Nonprofits in a new era

Non-profit volunteer organizations face challenges like never before as they look for new ways to encourage different generations to join their organization while adapting to the world around them. As the Optimist International Marketing Chair and marketing committee member for several years, I was fortunate to work with dynamic presidents committed to meeting these problems head-on. One primary way we worked to address this was by focusing on the impact these organizations make in communities and the potential for collaboration with other organizations and individuals. 

This was most obvious during the Centennial Optimist International Conference held in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2019. From a new historical placard placed downtown to a unique piece of art commissioned for the local Ronald McDonald House, there was no question that Optimists had left a mark on this community. As a member of the marketing committee for this event, I was assigned to help with photography, social media posting, and media outreach to unveil the work commissioned by artist Jeff Hanson.

Following the centennial, the Optimists organization was also challenged by COVID-19. As Marketing Chair during this period, I led efforts to switch focus to supporting our members and their communities working through the pandemic. This included helping facilitate a virtual conference and presentations in June/July of 2020. Utilizing simple programs like Canva allowed members to see the potential for social media posts and graphics that were easy to make, even with no graphic design background. Many Optimist members are retired and do not have the same level of comfort with computers younger generations do. 

During both the 2019 and 2020 conferences, I provided training on how to create simple graphics, general graphic design do's and don'ts, and how to reach different audiences.