In Chip Heath and Dan Heath’s book Made to Stick the authors share a story about how one of the most successful public education campaigns ever came to life. Faced with the challenge of trying to end littering on the highways, the Texas Department of Transportation, along with a researcher named Dan Syrek, sought to develop a campaign that would convince people that they should stop throwing trash out their windows.

Now, Texas could have just politely asked people to “Please don’t litter.” In fact, they did, but it didn’t work. Why? Because messages like this need to consider the point of view of the typical litterer.

Syrek and his team took time to think carefully about those whose behavior they had to change. And it wasn’t the people most likely to be swayed by a polite request.

Instead, the savvy marketers focused on their target audience. Who were the worst offenders? Men, ages 18-35. But they didn’t stop with demographic data. They also created a persona that painted a psychographic profile of their target audience. Naming their character “Bubba” they spent time thinking about who Bubba was. What did he care about? What did he wear? Where did he shop? What did he do on weekends?

Syrek and his team got a picture of Bubba, along with a picture of Bubba’s truck, and they realized that to change Bubba’s behavior, they had to convince him that people like him don’t litter. They had to tap into what Bubba thought was most important. And for Bubba what was most important was his pride in the state of Texas.

Syrek and his team tapped into Bubba’s patriotism and created the message “Don’t Mess with Texas.” The rest is history. Littering increased, and the anti-littering slogan became so successful, it’s practically the state motto.

What Syrek and his team did — creating a profile of their target audience — is also referred to as creating a “persona.” This is an approach we often employ with our nonprofit clients, helping them think strategically about who they are trying to reach by not only considering their demographic characteristics, but their deep-seeded concerns and cares, as well.

In a blog post last week, Nancy Schwartz shared a terrific step-by-step process for creating your own personas. We share a like mind with Nancy when it comes to this approach and encourage you adopt this process into all of your communications.

Before sitting down to write your next annual report or newsletter get out of your own head. Instead of asking yourself “What do I want to say?” ask instead “What does my audience want to hear? What do they care about?”

Think about the communications challenge from their point of view. Ask yourself what your audience cares about. And create a persona that brings that character to life.

One of the things that helped Syrek and his team be so successful was that they found an actual picture that represented the persona to whom they were addressing the message. Thus the campaign was no longer focused on an abstract message, it was focused on a personalized message to one individual. If you can do the same in your campaigns, you’ll likely strike gold.

One final note, my colleague, Sarah R. Moore, is fond of reminding us that in order for a persona to be successful, it must be crafted with love. If you create a one-dimensional caricature, you won’t be able to connect with your target audience. Focus on what’s great about that person — what you love about them — and the resulting messages will come to life.

Mission Minded has worked with several large, long-established nonprofit organizations worried that their aging donor base is disappearing —and that younger donors are less interested in the missions embraced by the older generation.

These clients are prestigious, both because of the gravitas of their mission and the recognizable names who support it. But their major donors are often in their seventies or eighties, and their children don’t necessarily share their parents’ devotion to the work of the same organizations—or at least, they don’t see the need to offer their financial support at the same levels.

Instead, we’re hearing that the younger donors (in these cases, “younger” is defined as donors in their forties and fifties) are interested in supporting more entrepreneurial endeavors: causes where something “new” is being done to address an age-old problem. As Kay Sprinkel–Grace noted, “The age of the passive philanthropist is ending. As the face of philanthropy changes, so does its quest. An interest in outcomes is replacing a need for rewards. While recognition is still important, the way in which it is provided is changing. It is more mission-connected.”

Microfinance, public school reform, innovation in international aid—initiatives in pioneering fields seem to be garnering the most support amongst this generation of donors. Global poverty, inequalities in education, and other social ills have been a constant. These donors want to do something new to make lasting change, and they want to see a measurable social result in return for their donated investment.

How to respond to this? Our clients are doing the right thing: they’re digging deep to determine how to reposition their work to create a stronger appeal to these donors. It’s a seemingly formidable challenge:

How can we interest people in our work who have no interest in our work?

Two answers—or rather, two scenarios. The first is that a nonprofit continues doing the same work it always has, because it has and continues to be effective—but, it repackages the way it talks about the importance and value of the work.

