Degree Name
Master of Science
Graduate Program
Mass Communication and Media Arts
Advisor
Bridget Lescelius
Abstract
Due to its ‘social image’ nonprofits have avoided marketing in the past, focusing their efforts on fundraising and promotional activities. Growing competition within the nonprofit sector has forced these organizations to re-evaluate how they think about marketing. Marketing- oriented nonprofits are out-performing their competitors who have been slow to adapt to this increasingly competitive environment. This project takes a look at a local nonprofit, the Friends of the Shawnee National Forest, that has yet to adopt this marketing orientation. This research gives insight into how a small environmental nonprofit in southern Illinois can use branding and marketing strategies to increase the number of volunteers, private donors, and corporate sponsors. This media project will also make practical recommendations to show how and why they should implement advertising strategies to maximize their results.