The thrill (or terror) of sending an email blast to hundreds of Central Community House clients might be the biggest thing that sticks with me this week! As part of the development team at CCH, I am also helping out with marketing when needed. I was able to create materials for an awesome project at Central, called Saturday Adventures. Taking place July-August, CCH families will have the opportunity to travel to different sites around Central Ohio. CCH is providing transportation, tickets, and even lunch on most occasions! It is so exciting to think about families enjoying these excursions together. 

I think marketing for nonprofit organizations is so interesting, because not only are you responsible for spreading the word about the services you provide to the people you serve, but you are also responsible for outreach to donors. In development, we are tasked with conveying the importance of the work we do to donors, and in my first week at CCH, I was able to spend some time speaking to staff members across the organization. I asked people about the paths they took to Central, and I asked if there was anything I should know when trying to appeal to donors for their respective programs. One staff member stressed the importance of respecting the people we serve in our grant proposals, and I loved that she mentioned this. 

I have been interested in this topic for a while now. As I dive deeper into the nonprofit sector, I want to make space for others, and use my privilege to help and honor, not hurt and exploit, the people I serve. This article (https://blueavocado.org/community-and-culture/are-your-nonprofit-organizations-stories-dishonoring-the-families-you-serve/) speaks about the idea of the deserving vs. undeserving poor, the Bootstrap Theory, and the way nonprofits often exploit the people they serve to appease donors. 

I have said it before, but I will say it again: I feel lucky to be at CCH – they have spoken to me about this from the very beginning. The organization is a strong part of the community. The grants we are writing speak about the unique strengths of the Near East neighborhood in Columbus and the awesome people that live there. As I get more comfortable with writing these proposals, I continue to think to myself, “would I want the families we are speaking about in this proposal to read what I am writing?” If the answer is no, then it shouldn’t be written.