The second scenario? Reinvent the organization. Reevaluate the problem it’s trying to solve and invent different ways of solving it. Those who bravely choose this scenario are hoping both to make a bigger impact and to attract greater support as a result.

Let’s look at the first approach. (Check back for a follow-up post about one of our client organizations that is actively reinventing itself for the next generation.)

Our society needs cultural institutions like theaters and art museums. It needs organizations that will work to preserve parks and open spaces, protect animals, and reform policies. Our society needs the people who devote their time and resources to helping those in need of food, clothing, shelter and compassion.

And some of the nonprofits that do this work do it so well that their impact is taken for granted. They do it so well that the mission seems to lose its urgency. After all, if an organization has been plodding along for 50 years successfully tending to a critical issue, can’t we expect that they’ll do so for the next 50?

If your nonprofit is worried that new major donors aren’t coming along to fill the generous, committed shoes of your past major donors, its time to start talking about the importance of your mission in a new way.

Going back to your roots, back to your original uniting purpose, to determine what made your current and past major donors fall in love with you in the first place is the best way to uncover what needs to be brought to the fore in your next donor appeal. Focusing on how to explain the critical importance of your work, instead of assuming people already understand that, is a must-do.

Chances are your brand—marketing jargon for reputation—has gotten muddled over the years. Your messages to your key audiences may not be as clear and succinct as they should be. Perhaps your communications routinely include the jargon and insider language that has the effect of keeping donors out, instead of inviting them in.

Most of your donors have something in common with each other – their values, their lifestyle, or their priorities. Make a list of what those are likely to be, and imagine that you had to start from the beginning with one of your donors, convincing them that a gift in support of your organization’s mission matters.

What would you say to draw them in? Start from their point of view. Not from the point of view of your organization and what it needs, but in a way that shows the donor how his or her values can be manifested and acted upon by supporting your work. This exercise can dramatically change the way you talk, write, Tweet, and blog about your work, and will help you attract the new donors needed to fuel your efforts into the future.

There will always be donors who want to fund the next flashy, big idea. But there are also donors who will believe – with a little strategic outreach on your part –
that your work is fresh and critical

If you’re like us, you’re watching more and more television programming on the Internet via sites like Hulu, rather than traditional networks. And you’ve probably noticed that many of the advertisements — particularly for older programs — are from nonprofit organizations.

Being the savvy nonprofit marketer you are, you’ve probably asked yourself, “How do I get my Public Service Advertisement (PSA) up there?”

Well, we asked ourselves the same thing. The answers haven’t been easy to find.

Until now.

Here it is, your complete guide to getting your free PSA posted on Hulu.

Step 1: Choose the Right Ad

Keep it Light
Hulu is providing entertainment. If you want your ad to be chosen, it can’t be overly depressing.

Hulu’s Brooke Citron says, “Our users come to Hulu to be entertained, and comedy is our biggest draw. Knowing that our users get upset when they see a very depressing PSA while watching shows such as Modern Family makes it all the less likely for us to traffic in heavier PSA. Understandably, if it is a weighty subject matter, please send us the “lightest” version that you have for your best chance of approval.”

Make it Evergreen
To run on Hulu, an ad must be appropriate to run the entire year. If you’re advertising a time-limited campaign or year-end appeal; your ad won’t run. Leave the push for upcoming events to other formats.

Keep it Family-Friendly
Hulu does not monitor, target or track PSAs the way it might for another type of advertiser. Make sure your content can run across the entire site on all channels, including kids/family programming. That means you need to leave out the controversial or shocking images.

Check the Controversy at the Door
“We do not support the efforts of gun organizations, religion, or political organizations,” says Citron. “Hulu cannot appear to take favor of any one controversial organization; we must remain neutral and non-partisan.” So if you want your ad to run, it can’t be controversial.

Make it Work for a Broad Audience
Hulu reaches a national and even global audience, so make sure your PSA is as meaningful to someone in Billings, Montana as it is to someone in your home town.

Quality Matters
The higher the production quality, the better chance your PSA has of making it through their process. So if your intern just created a slide show, save it for a smaller venue. The message you’re sending to the world needs to be crafted by professionals.

