A friend who does a lot of consulting work in the US and Canada commented once to me that she was surprised at how reluctant Canadians seem to be to share information with each other. In this instance, she was referring to how difficult it was for her as a trainer to draw examples and personal opinions from participants in a group setting. I have noticed the same horrified reaction from non-profit organizations when the topics of collaboration and partnership come up. However the fear of "giving away the store" in your community outreach may be preventing you from building extremely useful and effective networks and planting the seed for very fruitful relationships.

Case in point: I volunteer information and advice freely, and have always passed on useful tips I’ve gleaned to other communications professionals over the years. This has included people in competing industries or businesses as well as other consultants. Not once have I felt taken advantage of, nor have I found that "giving" my hard-earned knowledge away has lessened the need for my services. Quite the contrary. I have ended up with an extensive network and more than enough opportunity to keep me busy and happy. This has opened doors in ways I could not have predicted when I passed on a simple tip, piece of advice or resource material.

Sharing your best practises with other organizations may seem like a threat and a quick path to extinction. But remember - if it took you 20 years to build your organization’s model, attract and retain your staff and volunteers, and cultivate and keep loyal supporters, it is unlikely you’ll be easily or quickly replaced or displaced. It is much more likely that you’ll find complimentary and mutual interests, make new friends and leverage your capacity to raise funds and deliver effective projects together. So speak up at events and seminars, try a pilot communications initiative together on a matter of joint concern, and think of ways you may share your lessons learned with others in your sector. I think you’ll find that you’ll get back as much as you give.

Recently over lunch a few colleagues were discussing the state of Canadian politics. Both painted colourful stories of their parents who were passionately involved in their chosen political affiliation back in the day where it "meant something" to support a party. Their comment was that the differences between the spectrum are so blurred, that party positions have become meaningless. Apathy is the result.

This reminded me of a simple but most important principle of marketing. You have to stand for something. Your mission has to be simple, and clear. Donors should implicitly understand the core purpose of your organization and relate to the need in a way that inspires them to action. The same applies to staff and volunteers.

If you have an inspiring message, repeat, repeat, repeat and resist the urge to overpower with variations on a theme. You’ll risk standing for nothing. 

In an upcoming e-newsletter I’ll cover messaging in greater detail. In the meantime check out Katya’s Andresen’s blog on keeping the message simple.