padres en las reuniones semanales realizadas en sus barrios. Los padres líderes reciben materiales gratuitos, los que incluyen un conjunto de libros, y estipendios en compensación por su tiempo. Estos entrenadores son responsables de reclutar a los participantes y para las reuniones de 1 ½ horas semanales en los espacios públicos en sus barrios. Durante las sesiones semanales, padres y niños de comunidades diversas se reúnen para leer, contar historias y tener conversaciones sobre las tradiciones y la cultura. Los padres les leen un cuento a sus hijos, después de que hay mucho tiempo para las actividades de alfabetización y la discusión en grupos, seguida por un aperitivo. Cada familia recibe una copia del libro compartido de la semana para llevarlo a casa y añadirlo a su colección privada. Además, las sesiones son una oportunidad para la vinculación entre los padres y sus hijos y la conversión de los padres en líderes fuertes dentro de las comunidades. Los beneficios de los Clubes del libro de familia son muchos. Se ha sido documentado muchas veces que los niños cuyos padres les leen en casa se mejoran más en la escuela que los niños cuyos padres no lo hacen. Por trabajar con las familias de bajos ingresos de afroamericanos y latinos, los Clubes del libro de familia tratan de establecer una cultura de logro académico y participación de los padres entre la población marginada de la ciudad. Los clubes del libro de familia pueden estar en cualquier lugar donde la comunidad se reúne, como un centro de desarrollo infantil, una tienda de café, una biblioteca o una estación de policía! ¡Iniciar! El Club del libro de familia le da a su hijo un salto al éxito. Los hijos serán expuestos a libros desde sólo seis semanas de edad y esto les dará una ventaja en la escuela. Ser miembro del club del libro de familia es una experiencia enriquecedora que desarrollará una conexión entre usted y sus hijos. También su biblioteca expandirá con libros, los que serán dados a usted cada semana por el club del libro. ¡Participar! Mientras su hijo se está convirtiendo en un lector mejor, usted estará creciendo también. El Club del libro de familia es para todos. Como padre usted podrá leer e interactuar con su hijo regularmente. El desarrollo de capacidades de liderazgo, de comunicación y de hablar en público son algunas de las capacidades que adquirirá. Participación en el Club del libro de familia con su hijo traerá a si mismo la satisfacción de observar y ayudar el desarrollo de su hijo, y al mismo tiempo enriquecerá sus interacciones de familia. ¡Donar! El Club del libro de familia es una organización sin fines de lucro que trabaja para promover la alfabetización en las comunidades circundantes. Ofrecemos libros y recursos de aprendizaje a nuestros miembros para darles la mejor experiencia posible. Con su ayuda, podemos ampliar nuestro impacto en la reducción de la tasa de analfabetismo. Las donaciones son muy apreciadas. Hay muchas maneras de donar al club del libro de familia: las donaciones monetarias, los libros, y los servicios. Nonprofit donors Nonprofit organizations encounter many different types of funding sources and donors in their quest to seek financial support. However, the literature suggests that there are common themes among the wants and needs that most potential donors have from the organizations they choose to sponsor (Waters 2009). Trust and commitment are the foundations of the organization-donor relationship. As competition for external funding increases with the appearance of more nonprofit groups, it is important for an organization to make donor retention a priority. The donor must feel as if the organization is meeting its mission statement and is making significant progress toward the social issue that it is based upon (Waters 2009). Waters’ article discusses the various strategies available to nonprofit organizations to cultivate the organization-donor relationship and studies the perceptions of these strategies held by donors and organizations: Access o Both parties must be able to communicate with each other directly and each must be aware of the concerns and viewpoints of the other party. Positivity o Donors are more likely to continue supporting a program if they have had particularly positive experiences with it and can expect similar experiences in the future. Openness o Both parties must be honest and increase transparency with the other side. Assurance o Donors must be convinced that their commitment is worthwhile by answering their doubts and showing results of their support. Networking o A network of donors is important not only because of the access to more funding sources, but also because of the image it creates. An organization with many contacts in the community is viewed as openminded and flexible to the needs of others. Sharing of tasks o Donors increasingly want to feel as if they are included in the nonprofit organization’s missions and programs, so many of them will ask to have a hands-on role in the organization and it is important to accommodate this request. In the article, Waters also describes a co-orientation model of analyzing donors’ perspectives on various issues, which would be important in implementing the strategies he described. Figure 4 is the chart that shows that there are three components to this analysis, which are agreement, perceived agreement, and accuracy (Waters 2009). Page 21 Waters