Spring Cleaning: Outdated Statistics Show You Need to Clean Up Your Collateral

Nonprofit organizations use marketing collateral for a variety of purposes, and it often ends up in lots of different hands. That makes it too easy for old marketing collateral to get into the wrong hands and undermine your fundraising efforts. What do you do to keep your statistics, branding, and messaging current?

Make time to audit your digital and print marketing pieces! Take the opportunity to update digital marketing and throw out outdated collateral and print new pieces. These tips can help cut down on donor confusion and help your collateral build a stronger case for support.

Spruce up your stats

Statistics regarding your nonprofit and cause are going to change frequently. It’s okay to cite statistics over the course of a year, but you must update those stats regularly. At least once a year, look at how your nonprofit’s statistics changed since you last cited them.

Continuously using old and inaccurate data can make your messaging seem stale or unreliable. Prospective donors also don’t want to see that years of donations haven’t made any difference for those you serve.

Make your marketing collateral consistent

To avoid confusing your donors, take time to determine which marketing pieces need an update. Be sure to look at both print and digital marketing. You’ll want to replace outdated messaging, redesign any items that look old-fashioned or poorly made, and update your collateral to the correct company branding (name, logo, corporate color scheme).

If there are materials you don’t use anymore, archive a copy, then destroy the rest so no one accidentally uses them. Make sure to send a notification to the rest of your team about discontinued collateral so everyone is on the same page. For example: your nonprofit has set amounts donors can give to add their names to a donor wall or to name a room or building. Nothing’s worse than honoring an outdated price because someone left out or sent a donor old collateral! If you’ve changed those amounts, discontinue all the old materials immediately!

Depending on the different programs your nonprofit has and the number of marketing pieces in your rotation, these tasks can either be quick and easy or extremely tedious. Either way, the importance of auditing your collateral and making sure every piece works cohesively for your organization can cut down on donor confusion and will provide a stronger case for support.

Conclusion

Your nonprofit’s marketing is how you reach your audience. Inaccurate or confusing information isn’t helping you recruit new supporters! Keep your collateral clean. Toss your outdated pieces and update your statistics. Consistent, cohesive marketing will help eliminate donor confusion and build a stronger case for support.