Non-Profit Relationships of Growing Importance

A growing non-profit sector demands for-profit businesses' attention.

The non-profit sector has grown steadily over the last decade. The number of organizations increased by 29% between 1989 and 1998. The growth in this sector indicates the increased importance communities place on socially conscious organizations. The growth of the non-profit sector also provides a cue to for-profit companies regarding their own place in communities.

In response to the growing importance of the non-profit sector, more and more businesses are taking the initiative to donate time and services to non-profit organizations. Among such for-profit businesses are AT&T and MakeItFun.com. Where businesses are not in the position to make such donations, a policy of discounted services for non-profit organizations is almost standard.

This is an expectation from the non-profit sector and community that young small business often overlook. But such an omission can be costly. Forgetting to form a policy regarding working with non-profit organizations can lead to embarrassment during a first encounter. Even worse, it can result in poor word of mouth relations for a new company in the community.

DragonFly Creative Media (http://www.dfcreative.com), a small marketing firm, relays some of its own experiences regarding non-profit companies. DragonFly provides services to several non-profit organizations including activist groups and medical associations. We were among those small businesses that didnt really think about non-profits as we got started. But then one of the first accounts we landed was a non-profit organization," says Heather Robson, writing director for DragonFly. It became clear very quickly that non-profit organizations can require more flexibility when it comes to budgeting. Not long after we began working with that first organization, we formed a policy of serving non-profit organizations at lower rates than other clients," Robson continues.

DragonFly Creative Media currently offers their non-profit clients a 10% discount on all services and has plans to increase that discount to 15% within the next year. As a service-oriented company that relies on other businesses outsourcing projects to them, DragonFly finds its relationships with non-profit organizations to be invaluable. DragonFly emphasizes that to build relationships throughout the community and to reach a valuable section of the market, small businesses do well to provide non-profit organizations with a bit of special treatment.