Step 2: Save it in the Right Format

Hulu Standard Definition Mezzanine File Format

• Size     540 x 404 or higher (4:3 aspect ratio), No black bars
• Size Option 2:      720 x 404 or higher (16:9 aspect ratio), No black bars
• Length:     :15 or :30 seconds
• Codec:     Any native Quicktime, AVID or Media 100 including MPEG-2, H.264No DivX, Sorenson, Cinepak or other lossy compression.
• Frame Rate:     29.97 – please preserve the native frame rate
• File Formats:     AVI, MOV, WMV or MP4
• Bitrate:     Greater than 2Mbps
• Color Depth:     32-bit
• Audio:    2 Channel PCM Audio, 16 bit preferred, or MPEG-1 44.1 KHz / 384 kbps accepted. Audio is required.
• Max File Size:     10GB
• Hosting:     Video ads hosted by Hulu
• Leaders/Slates:     Video must be submitted without leaders (slates) prior to the ad content. Please make content progressive.

Hulu High Definition Mezzanine File Format

• Size:     1440×1080 or higher (4:3 aspect ratio) *No black bars*
  1280×720 or higher (16:9 aspect ratio – 1920×1080 preferred) *No black bars*
• Length:     :15 or :30 seconds
• Codec:     MPEG-2 Program Stream
• Frame Rate:     29.97 – please preserve the native frame rate
• Bitrate:     Constant Bitrate (CBR)_ 15-30 Mbps, Main Profile @ Main Level (MP@ML), 4:2:0 Color Space
• Audio:     2 Channel PCM Audio, 16 bit preferred, or MPEG-1 44.1 KHz / 384 kbps accepted. Audio is required.
• Max File Size:     10GB
• Hosting:     Video ads hosted by Hulu
• Leaders/Slates:     Video must be submitted without leaders (slates) prior to the ad content. Please make content progressive.

Other Assets

Hulu asks that you provide:

• Your logo in vector format (either AI or EPS) to create the slate which will be displayed prior to the video commercial, and simultaneously with the voice-over
• The phonetic pronunciation of your organization to be synced with the voice-over, “Hulu is proud to support the efforts of  ____________”
• Your 300 x 60 companion banner in JEPG (which will be displayed simultaneously with the video commercial in the top right hand corner)
• Your 300 x 250 end card in JPEG which will show up at the end of the video commercial and allow users to click through to your site
• The click-to URL for your organization

Step 3: Contact Hulu

Brooke Citron and Lauren Kohli oversee PSA placement for Hulu. Brooke should be contacted directly via email (advertisers (at) hulu.com) if you have a PSA you want to place.

Remember:

• Be nice. You’re asking for something for free.
• Be brief. Busy people appreciate brevity.
• Be clear. Assume the folks at Hulu haven’t heard of your organization or the problem you’re addressing. Quickly explain WHY your organization does its work. (That is much more important than HOW you do your work. But that’s a different blog post.)

Good Luck!

As far as we know, this is the only resource explaining how Hulu’s PSA program works. Please share your experiences here, and let us know if there’s anything else you’ve learned that can make this process even easier!

Related Post: The YouTube Nonprofit Program

You don’t have to blog. Just as much as you don’t have to Tweet, Facebook, or set up a profile on LinkedIn. But it’s likely that you have, because in this age of information, with instant virtual connections to friends, family, coworkers, and interest groups, blogging is one of the cheapest, most accessible methods of increasing your nonprofit’s visibility.

Not long ago, integrating social media into your organization’s communications plans also may have seemed like gratuitous work, extra “stuff” on your to-do lists that you’d cross off haphazardly. Tweeting took a couple of seconds, Facebooking a few more.

Blogging, on the other hand? You thought you left your essay writing days behind with College Writing 101!

These days, however, organizations without blogs are few and far between. Why? Blogging is one the best ways to reinforce your credibility in your given sphere and keep your most important audiences engaged in your work.

Now, we know that blogging for your organization is harder than it seems. With all the great blogs out there, you may feel the pressure to be unique, eloquent, witty, insightful, and inspiring—all at once! Talk about a blogger’s block.

We’re here to tell you to stop worrying and to start “blogstorming.” We’d like to offer you some advice on the seemingly arduous process of blogstorming: outlining and creating your nonprofit’s next blogpost.
 
