If you want to promote social change, then you have to speak to the needs of your audience, speaking to the concerns of Trump supporters has to be part of that. Why? Marketing 101: Sell people something they say they need. You can create a need for universal basic income, a $15/hr minimum wage, or protection for LGBT workers. But, if your audience isn't interested in hearing about that, there's a huge problem. If you have a marketing team and $2 million annual communication budget, then maybe there's not much of a problem.
The following comments seem to apply mainly to political nonprofits, those that advocate for liberal or progressive policies. That would be correct. However, I think a wide range of issues can be framed in terms that speak to fiscally or socially conservative voters.
This Topic Dues Not Apply to My Organization:
I bet it does. Some nonprofits are about as nonpolitical as they can be, historic preservation organizations for example. Even if you would never even think of touching on national politics in your fundraising materials, there is probably some reason to look at the concerns of Trump voters. Depending on where you are, a third or more of adults voted for Donald Trump because they supported his message on national security, trade, jobs, immigration, and so on. Those four things probably swung the vote in Trump's favor for millions of voters.
This isn't a blog about political analysis, so I'll leave it at that. The point here is that Trump supporters are potential donors and may be constituents of yours without their even realizing it. Think of the situation as an opportunity: What does your organization do that overlaps with the interests of Trump voters?
You'll want to step back and answer a couple of more questions before that one though.
The Main Concerns of Trump Supporters:
I don't know exactly what they are, and I bet most communications people in liberal or progressive social change organizations don't know either. Unless I'm mistaken in your case, your first task is to look at what Trump supporters want. In a large nonprofit this might be a nationwide effort. In a city or in a region of a state you need to find out what area Trump supporters really want:
I'm not saying your social services charity should start a crime prevention program just to mollify Trump supporters. Instead, what you could do is a bit more subtle, less resource-intensive, probably far more effective.
And never forget that everyone has the same basic values and interests - health, job security, family, financial security, a clean local environment, stuff like that. If your work is in any way relevant to one of those values, you have a built-in way to speak to the interests of socially and fiscally conservative individuals.
Finally, if you haven't yet subscribed to Chronicle of Philanthropy, consider doing so. This post was inspired by a recent article on the exact topic described in my title. If you are a subscriber the editorial I linked, will give you more ideas for speaking to Trump voters instead of simply attacking Trump and his policies. These tactics would appeal to your base, but kill any real chance you have of reaching conservative and moderate citizens.
The following comments seem to apply mainly to political nonprofits, those that advocate for liberal or progressive policies. That would be correct. However, I think a wide range of issues can be framed in terms that speak to fiscally or socially conservative voters.
This Topic Dues Not Apply to My Organization:
I bet it does. Some nonprofits are about as nonpolitical as they can be, historic preservation organizations for example. Even if you would never even think of touching on national politics in your fundraising materials, there is probably some reason to look at the concerns of Trump voters. Depending on where you are, a third or more of adults voted for Donald Trump because they supported his message on national security, trade, jobs, immigration, and so on. Those four things probably swung the vote in Trump's favor for millions of voters.
This isn't a blog about political analysis, so I'll leave it at that. The point here is that Trump supporters are potential donors and may be constituents of yours without their even realizing it. Think of the situation as an opportunity: What does your organization do that overlaps with the interests of Trump voters?
You'll want to step back and answer a couple of more questions before that one though.
The Main Concerns of Trump Supporters:
I don't know exactly what they are, and I bet most communications people in liberal or progressive social change organizations don't know either. Unless I'm mistaken in your case, your first task is to look at what Trump supporters want. In a large nonprofit this might be a nationwide effort. In a city or in a region of a state you need to find out what area Trump supporters really want:
- What are their priorities?
- What are their concerns about public safety, jobs, or whatever?
- What programs or resources do you have that might be relevant to one of those concerns?
I'm not saying your social services charity should start a crime prevention program just to mollify Trump supporters. Instead, what you could do is a bit more subtle, less resource-intensive, probably far more effective.
And never forget that everyone has the same basic values and interests - health, job security, family, financial security, a clean local environment, stuff like that. If your work is in any way relevant to one of those values, you have a built-in way to speak to the interests of socially and fiscally conservative individuals.
Finally, if you haven't yet subscribed to Chronicle of Philanthropy, consider doing so. This post was inspired by a recent article on the exact topic described in my title. If you are a subscriber the editorial I linked, will give you more ideas for speaking to Trump voters instead of simply attacking Trump and his policies. These tactics would appeal to your base, but kill any real chance you have of reaching conservative and moderate citizens.
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