Nonprofits Require Immediate Communication To Serve Immediate Needs

When you think of hunger, severe weather or abandoned animals, I’d be willing to bet your first thought isn’t “that can wait.” No. These are all pressing, immediate issues, requiring quick intervention — often from local nonprofits — to save lives.

For example, food pantries establish connections to help people suffering from hunger put food on the table. When natural disasters destroy neighborhoods, churches and local charities are often the first responders. Animal rescue missions find homes for the most vulnerable creatures within communities. All of these organizations rush to respond. Shouldn’t their outreach be just as quick?

When the worst occurs, nonprofits need instant donations, volunteers and action. Yet so often, communication lags due to the ineffectiveness of the medium. It’s time to modernize how these organizations reach their supporters.

These days, reaching an audience through email is a toss-up. Research shows nonprofits have a 21.6% open rate for emails at best. That’s a huge gap in outreach. While an email blast is a quick way to send a cohesive message to a large group of people, it’s statistically ineffective.

Phone calls are a more personalized option but have their own set of issues. First, they’re time consuming. Taking already scarce time and manpower to go down a phone list is nearly impossible during a crisis. Those hours could be better spent actually serving the community, rather than dialing away in the hopes of finding more volunteers or donations.

Some might think the most modern form of communication is a social media post. While it’s true the potential audience for social media is fantastic and the content is easily shareable, it’s hardly an effective way to reach all of an organization’s supporters quickly. Unless real money is put behind promoting a post, there’s the chance of getting lost in the newsfeed or home page of the social channel.

Believe it or not, there is a modern, easy method of communication for nonprofits that combines the best parts of email, phone and social media — with none of the drawbacks. Mobile push alerts have the convenience of an email blast, the personal reach of a phone call and the endless sharing potential of a social media post.

Mobile push alerts land on the top of the screen of a supporter’s mobile phone. They can be customized based on location, time and subject matter. This technology also allows links supporters can then share on social media, further amplifying the call.

When push comes to shove, those in need don’t really care how helpers are reached. They just need the call-to-action heard quickly by as many good Samaritans as possible. Mobile push alerts are simple, effective and allow nonprofits to communicate with the immediacy that the issues they face demand.