Kelowna Family Services (KFS) is a non-profit society that has been operating for 26 years and now
Question:
Kelowna Family Services (KFS) is a non-profit society that has been operating for 26 years and now offers more than 20 programs and services for families and individual community members. Services offered include family counselling, programs for children, parenting workshops, employment services and other support services. KFS serves about 500 families and individuals per year.
Approximately five years ago “The Gathering Place” was developed by a group of Hispanic leaders who decided they wanted to govern and manage an organization that delivered the same services as the Kelowna Family Services in a more culturally appropriate manner. The Gathering Place has experienced some turnover in its senior management position. It has had four executive directors since its inception. Previous directors have stated their reason for leaving was due to the low pay for a position they said required the same education and experience as that of a larger organization.
The new executive director, Jonathon Parlow was hired two months ago. Jonathon has Hispanic ancestry and is very connected to his culture and traditions. He came to the Gathering Place with a Masters degree in leadership and previous work experience in the field. When Jonathon was hired, the board of directors expressed their desire to improve the image of the organization to funders, the Hispanic community and the broader community.
The mission statement for Gathering Place is to improve the quality of life for Hispanic families in the Kelowna area by offering culturally appropriate programs and services that promote family self-sufficiency and empowerment. The organization is funded by the Government (Ministry for Children and Family Development and Health Canada).
Organizations in the Kelowna area have created a Community Services Coalition (CSC) and is comprised of Kelowna Family Services, The Gathering Place, and three other family service agencies in the area. The Coalition meetings are held monthly at Kelowna Family Services and Jonathon has been able to attend two of these meetings so far. Agenda items usually include progress updates from each of the agencies as well as problem-solving sessions on how to better integrate programs to serve mutual clients is often on the agenda.
At the most recent Community Services Coalition meeting funders from the Ministry for Children and Family Development and Health Canada were present. The executive director from Kelowna Family Services took up 20 minutes of the meeting to state how well the organization was serving its client base and also happened to have brochures of the agency on hand that included inserts about all of the benefits of the services they provide. The other agency representatives were not as prepared to promote their organizations, but did quite well nonetheless. Jonathon did his best but he knew he was no match in comparison to the other organizations.
After the Community Services Coalition meeting Jonathon attended the weekly Grandmother and youth luncheon the Gathering Place sponsored. Although the meal the youth cooked for the Grandmothers went well, the volunteer coordinator was absent, as was one of her assistants. Jonathon heard from one of the Grandmothers that the volunteers weren’t very reliable. He found out this was the case with the parent support volunteers as well.
Jonathon sat at his desk late that afternoon wondering where to start. He knew he had to do something soon about the volunteer problem, but he also knew she needed to draw up a longer-term strategy for the organization. He looked at the black and white photocopied brochures the organization had made up. They looked tattered and unappealing without any pictures, just text in different fonts. He knew it would take a lot more than new brochures to improve the image of the Gathering place to the funders, the children and families served, and the broader community.
Questions:
You are a consultant for the Non-Profit Management Centre and you have been hired by Jonathon to advise him on what steps to take in preparing a marketing plan for Gathering Place.
- What are Jonathon’s first steps he should do before planning a marketing strategy?
- What should Jonathon focus on in his marketing campaign?
- What advice can you give him about the print materials?