February 6, 2003 | Read Time: 1 minute
Three in four community foundations expect to spend as much or more money this year to market and advertise their organizations, according to a survey by the Cleveland Foundation and Marcus Thomas, a Cleveland advertising agency.
The survey, which was conducted by e-mail last summer, received responses from 220 community foundations, or 37 percent of those polled.
More than half of the respondents said they favored inexpensive marketing methods, such as sending e-mail to prospective donors or establishing a Web site. The most effective form of marketing, most said, was advertising at seminars for financial advisers, lawyers, and estate planners.
Almost half of the funds said they spent less than $25,000 on marketing and advertising during their most recent fiscal year. That modest figure stems from the fact that most of the responses — 40 percent — came from the smallest community foundations, or those with less than $25-million in assets, according to a report on the survey. Still, 12 of 14 foundations with assets of more than $500-million also were among the respondents.
For a free copy of the survey, send an e-mail request to jhirt-marchand@marcusthomasllc.com, call (216) 292-4700, or write to Marcus Thomas LLC, Highlands Business Park, 24865 Emery Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44128.