conducted a survey that measured the degree to which donors and organizations were the same in these measures. Both donors and organizations rated openness as the most important strategy, but donors were less positive in general about all strategies. Furthermore, both parties perceived that the other side was in agreement with their views. However, donors underestimated the positivity of the organization’s members and the organizations overestimated with positivity of the donors to the discussed strategies (Waters 2009). These results underscore the importance of communication and conversation between donors and organizations. Though small, the difference in opinions on relationship strategies shows that the two sides frequently do not have the same expectations about various programs and about funding. Centronía has a well-established donor pool, so these strategies are very important in order to ensure that its donors continue to support its programming. The directors must have multiple conversations with the donors to establish common ground and make sure that the two sides share similar viewpoints. The figure provided in the paper is a well-designed scheme for assessing their agreement. Furthermore, they should have the donors evaluate how effectively Centronía is accomplishing the relationship strategies outlined by Waters. These strategies are meant to foster an open, trusting relationship and should be the basis of any donor-organization interactions in the future. Page 22 Figure 4: Co-orientation model of organization and donor perceptions and agreement (Waters) Page 23 Alternate Fundraising Strategies Adopt a Book Club The current book club model can be expensive for a nonprofit organization, especially since the main source of funds is from grants. In order to better support the expansion of the Family Book Club program to include more book club sessions and larger stipends, a new model would be required. Similar to Reach Out and Read’s model, a business or individual from the community would sponsor each book club, providing funds for the books and the stipends for each family. Each donor would also be able to speak to all of the participants before or after each book club session. This time could be used for advertisement of a business’s product or services, thus providing incentive to local businesses to donate to you. In addition to supporting families in the community, their donations would also allow donors the ability to advertise directly to their target customers. With this new book club model, you could focus existing resources and funds from grants on establishing more book club sessions or supporting the book clubs that are not supported by donors from the community. The end result of this model would be expanded presence of the Family Book Club in the community and greater connectedness of individuals and businesses in the area. Furthermore, the essential structure of the parent-child reading time would not be affected. The book club coaches would have full control of the group without interference from the supporter to ensure that the focus of each session is still reading and parent development. Wish List The top two reasons for joining a Family Book Club were “to get books to take home” and “to learn how to read for children.” About 87% of all responders chose these two as the primary reasons for joining the book club program, which shows that one of your goals should be to find a way to acquire books without having to spend grant money on them. The Books for America program is a non-profit group that focuses on building libraries in local schools and for book programs. It could be a great resource for the Family Book Club because it could provide each book club with sufficient books to supply the families who are enrolled. In talking with one of the book club directors, she mentioned that bilingual books are a great resource because they make language acquisition for both Page 24 children and parents easier. However, these bilingual books are very difficult to acquire, so if the book clubs established a list of bilingual books they desire, programs such as Books for America may be able to acquire them separately. Furthermore, instead of using the funds from grants and donations for books, you can redirect these resources to providing a larger stipend for participants or expanding the program. The book club director also said that the number of book club sessions has been shortened from 12 to 9. Without having to spend funds on books, you could return your original model of 12 sessions per book club. In addition to Books for America, local libraries may be able to donate excess or outdated books they receive as donations. Therefore, Centronía should start a wish list of books they desire. The list should be published online on the organization’s website, so that it is easily accessible to donors in the community. It is essential that the list specify which types of books are desired and how many books are desired. Using a wish list is an effective and easy way to acquire books for the books clubs. Sample from the Sacramento Zoo Current Wish List - Updated 10/25/10 Accounting/Front Gate Portable amplified loudspeaker Newer, color laser printer Administration Large locking storage cabinets Heavy duty 4-shelf storage shelves Education Newer laptop computer New vacuum cleaner for the Discovery Room Interpretive Center 