The Good Word & the Mighty Pen

by Shelli Drummond Stine, Organizational Advancement Specialist, do good Consulting

What's the one common goal among all organizations and businesses? You don't need to look too far down on your list of strategic goals before you find the answer: to be the group that everyone is talking about!

Whether your organization works for the greater good, or you're doing good work at a for-profit business, an important key to success is sharing your message with the people who need to hear it.

So, get the good word out there!

That may sound easy enough, but don't be deceived into thinking that “spreading the word” is the easiest part of making your organization a success – good communications efforts and strategic marketing of what you offer is critical. Indeed, it can make or break any mission.

If you're excited about the work you do, it may seem that shouting your mission from the roof-top of the nearest building is a great idea. It's quick, covers a lot of ground, and it's free! But when you really spend time thinking about strategic communications with your audience, it becomes increasingly clear that a roof-top methodology has serious flaws. What if people have their windows closed and they miss your announcement? Your message can't be delivered all day – no one has that kind of energy. Plus, there are so many other noises that are bound to drown out your “good words.”

Now, while it sounds perfectly inane to publicize your organization or business by shouting from atop a building, some groups or businesses attempt to become the talk of the town in much the same way – by employing methods that are ineffective, inefficient, and ill-planned.

Ask yourself these questions about your organization:

• Are there ways we can improve the connection with our audience?
• Are we focusing more on what we want to say than what our audience wants to hear?
• Do our publications and outreach events need freshening-up?
• Do our communications activities build relationships or generate one-time gifts or purchases?

do good Consulting can help your organization assess its strengths and weaknesses in the areas of communications and marketing. From formulating activities that build upon and improve current communication efforts to planning a marketing strategy and writing press releases, to designing print media ads and writing copy for your website, do good can help you get out the good word!

Typical marketing activities that do good Consulting assists with include:

• compiling a marketing strategy
• undertaking a thorough marketing audit of the organization
• writing copy for marketing literature and websites
• reviewing existing marketing materials
• designing and printing corporate literature
• drawing up a marketing action plan
  
• devising marketing campaigns to meet specific business objectives
• organizing events
• crafting a message to sell the mission
• publications and creative services
• media relations
• crisis communication
• public speaking
• relationship building
• outreach techniques
• internet strategies
• plus anything marketing related that will help you increase awareness of your organization and improve your image

Whether you seek to launch a new service, develop a new publication, or simply review current marketing activities and public relations policies – whatever your needs, do good Consulting can help you focus on the right areas and make your marketing as effective as possible.

Shelli Drummond Stine is the newest member of the do good Consulting team. As an Organizational Advancement Specialist, she specializes in marketing and outreach techniques, fundraising, and non-profit management and growth strategies.

Introducing Shelli Drummond Stine

I am delighted to announce the addition of a great new team member to do good Consulting’s array of talented consultants. Shelli Drummond Stine comes to do good with 13 years of non-profit administration, fundraising, and public relations experience. She has worked in a broad scope of organizational advancement areas including non-profit administration, individual donor and major gift campaigns, capital and endowment campaigns, short- and long-term strategic planning, board development and training, creative communications and marketing, public affairs, and external and media relations. She is a high-energy problem-solver ready to put her skills to work for small- to mid-sized non-profit organizations in Illinois.

Shelli hails from Springfield and lives in Champaign-Urbana with her family. Her extensive professional and volunteer experience have provided her with insightful perspective and educated decision-making abilities that will benefit do good clients in their entirety, ensuring that all facets of organizational advancement – development efforts, communications, and external relations – are functioning as assets to the groups’ mission.

At do good Consulting, Shelli specializes in combining an affinity for relationship-building with creative communications expertise – both oral and written – and strong analytical skills, to become the energetic, motivated partner that can take any organization to the next level. Her astute understanding of image-branding, narrative-focused communications, and unified messaging concepts have singled her out as a trusted, innovative professional. Shelli's mission-focused techniques surpass standard practices and inspire one-on-one connections, brand loyalty, audience growth, donor investments of time and funds, and lucrative corporate partnerships.

Concurrent to her work with do good Consulting, she works for the University of Illinois, where she has spent 10 years in arts administration. Her years at the University have developed her skills in nonprofit management and advancement. She specializes in creative marketing, public affairs, crisis communication, publications and web content development, grant writing, sponsorship programs, board management and training, annual fund campaigns, and special project proposals.

Prior to her work at UIUC, Shelli lead fundraising efforts at Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Sangamon County, where she served as development officer. As executive director of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central Illinois (serving a population of around 2 million across the central band of the state), Shelli was active in the strategic planning and execution of short term and three- to five-year plans in fundraising, marketing and outreach, program development, special event management, board creation and training, fiscal management, and chapter administration. Her leadership roles at these organizations were instrumental to their significant growth during her tenure.

Shelli holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in English literature from the University of Illinois. Having been an instructor of rhetoric and philosophy at the college level, she enjoys and endorses the value of life-long learning. With a personal background in the performing arts, Shelli welcomes creativity and imagination in each day.

To read more about Shelli Drummond Stine, the newest do good team member, click here. She can be contacted at shelli@dogoodconsulting.org. Welcome Shelli!

Group Profile: LifeQuest Center

by Jennifer Knapp, do good Consulting

“What we do is get to the core of the person. Once a person understands what holds them back, it touches their heart and they open to change.” These are the words of Connie Pierce, Executive Director of newly-named LifeQuest Center, formerly Family Life Skills Learning Center. The Center’s mission is to provide educational opportunities to help empower individuals so they can learn and grow. The ultimate goal is for people to develop healthy relationships with family, friends, co-workers, spouses, and children.

Their concept is fairly basic – help people from all walks of life get to the heart of their issues so they can deal with the real cause of problems, not just the symptoms. They accept people into their program that seek to improve their marriages, deal with addictions, and those who are court-mandated. The results are startling. “I’ve seen hard core probationers turn into pussy cats as a result of our programs at LifeQuest,” says Pierce.

Pierce does not tout LifeQuest’s programs for other people only. She counts herself among the many that have been personally affected by the Center. “Sometimes it is painful to hold up the mirror and see yourself,” she commented. “You begin to look at the negative things in your past and realize that you had a lot to do with them.”

LifeQuest Center helps people transform their lives through facilitated classes. The Learning to Live, Learning to Love program is a 25-week class addressing anger, communication, and listening skills, and developing healthy relationships of all types. LifeQuest’s Marriage Enrichment program is open to couples facing challenges in their relationships and those seeking to enhance their marriages. The Genesis Process is a relapse prevention program for those with addictive and compulsive behaviors such as drugs, alcohol, shopping, eating disorders, and others. Other LifeQuest classes are aimed at strengthening workplace relationships, building teen confidence, and core character development.

Currently, the organization is going through a transformation of its own. After serving the community for nearly 20 years as Family Life Skills Learning Center, the organization recently took on the strategic planning and re-branding process, adding new programs and services for members of the community. From that process, the non-profit emerged as LifeQuest Center to better reflect their mission and program focus. Over 70 people turned out for LifeQuest's grand re-naming event held under beautiful sunny skies this past Thursday morning.

“I think the new name really reflects what our organization is about,” Pierce remarked. “For people seeking change in their lives – to really transform them – LifeQuest Center’s educational and self-empowerment programs are there for them.”

For more information, contact Connie Pierce, Executive Director, LifeQuest Center at 217-351-3033 or connie@familylifeskills.org. More information on LifeQuest Center’s programs and services can be found at www.lifequestcenterinc.org.