 
1. First and foremost, scribble down your own ideas. Avoid reaching out to team members, or skimming other relevant blogs (we’ll get to that later). In a recent Washington Post article, Jena McGregor explains why group brainstorming is ineffective: a phenomenon that researchers call “cognitive fixation.” When exposed to other group member’s ideas, individuals are likely to fixate on those ideas and experience difficulty in producing their own unique ideas. Also, some individuals are hesitant to introduce different ideas in group settings. Our point is: who better to write about your nonprofit’s work than those most intimately involved in what you’re doing every day? That’s you. Get writing.

2. After you’ve thought of a couple potential topics, then check out some related blogposts. You might gather some new ideas and enrich what you have.

3. When you feel that you’ve compiled a good list of topics, reach out to your team members for ideas—see what they come up with, and take note. Watch your list grow and diversify.

4. Perhaps you thought of a snazzy title for your blogpost. That’s great! But beware. Titles can cage your thought process, too. Once you begin writing, you may find that new ideas may evolve. Before you know it, your blog content will have a format, style, and angle that you hadn’t planned for. Once your blog topic has solidified, wrap it up with a nice, strong title.

5. Stay away from long, overly-detailed paragraphs. Remember how we thought we left our thesis-writing days behind? We did! Your nonprofit’s blog shouldn’t be composed of essay-length pieces. Think about the kind of article that would make your eyes glaze over. Now, write the opposite of that: a post that’s short, punchy, and to the point.

6. Be professional, but be human. You want your readers to emotionally engage with your blog posts, and you want them to take your work seriously. Write like you’re having a conversation with them: don’t ramble about the minute details of your nonprofit’s work—write something that shows why your work matters. Did you have a fundraising event recently? Tell the story of one of the individuals that needs the program supported by these funds. Your work and mission will be explained in between the lines. As the saying goes: show, don’t tell.

7. Don’t take blog writing as seriously as, say, grant writing. If you find yourself spending more than a day’s worth of writing on one post, you may be working too hard. Remember that blogposts can be short, and still be very strong.

8. That being said, remember that you represent your organization when writing posts for your nonprofit’s blog. This goes for the content, as well as grammar and spelling. Have a team member or two read it, for input and for spell-checking.

9. Keep blogging! Frequent blogging keeps your organization alive online. This may be the hardest piece of advice to follow. Many nonprofits are understaffed and underfunded for the work that they face—blogging is likely to be one of the least-pressing tasks. This may be true, but an hour or two a week is all you need.
 
 
So take a moment to look at your organization’s blog. What does it need? More fun, lively pieces? Perhaps some posts are getting lots of clicks, and others aren’t. If you were a potential donor, what would catch your eye?

And before you know it, you’re blogstorming.

When you sit down with your best donor prospect, chances are that you’re armed with a well-written and nicely designed case statement or case for support. But while a printed piece is essential,  it may not be enough.

Electronic presentations of your case for support are no longer a “nice to have.” They’re now a “need to have.” In the age of digital, your organization also should develop an electronic presentation that can live on your iPad and support your paid and volunteer fundraisers as they make their appeal.

If you’re still considering the best way to get your case on to your iPad, we review the best tools available to help you create a case that leaps off the page and grabs your donor’s mind and heart.

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Acrobat PDF

If you have an existing case statement, Acrobat may be the easiest way to move the presentation to your iPad. Nearly every computer has Acrobat installed. PDF files are easy to transfer, share, and use.

What it Most Closely Resembles in the Analog World: A printed report

Benefits:

• Easy
• Preserves design elements
• Simple to send, move, and share

Drawbacks:

• Unless you’re a master user, your presentation will be static. You’ll only be able to show slides on a page, and you’ll lack transitions.
• Embedding video and links is more difficult
• Updates could be more challenging, depending on what original application was used to create the document

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PowerPoint

The old stand-by. PowerPoint has been the go-to presentation tool since it debuted in 1990. For better or for worse, it is still with us. The great thing about PowerPoint is that it’s easy for the novice user to use it. My 7-year-old uses it in school. Of course, the challenge is that most PowerPoint presentations look, well, PowerPointy.