26" pullman, rolling suitcase Paper shredder like the one here Animal Care Horse mats, new Heavy-duty outdoor extension cords Boomer balls Rakes, with metal handles Box fans Large industrial fans "Flex Rake" Rakes Verikennels or Skykennels Small scales to use in exhibits Porta-Bote: small portable boat Blankets with no filling Paper Shredder Newer microwave Laserjet printer for the Reptile House Figure 5: Wish List from The Sacramento Zoo Page 25 Maintenance Garden carts Wheelbarrows Leather work gloves Hedge trimmers Shovels, all sizes Mantis 2-chamber compost tumbler www.mantis.com Rolling toolbox like the one here Veterinary Hospital Blankets with no filling Surgical Instruments Mini DVD-RW disks for camcorder new Box fans (4) Blank CDR disks Color laser printer Pillowcases Color printer/scanner/fax Groupon Advertisement With an increasing emphasis on online advertising in today’s markets, nonprofit organizations must take advantage of this trend. Numerous sites offer capabilities similar to social networks, allowing people to be exposed to various products while on the Internet. One such website that attracts millions of viewers per day is Groupon. This website offers a different deal or coupon for local businesses every day, giving consumers access to affordable offers and providing businesses with advertisement to a mass market. In the past, Groupon has also featured a few nonprofit organizations, offering the ability to donate directly to that organization. Recently, Books For America was featured on their main webpage for the Washington DC area. Groupon listed its mission and past successes, while also providing a suggestion for donation. We believe you could utilize Groupon to spread information about Centronia and to collect donations from many people who visit the site frequently. Groupon has a link: (http://www.grouponworks.com/get-featured), in which organizations can submit their information to be featured on the website. Groupon webpage snapshot Page 26 Grants The overall purpose of grants is to receive funding for projects from outside organizations and funders. Grants are mainly given to non-profit, 501 (C)(3) groups. The Family Book Clubs have an operating expense of $5,000 per club. The yearly goal was to have 30 clubs running throughout the year. Due to the economic downturn the goal has been amended to 12 book clubs. In order to sustain the Family Book Club program, you need to aggressively pursue additional grants. Enclosed are twenty-five grants with a focus on early literacy initiatives and community empowerment. Previously, your grant writing has focused on early childhood literacy, so you need to shift the focus in order to highlight the adult literacy component of the program and community empowerment. 1. Marshall Cavendish Excellence In Library Programming Award Grant Focus: “Eligible programs or particular interest for consideration includes: support of educational programs, library programs for children and adults, reading and literature programs for children, library programs for young adults, programming for multi-ethnic groups, community outreach, literacy programs and providing programs and services for persons with disabilities.” Award: $2000 Link:http://www.ala.org/ala/awardsgrants/awardsrecords/cavendishaward/caven dishaward.cfm 2. Alcoa Foundation Grant Focus: “Promotes self-sufficiency and advance sustainable livelihoods for individuals in the communities where we live and operate.” Link:http://www.alcoa.com/global/en/community/foundation/info_page/about_ove rview.asp 3. Ann Martin Foundation Grant Focus: “The Foundation has a strong interest in funding small, grass-roots organizations, with a special focus on arts programs for children and hard-to-fund projects.“ Award: $20,000 Link: http://www.annmartinfoundation.org/ 4. Bank of America Grant Focus: “Neighborhood Builders is a competitive award program recognizing community organizations in each of 45 markets that set themselves apart, are active visionaries, have strong leaders, and create vibrant neighborhoods.” Link:http://www.bankofamerica.com/foundation/index.cfm?template=fd_grantprog rams Page 27 Grants Continued 5. Ben and Jerry’s Foundation Grant Focus: “The organization has a theory of change - an articulation of how its activities play a part in a larger vision of social and environmental justice - and has demonstrated its interest in collaboration and collective action.” Award: $15,000 Link: http://www.benandjerrysfoundation.org/the-national-grassroots-grantprogram.html 6. Carnegie Corporation of New York Grant Focus: “Our national grant making supports the revitalization of democracy by funding new pathways both to educational and economic opportunity; and to citizenship, civic participation and immigrant integration in a pluralistic society.” Link: http://carnegie.org/programs/ 7. Crail Johnson Foundation Grant Focus: “Early Childhood Development - Programs that address the health, academic and social needs of children preparing to enter kindergarten.” Link: http://www.crail-johnson.org/current.htm 8. Even Start Family Literacy Program, William F. Goodling Even Start Family Literacy Program Grant Focus: “This program offers grants to support local family literacy projects that integrate early childhood education, adult literacy (adult basic and secondary-level education and instruction for English language learners), parenting