Nancy Schwartz Company

Maplewood, NJ, October 20, 2009 — Both large and small nonprofits earned top honors this week for their attention-getting taglines, demonstrating again that an organization of any size can craft a powerful, pithy motto to build awareness and connect with its key audiences.

“The universe of communicators is all abuzz about authenticity. But what the heck is authenticity, and how do you put it to work for your nonprofit?” So began Nancy E. Schwartz, founder of marketing and communications services provider Nancy Schwartz & Company, last week in a post on her Getting Attention! blog. In terms of communications, Schwartz said she sees authenticity as “being honest, direct and truthful and conveying those values via accessible, straightforward messaging.” Accessibility, Schwartz wrote, enables your audience to learn about what your organization really does, not just what you say you’re doing. She likened an authentic, accessible relationship

E-mail blasts that ask constituents for donations aren’t the only way organizations can use e-mail to advocate and fundraise. Another, perhaps less obvious, way is by including e-mail signatures in all the e-mails sent by your organization’s staff, a strategy discussed at great length by Nancy E. Schwartz, president of nonprofit marketing and communications firm Nancy Schwartz & Company, in her article “Nonprofits’ Most Missed Marketing Tool -- E-mail Signatures.” An e-mail signature is information that automatically is added to the end of an outgoing e-mail that typically includes the sender’s name, title, company or organization, and contact information. Schwartz calls it an “online

As the amount of e-mails sent to consumers and donors has increased, the use of e-mail filters to sort spam and unwanted e-mails has as well. An e-newsletter that gets caught in a filter and fails to get delivered is a missed opportunity to touch a would-be donor or build a relationship with a long-time constituent. Nancy Schwartz, president of marketing and communications firm Nancy Schwartz & Company, says there are techniques that nonprofits can employ so their e-newsletters don’t get caught in filters. She touches on these in the article “Avoiding Filters — 11 Tips for E-Newsletter Success,” which appears on her