What it Most Closely Resembles in the Analog World: An Old School Slide Projector

Benefits:

• Easy to use
• Easy to update
• Transitions, videos, and effects are relatively easy to include

Drawbacks:

• Design usually suffers, which can make your organization look less professional
• Requires additional software to be installed on your iPad

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Keynote

Apple’s answer to PowerPoint, Keynote does everything PowerPoint does but adds that touch of design for which Apple is known. Keynote’s effects are prettier; it’s templates are better designed. Keynote and iPads are also made to play better together.

What it Most Closely Resembles in the Analog World: A cross between a slide show and a documentary film.

Benefits:

• Design
• Ease of use
• Great effects
• Easy to add video
• Easy to update — even on your iPad

Drawbacks:

• Requires purchase of an additional app
• Although you can export a copy of your presentation for PC,  there’s no Windows version of the software

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Prezi

Here’s the one you probably haven’t heard of — yet — but likely the presentation tool you’ll soon covet most for your iPad. Prezi’s are gorgeous and completely change how we think about presentations. Like the web, a Prezi doesn’t have to be navigated linearly. Although a user can play a presentation that will take him through a set course, Prezi’s can easily be manipulated — moved, zoomed, and expanded to dig deeper into a particular subject.

What it Most Closely Resembles in the Analog World: A flight simulator

Benefits:

• Beautiful
• New navigation concept allows you to change your presentation more easily, as needed, on the fly

Drawbacks:

• As with any new software, there’s a learning curve before you can use it
• While simple Prezis can be created for free, the on-going usage fees make Prezi a more expensive option over the long haul.

Sample Prezi:

We Can Help

Mission Minded specializes in helping you create your case for support, whether it’s in print, Prezi, PowerPoint, Keynote, or video. Drop us a line.

And no matter whether your case lives in print, on your iPad, or on the web, the best practices of case writing will always apply. Check out Mission Minded’s “Make Your Case For Donations: Create a Stand Out Case For Support.” Just one of our many Free Marketing Guides.

Mission Minded Founding Partner Jennie Winton’s guest post for the Foundation Center is not to be missed. Read “Five-Point Checklist For Creating a Great Nonprofit Tagline” now.

Jennie will also lead a free training, Taglines That Tell: Creating a Tagline That Sends a Message on October 25 in Downtown San Francisco. Don’t miss it!

We recently promoted a commentary by Noah Brier in which he reminds us that brands, like people, are only interesting if they talk about something besides themselves.

We couldn’t agree more.

Many nonprofit organizations we meet suffer from Boring Date Syndrome. You know the type. You meet them for a first date and they talk relentlessly about themselves the entire time, never showing any real interest in you. Unless it’s to ask what you think of them.

You don’t ever have a second date with someone who suffers from Boring Date Syndrome. You don’t offer to help them get cured, either.

When nonprofits talk only about themselves, they leave donors yawning, itching to get away, and without developing the relationship that will make the donors want to help.

When we work with our nonpfofit and foundation clients to help them think about what brand—or reputation—they need to establish, the first question is never about them. It’s about their target audiences. Who must your brand appeal to for you to succeed? And what do they care about most?

Nonprofits need to think deeply about their audiences—the people most likely to give them the time, money, and support they need to fulfill the mission of the organization. Once a nonprofit is very, very clear on the hopes and dreams of its target audiences, it can begin to craft the brand personality most likely to appeal.

If Stodgy Stu and Old Fashioned Olga are your best donor prospects, then you’d better be sure your brand reflects the dignity, grace, and lack of modernity likely to appeal to them—even if your executive director has her hip side. Building a good relationship with your audiences is based on understanding them and putting the parts of your organization that can authentically appeal to them front and center.

Take the time to create a character profile of what makes your audience members tick. They don’t see themselves as “donors,” “major donors,” or “new volunteers.” They see themselves as moms, activists, and nice people. And you should address them that way.

Give your target audience a name as though she is one person, and then list all the things that matter to her. Debbie the Do-good Donor cares about her city, feels proud to live there, and wants others to enjoy it. She’s passionate about the arts, volunteers at a local elementary school (even though her children are grown), and goes for hikes on the weekend.

Knowing what matters to Debbie will help you speak to her in a way that resonates with her. This may mean you don’t start with what’s most important to your organization. Eventually you can get there, but only if Debbie wants to be in conversation with you. And she will. If you start the conversation by asking her about her.