education, and interactive parent and child literacy activities for low-income families with parents who are eligible for services under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act and their children from birth through age 7.” Link: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/evenstartformula/index.html 9. First Book Grant Focus: “First Book empowers educators with an unprecedented choice of high quality books and materials. Our resources help to: Elevate the quality of literacy programs, enrich the learning experience for children in need, Enable teachers to create new curricula, impart a love of reading to children. If you’re an educator or program administrator, and at least 50 percent of the children in your program come from low-income families, we can help.” Link: http://www.firstbook.org/receive-books Page 28 Grants Continued 10. The Hearst Foundations Grant Focus: “The Hearst Foundations support programs that enrich the lives of young people by engaging them in cultural activities, primarily through arts-ineducation programs. Grants are awarded to major institutions and community organizations in the arts and sciences that address the lack of arts programming in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade curricula by providing comprehensive, on-site and/or outreach education activities.” Link: http://www.hearstfdn.org/gl_application.html 11. IBM Gives Grant Focus: “IBM realizes the power and importance of education. Through major initiatives such as Reinventing Education, the IBM KidSmart Early Learning Program, and IBM MentorPlace, IBM is working to raise student achievement and enhance academic productivity to support thriving communities around the globe.” Link: http://www.ibm.com/ibm/ibmgives/grant/grantapp.shtml 12. IES Institute of Education Sciences Grant Focus: “Under the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, the Institute supports national research and development centers (R&D Centers) that are intended to contribute significantly to the solution of education problems in the United States by engaging in research, development, evaluation, and national leadership activities aimed at improving the education system, and ultimately, student achievement.” Link: http://ies.ed.gov/funding/ncer_rfas/randd.asp 13. John Edward Fowler Memorial Foundation Grant Focus: “The Fowler Foundation is particularly interested in funding organizations that are addressing Adult literacy. Smaller, grassroots, neighborhoodbased organizations tend to be more successful applicants. Hands-on, direct service organizations are given preference over "umbrella" agencies. The Foundation looks for evidence of sound management, fiscal responsibility and volunteer involvement.” Link: http://foundationcenter.org/grantmaker/fowler/application.html 14. Junior League of Washington – Books for Bright Futures Grant Focus: “Books for Bright Futures is a Junior League of Washington program that puts new books in the hands of children who might not otherwise have access to them. Books are given to Junior League community placements and partners throughout the Washington, DC metropolitan area.” Link: http://www.jlw.org/?nd=bookplates 15. Lisa Libraries Grant Focus: “Provides books to organizations who work in a low-income or underserved areas serving children who would benefit by being given new books to take home. “ Link: http://lisalibraries.org/ Page 29 Grants Continued 16. Mazda Foundation Grant Focus: “The Mazda Foundation awards grants to programs promoting Education and literacy, Cross-cultural understanding and Social welfare.” Link: http://www.mazdafoundation.org/ 17. National Endowment for The Arts – The Big Read Grant Focus: “The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The NEA presents The Big Read in cooperation with Arts Midwest. The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment.” Link: http://www.neabigread.org/application_process.php 18. RGK Foundation Grant Focus: “RGK Foundation awards grants in the broad areas of Education, Community, and Health/Medicine. The Foundation's primary interests within Education include programs that focus on formal K-12 education (particularly mathematics, science and reading), teacher development, literacy, and higher education.” Link: http://www.rgkfoundation.org/public/guidelines 19. The Sparkplug Foundation Grant Focus: “Education & Teaching - Sparkplug aims to support projects that deal with "the whole student" and with learning as a community activity. In the past, this has included literacy projects that bring parents & kids together to learn, projects that use a neighborhood as a classroom, projects that help teachers share ideas about creative, relevant curricula, etc. We're especially interested in supporting critical and investigative thinking, and projects that address class disparities in education.” Link: http://sparkplugfoundation.org/ 20. Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy Grant Program Grant Focus: “The purpose of the Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy grant program (SRCL) is to advance literacy skills--including pre-literacy skills, reading, and writing--for students from birth through grade 12, including limited-Englishproficient students and students with disabilities.” Link: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/strivingreaders-literacy/applicant.html 21. Lowe’s ToolBox for Education Grant Focus: “Parent Involvement Center - Your Parent Involvement Center will give volunteers a place to work on school projects and will become a resource for information that will help parents become more effective proponents of their children's education. As important, the Parent Resource Center will signal parents that your school welcomes their presence.” Link: http://www.toolboxforeducation.com/ Page 30 Grants Continued 22. Verizon Foundation Grant Focus: “The Verizon Foundation is in the business of improving lives in literacy, knowledge and a readiness for the 21st Century.” Link: http://foundation.verizon.com/grant/guidelines.shtml 23. AT&T Grant Focus: “AT&T supports community-based programs and organizations that address educational, cultural, and social issues that affect the quality of life in the communities where we work and live. We base our contributions on the merits of the requesting organization and project, with emphasis given to nurturing programs that inspire creativity in youth and adults, or that focus specifically on teaching/developing modes of expression.” Link: http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/articles-resources/communitysupport/contributions.jsp 24. W.K. Kellogg Foundation Grant Focus: “To ensure that all children get the development and education they need as a foundation for independence and success, we seek opportunities to invest in early child development (ages zero to eight), leading to reading proficiency by third grade, high school graduation, and pathways to meaningful employment.” Link: http://www.wkkf.org/what-we-support/educated-kids.aspx 25. W.H.O Foundation Grant Focus: Educational Literacy Link: http://www.whofoundation.org/Funding/WHO_FundingCriteriaEd.asp Page 31 Website Suggestions You have a relatively strong web presence now. Your website is functional and informational. It is picture-heavy and the color scheme is nicely done. However, there is little mention of the Family Book Club or even other programs that you offer. The only place there is any information about this program is on the community education page with one sentence that briefly summarizes the program’s goals. In comparison, the website for Reach Out and Read is deep, provides important information, and has external links. With a program as far-reaching and diverse as the Family Book Club, there needs to be significantly more information on the website about the program. The webpage should double as a fundraising tool and a recruiting tool in the community. It should include a longer summary of what the Family Book Club is, highlighting the literacy benefits to both children and parents. In addition to improvements in literacy, there are also numerous other benefits that Family Book Club provides to parents, such as improvement of parenting and leadership skills. You should also include the positive impact on the community, as the book club sessions are important in bringing members of the community together in a meaningful fashion. Furthermore, on the main page of the website, we suggest adding a few statistics showing the extent of the problems in literacy in Washington DC. The Reach Out and Read program does something similar, and these statistics directly support the cause of the program. Next, there should be a sample itinerary of a normal book club, so that potential participants can see how it would fit into their schedules. The itinerary could also be used as a teaching tool, as parents could also use it to base their reading sessions with their children at home. Also, the webpage should have the contact information of the book club coaches and the location of each local upcoming session. Using this information, parents could contact a coach and observe a book club session in order to determine if they want to join the program. The Family Book Club website should also have external links to pages that may be important to its participants or that demonstrate the book club’s impact. Enrolled parents may want to know the location of local libraries or they may be interested in knowing about furthering their education through local schools. Furthermore, if there are any articles about the Family Book Club, the links that lead to them should be included on the website as well. Finally, the web page is also a vehicle for fundraising. Many websites and non-profits have links which let viewers and supporters donate directly to the organizations or projects and endeavors the organization is currently undertaking. We highly recommend a Donate button for the website. Page 32 Expenditures Brochures The printing of the brochures can be done on plain 8.5x11 paper in black and white or on higher quality paper in color. The expenses are dependent on the purpose of the distribution of the brochures. For placing brochures in public locations through the D.C. area, such as coffee houses, libraries, schools, child development centers, churches and community centers, we recommend using a lower quality brochure. For fundraising events, mailings to prospective grant givers, mass mailings to potential donors and for onsite visits, we recommend using higher quality paper printed in color. On site at Centronía you have printers available for mass mailings. Lower quality brochures can be easily printed and covered under operational charges. Higher quality brochures would need to be outsourced. Our recommended