The Empowerment Project
Prompt
Read the Harvard Business Review case study The Empowerment Plan (C): Generating Persuasive Communications to Raise Funds in a Nonprofit Startup
https://learn.snhu.edu/d2l/common/dialogs/quickLink/quickLink.d2l?ou=1276455&type=content&rcode=snhu-781278
Then, respond to the following:
• Identify the current state of the organization and what its needs are.
• Based on the information in the case study, select three target audiences for your presentation and establish SMART goals for each one. Explain how and why you selected these goals.
• Determine what other information you need to know about each of the three target audiences in order to create the most effective presentation.
• Describe stakeholder groups who may also need to be involved or kept informed of the presentation and its results. What role does each group play in relation to the presentation and project as a whole, and how do stakeholders differ from the target audiences?
Sample Solution
The Empowerment Plan (C): Generating Persive Communications to Raise Funds in a Nonprofit Startup is a Harvard Business Review case study that focuses on the nonprofit startup organization’s need for financial support. This organization, The Empowerment Plan (EP), was founded by Veronika Scott as an effort to provide training and employment opportunities to homeless individuals while manufacturing coats that can turn into sleeping bags. At the time of the case study, EP has been operating for five years with limited success due to inadequate funding and trouble connecting with potential donors.
Based on the information presented in this case study, three suitable target audiences have been identified, each with their own set of SMART goals:
1) Corporate Partnerships – Developing relationships with corporate partners could be beneficial for EP as it could lead to increased access to funds, resources and expertise necessary for advancement. A SMART goal in this category might be something like “establish ten new corporate partnerships within six months which result in at least $20K additional revenue”.
2) Donors – Potential donors are likely interested in the story behind EP and how donating may help further its mission. Therefore it would be important to create persuasive communications that focus on how donations can make a difference such as “raise $50K from individual donors within four months through persuasive communication campaigns utilizing digital media”.
3) Volunteers – Recruiting volunteers is essential for any organization and can even lead to additional types of support such as providing job leads or technical expertise which may benefit EP in its current position. Therefore a goal aimed at recruiting more volunteers might include something along the lines of “recruit 50 new volunteers over 6-month period who donate their time weekly towards achieving organizational objectives”.
In conclusion, each listed target audience provides unique opportunities for contributing towards organizational growth depending on what type of support they are able offer; whether it is cash contributions or volunteering their time—the main challenge lies in effectively communicating these benefits persuasively enough so that potential supporters take notice. With well-crafted SMART goals based around these specific audiences however this task becomes much more achievable thanks largely being tailored directly meet needs associated each group individually (Miles & Snow 2004).