If putting this into practice feels harder than it sounds reading it here, just imagine you’re on a first date with a person in your target audience. Imagine how you’d charm your date. Would it by by barraging this new acquaintance with facts and figures about yourself?

We hope not.

I recently blogged about how to place an op-ed piece, but there is an easier and likelier way to get your name and opinion into the newspaper: Letters to the editor.

Readers are interested in what others in the community have to say and are likely to read the editorial pages. And policy makers and other opinion leaders also pay heed; they know letters not only represent, but can influence, the attitudes of a larger segment of the community.

You might think that in our Internet age, where anyone can comment on anything anytime, letters to the editor have become irrelevant or obsolete. Yet letters maintain a certain cachet that online comments just don’t.

This particularly holds true for opinion leaders and decision makers because of their placement on the prestigious editorial page and because they are few chosen from many. The fact that they are printed makes letters appear less ephemeral even when you share them electronically with your supporters or those you are trying to influence.

Letters to the editor offer several advantages and opportunities to:

• correct the record when a story gets the facts wrong
• critique or support an editorial, column, or op-ed
• praise or criticize a public figure’s actions or statements
• motivate readers to act
• build awareness of and credibility for your organization

What’s really great about letters to the editor is that they offer all these benefits while being relatively easy to write. They’re so short you can submit them on a regular basis and increase the odds and frequency of publication.

Here are some practical tips to writing successful letters to the editor:

1. Identify publications you know are read by your target audiences—those people you need to reach to be successful. Getting a letter into the New York Times is great but challenging. So don’t overlook local and trade publications that may prove easier to get into.
2. Monitor those publications for articles, editorials, columns, and op-eds addressing your subject matter. These days Google Alerts make it easy.
3. Respond immediately! The quicker you respond, the better the chance of placement.
4. Write a letter correcting the facts, offering a different or broader perspective, or supporting or opposing the position taken in the piece.
5. Keep the letter short—no more than 150 words—pithy, and really well written. Make just one point simply and clearly in your opening line. Then follow up with a few supporting fact-laden sentences that make your case.
6. Be witty if appropriate, or at least catchy and interesting, especially in your opening sentence, to grab the attention of both the editor and the readers.
7. It’s okay to be emotional but not nasty or personal. And make sure you stick to the facts in making your argument.
8. Don’t forget to reference by name and date the article, editorial, column, or op-ed you’re answering.
9. Include your name, position, organization, address, email, and cell phone number. If the letters editors can’t easily reach you to verify your submission, they’ll move on to the next letter writer. Include any special expertise you have with your signature information, e.g., published a book or study on the subject, professional credentials, relevant experience, etc.

Don’t be disappointed if you don’t get published. Keep trying, maybe on a monthly basis. Over time, you can prove your expertise and increase the likelihood of publication.

Certain people are published repeatedly even in the New York Times. Have you ever noticed that Brown University professor Felicia Nimue Ackerman regularly publishes letters in the Times? That’s because they’re smart, thoughtful, tightly written,  and she’s got great credibility.

Have you seen letters you wish you’d written on subjects you know well? Follow these simple steps and next time, you’ll see your name on the editorial page.

Do you have any tips or success stories you’d like to share with us?

Op-ed columns are a direct pipeline to opinion leaders, policy makers, funders, and other influential people whose attention most nonprofit organizations need to succeed. The op-ed page is a prominent place to gain exposure, build awareness, and increase support for your organization and its issues.

Op-ed columns, so called because they appear opposite the editorial page, offer a forum for the public to debate the important issues of the day.

Of course, everyone wants to see their op-eds in the New York Times, Washington Post, or Wall Street Journal, but often smaller newspapers are more appropriate for certain issues and offer a better shot at publication. So consider both your subject matter and your audience—whom you need to influence—and then determine the best arena to draw that audience’s attention. It may be a local publication or even a relevant industry journal.

Every placement, wherever it is, makes it likelier you’ll get an op-ed into more prestigious publications. And since op-eds help cultivate the writer’s image as an authoritative source, expect to be tapped by reporters and others seeking expert opinions or advice.