vendor is Vistaprint. We have created the file for you and this can be easily uploaded to their website and the brochures can be ready in 3 business days. Their prices are as follows: Qty 25 50 100 250 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 5000 10000 Price $39.99 $59.99 $99.99 $149.99 $289.99 $339.99 $369.99 $399.99 $429.99 $549.99 $999.99 Website You have and are currently using a web designer. Our recommendations are not out of the scope of the designer’s capabilities. The recommendations we make have no additional cost fall into the normal expense of having a webmaster. Grant Writing Your development office handles grant-writing and so no additional costs are associated with our recommendations and list of grants. The cost associated with this would be personnel cost already covered by your operations expenses. Page 33 Conclusion Over the course of our consultation, we noticed funding to be the major issue that your program is facing. Our team has developed many useful suggestions in order for you to appeal to potential donors and increase funding. First, we have created a brochure that will provide donors with a sense of understanding about the mission of your program. The brochure focuses on reading along with many other aspects of the club to ensure that potential donors see you as more than a book club. Second, we developed suggestions to improve your website. These suggestions are based on our research of other programs similar to Centronia and the Family Book Club. Implementing these ideas will make your website more user-friendly, and will also provide community donors with new ways to donate to your cause. Third, we researched many grants that you may apply for. These grants are directed toward literacy programs such as yourself. Applying for these grants will allow you to increase your funding and further your outreach. Finally, we submitted ideas that will allow you to market your program to the community and also involve more people. As a group, we suggest that you create an Adopt-A-Book Club program. This will not only allow some stress of finding funds and resources to be lifted from you, but it will also help the community become involved and excited about helping your mission. We also suggest that you put an ad on groupon.com, which will expose the Family Book Clubs to a large number of people on a daily basis. This exposure will help you receive donations and interested group members. With these resources and strategies that we have provided, you will be able to increase funding for the Family Book Clubs. Increasing funding for your program will directly lead to success and expansion of your community outreach. Page 34 Appendix A Questions from the Interview with Maria Silva 1) What is the itinerary for a typical book club meeting? 2) How long does a meeting usually run? 3) How do you choose the books for the meetings? 4) How does the book club benefit the parent in ways other than reading? 5) How does the book club benefit the child in ways other than reading? 6) How do you promote reading to these families? 7) How young are the children who attend the book clubs? 8) Are the ethnicities of the families similar? 9) How do bilingual books contribute to the book club? 10)What would the next step be for parents once they finish the nine sessions? 11)In what ways does the book club help the parent-child relationship? 12)What would you do if you had extra funding? 13)In what ways have you had to sacrifice when dealing with budget cuts? 14)What specific fundraising strategies have you tried? 15)Have you had to turn anyone down from the book blub due to funding issues? Page 35 Appendix B Questions from Interview with Diane Gardner 1) How long is the training for Family Book Clubs? 2) What do you teach at the training? 3) How many meetings do the clubs need to have? 4) What is the Family Book Club Coach responsible for? 5) What is the goal of the club? 6) Why were you not accepted by the Junior League of Washington into their grant? 7) How much knowledge or experience with the FBC do you have? 8) How much do you know about the situation leading up to the current state of affairs? 9) What will this report tell you that you don't already know or want or need to know? 10)How do you feel about our group writing a business proposal for you? 11)What concerns or objections do you have towards this project? 12)What do you feel are FBC's weaknesses? Page 36 Appendix C Survey Questions from Centronia Family Book Club Coach Questionnaire NAME: DOB: DATE (OF INTERVIEW): TIME: Part One: Who is coming to Family Book Club? 1. Please describe your work situation. Are you currently…? (Please check all that apply.) Working full-time Working part-time Working 2+ jobs A full-time student A part-time student Unemployed/Looking for work Stay-at-home parent Working part-time but looking for a full-time job 2.If you are working full-time or part-time, which of the following best describes the hours you usually work? (Please check all that apply.) Daytime Varying shifts Evening or Night work Weekends 3.How would you describe your family? (Please check all that apply) Black/African-American, non-Hispanic Hispanic/Latino White, non-Hispanic Asian Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Other, explain________________ American Indian 4.What language do you speak at home with your children? (Please check all that apply.) English