Integrated development is very important for the overall growth and sustainability of the non-profit sector. Having an integrated development and marketing approach is to simply bring several disciplines of an organization together and have them complement each other and work towards achieving a goal. The strategies that help improve integrated development are:
Collaborations
Non-profit sectors should identify like-minded organizations and individuals who share the same goals. They should then go ahead and collaborate. These collaborative measures can be put toward activities like fundraising. They could also collaborate in implementing some of the projects and programs that they have in their list of deliverables. This is doable as long as non-profit entities choose the right organizations and people to collaborate with. This could mean working with the private sector, other not-for-profit organizations and individuals.
Community Involvement
Involving members of the community in activities is a huge part of integral development. Long gone are days when nonprofits believed they are “saviors” who exist to deliver the community from some of the challenges they are facing. They soon realized that without the involvement of the community, the people who were supposed to benefit in some of the projects that they had carefully chosen felt detached and could not be bothered. That is why most nonprofits had to change their strategies and start involving the community more.
Assign Roles
The first step is for not for profit sector to know all the strengths and weaknesses of the people they work with. If it is an office setting, they should identify who for instance, is good at writing proposals, who else knows how to plan for a funds drive and who is good at publicity. Once they understand the people’s strength, they can now start assigning different roles. The roles should be assigned early enough so that the organization is able to achieve its goals.
Use Technology
There are many technological advancements that make work easier for the not for profit sector. To have an integrated management system, it would help to have some software that helps in keeping important information such as the records of potential donors, list of volunteers who can help in marketing campaigns, among other information. They should however only use technology that has been proven to work.
Training
For people who are working within a not for profit organization to appreciate the essence of having such a system, they need to be trained on the importance. This helps them understand some of the roles that they are supposed to play in the integration, and why it matters for them to be involved. There are also some skills that can be taught during training, including how to use social media to spread a message across, and some basics such as coming up with a budget when writing a proposal. When things are done right and everyone gets to appreciate the importance of integrated management, then non-profit organizations will have an easier time raising funds. They will also achieve their goals sooner.