Here are some pointers to boost the odds of publishing your op-ed:

Keep it simple: Decide on one single point you wish to make. Then make it clearly and concisely in your opening paragraph and concluding paragraphs with your argument in between. Though lengths vary by publication, you’ll be safe with a nice, tight 750-word essay. And most important, cleanse the article of all jargon. Write for sixth-graders.

Keep it topical: Peg the column to some upcoming news event, holiday, historical anniversary, major conference, or some very recent significant occurrence or study.

Keep it clear: Know where you stand on the issue and offer a clearly reasoned argument in support of your position. Put your expertise and authoritative opinion on display, but don’t preach.

Keep it interesting: Back up your argument with facts and figures while offering entertaining (if appropriate), illustrative, and personal anecdotes to dramatize your point.

Keep it new: You want to add to the conversation or debate on your topic. Offer new insights, approaches, or solutions that engage the reader.

Your cover letter should include a brief bio that clarifies your expertise on the subject and puts the piece into context. If time is of the essence, then say so. Include your phone number, email address, and mailing address.

Major newspapers like the New York Times require that you submit to them exclusively. If they say no, then move on to your second and third choices. If all else fails, consider editing the piece down to 150 words and submitting it as a letter to the editor—the most read part of the paper.

Once you publish an op-ed, remember to use both social and traditional media to broaden its reach. Email your members about it. Perhaps send a note with a reprint enclosed to your major donors. Contact your critical audiences, such as policy makers and their staff, to make sure they’ve seen it. Get your allies to comment on it in letters to the editor to lengthen the op-ed’s life and further enhance its impact.

For more detailed guidance on the ins and outs of writing and placing op-eds, visit The OpEd Project, which is doing great work to increase the very under-represented voice of women on op-ed pages and, therefore, in the national debate.

What are your tips for publishing op-eds?

As part of our work to redesign the website of the Colorado Nonprofit Association, we surveyed the websites of every other state nonprofit association across the country.

Want to know where the best association websites are? You might be surprised to see that the most populous states aren’t necessarily those who lead the field in our unsanctioned, unofficial review.

1. South Carolina
   Hands down, the South Carolina Association of Nonprofit Organizations leads the field. Copy makes the organization’s mission crystal clear. Navigation is simple, photography humanizes the site, and key content areas jump from the page to lead the user to the most important areas.



2. Oregon
   The Nonprofit Association of Oregon benefits from having a good eye for design. A great logo leads to a strong “highlight” space. News headlines and upcoming events are easy to find, and navigation invites user involvement.
3. Montana
   Call me biased (I grew up in Montana.), but Montana Nonprofit Association has a great site. Despite a lackluster logo, the site clearly articulates who they are, makes news and events easy to find, and has a clear grid holding the design together.
4. Utah
   Utah Nonprofits Association employs a dual navigation system, creating an iconic system that leads users to join, find jobs, attend trainings and events, or find an expert. The site employs a strong grid that makes it easy to read. We’d like to see more attention on the member spotlight, though. It gets lost at the bottom.
5. Connecticut
   Like South Carolina, the Connecticut Association of Nonprofits’ site does a great job of quickly summing up its mission: “We help nonprofits help CT.” The site has a clear grid, and it’s easy to find news and events. Drawbacks: How many typefaces can a site employ? While it’s good from a usability standpoint, the site would benefit from a more nuanced eye toward color, type and overall design aesthetic.
6. California
   The Golden State’s nonprofit association sends the message that the organization is big and busy – maybe too busy. It’s tough to know where to look first and it isn’t necessarily clear what actions the Association wants the user to take.
7. Minnesota
   Minnesota Council of Nonprofits lets the user know that there are many ways to get involved. Content areas are clearly set apart from one another, but so many colors! The primary reds clash with the brick red back ground. A clear graphic identity standards manual is needed.
8. Michigan
   The design of Michigan’s site isn’t particularly sophisticated, but it’s clean and approachable. By being sparing in its use of color, Michigan Nonprofit Association succeeds in helping its ads and upcoming events jump to the fore. Adding columns to separate content in the main content area could help bump Michigan higher up this list.

Who didn’t make the cut? See the complete list of State Nonprofit Associations.

Think your state should have made the cut? Don’t agree with us? Add your comments below…