Spanish Other: _________________ Part Two: How families react to coming to a Family Book Club We would like to understand a little bit about your reasons for becoming a Family Book Club Coach, and about the reading and other activities you do together at home now. At the end of the Family Book Club we will ask about your reactions to the Club and we will ask again about the reading and other activities you do together at home. 5.Families have different reasons for coming to a Family Book Club. Which of these are the reasons you decided to come? (Please check all that apply) To enjoy doing an activity together with the child or children I bring To learn about which books children enjoy To get better at reading with young children To get books to bring home To learn about how to get my children more interested in books and reading Page 37 To help my children get ready for school or do better in school To get to know other families with young children Other reasons (please let us know what they are): _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ 6.Before you joined the Family Book Club program, how often did you do the following things with your children in a typical week? (Please check the box, only one per row) Not at all Once or twice Tell stories Sing songs Read books Look at picture books 3-6 times Every day Not sure 7. How did the child’s behavior in your group change since you started the Family Book Club? (mark all the option that the person mentions. DO NOT read the options to the person) Child Increased Attention Span Child recognizes letters Child Follows directions better Child asks questions related to the Child improved understanding story Child increased vocabulary Child remembers different stories Child can re-tell a story Child differentiates stories clearly Child recognizes sounds of the Child can compare different alphabet stories Child can name the characters in the Child can compare stories to real story life Other (1):__________________________________________________________________________ Other (2): _________________________________________________________________________ Other (3): _________________________________________________________________________ 8.How did the Family Book Club help you increase your home library? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 9.How did the Family book Club increase the home libraries of the participating families? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ Page 38 ___________________________________________________________ 10. When you are reading with your children, do the children ask questions? Never, they just listen They usually ask one or two questions They usually ask three or more questions 11. What are the literacy extension activities that you did and that help the children’s school activities? Talk about a book Do an art project about what was in a book Go see something mentioned in a book Play with toys related to what was in a book Listen to music related to what was in a book Cook something mentioned in a book Go to get another book about the same thing Other (please specify): ______________________________________ 12. How did the child’s listening skills and attention span change? They didn’t change Improved a little Noticeable improvement Considerable improvement 13. After the Family Book Club training, how often do you do the following things with your children in a typical week? (Please check the box, only one per row) Not at all Tell stories Sing songs Read books Look at picture books Page 39 Once or twice 3-6 times Every day Not sure Works Cited Andreasen, Alan R., and Philip Kotler. Strategic Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008. Print. Barman, Emily A. "Asserting Difference: The Strategic Response of Nonprofit Organizations to Competition." Social Forces 80.4 (2002): 1192-222. Web. Groupon - Home. Web. 18 Apr. 2011. <http://www.groupon.com/> Latin American Montessori Bilingual Public Charter School. Web. 18 Apr. 2011. <http://www.lambpcs.org/>. "Nonprofit Statistics." National Center for Charitable Statistics. 2010. Web. <http://nccs.urban.org/>. Reach Out and Read - Home. Web. 18 Apr. 2011. <http://www.reachoutandread.org/>. Riecken, G., & Yavas, U. (2005). The Attitudes of Donors and Non-Donors to the March of Dimes Charity in the United States: A Case Study in Non-Profit Marketing. International Journal of Management, 22(4), 572-581. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. The Sacramento Zoo - Home. Web. 18 Apr. 2011. <http://www.saczoo.org/>. Vista Print. 18 Apr. 2011. <http://www.vistaprint.com.> Waters, Richard D. "Comparing the Two Sides of the Nonprofit Organization–donor Relationship: Applying Coorientation Methodology to Relationship Management." Public Relations Review 35.2 (2009): 144-46. Print. This is one of the best projects I have ever read. It is thorough, well researched, well written, well formatted. This is a contest entry. You three should be so proud of yourselves. I look forward to reading your 360 ’s, but it is clear to me that this is a successful collaborative product. There are a few errors which I have noted. Correct when you print out for client. If you are interested in contest submission (I strongly urge you to be!), we need to meet. It can be when classes end or in the summer. I have had a difficult day with these papers until this one. Thank you . Page 40
