Nonprofit Leader Series: Greg Cole, Emmaus House
Green Gate’s Nonprofit Leader Series offers a behind-the-scenes look at nonprofit communications, gathering insight, inspiration, and advice from people who not only have been there, but who currently are there. If you’ve ever wondered how other nonprofit professionals think about marketing and communications, you’re in the right place.
Introduction
Greg Cole is the executive director of Emmaus House, an organization that has been helping residents of Atlanta’s historic Peoplestown community overcome poverty, racism, and other barriers to opportunity for more than 55 years.
Greg himself has worked at the intersection of faith and money for more than 30 years, first as a church pastor and stewardship consultant and then as a nonprofit development professional.
He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School, a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of North Florida, as well as the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) credential.
Greg has served at Emmaus House for nearly 11 years now—long enough to see a dramatic change in the way nonprofits communicate about their work and missions. We caught up with Greg recently to ask him about some of those changes and how he (and Emmaus House) have responded to them.
Interview Questions
How have Emmaus House’s communications changed over time?
Well, they have changed a lot. When I got to Emmaus House ten—almost eleven—years ago, we were just doing print newsletters. We had a very rudimentary website, were barely toying with Facebook, and that was it.
So like most organizations, we've had to grow with the times. We started by updating our website and doing more with Facebook and Twitter. Then we started doing electronic newsletters in addition to the printed ones. Over time, those newer channels became more robust and more central to our communications.
The mail house stuff became less significant. We still do a mailer through the postal service for the holiday season, but that's really the only time we do that now. So that’s a major difference.
I would also say the complexity of communications has changed dramatically. Having the skills to make decisions about what's going to have the most impact is something I've had to develop over time, and it’s something I also rely on our marketing partners to advise on.
So I think it's been a time of tremendous change for us, and our communications look dramatically different than they did ten or eleven years ago.
What are some differences you’ve noticed as a result of those changes?
In some ways, it’s easier to measure success. When you send something through the mail, unless somebody sends back the response device, you have no idea whether they opened it, read it, or anything. So, you're kind of just shooting in the dark there.
There are lots of metrics that go along with using an email CRM. We know open rates, we know click through rates, we know how people are reacting to our Facebook and Instagram content. So that's a big change.
We can also experiment more because we see that immediate feedback in the form of hard data.
And our marketing partners have also been really good about providing reports at the end of campaigns that show our open rates, the impact of paid promotions, and more. So communication has become more immediate.
In some ways, it can also be more cost effective because we don’t have to pay as much printing and postage. So we’ve redirected some of that money toward the expertise and paying a communications firm to handle a lot of this stuff for us.
What has been the greatest challenge regarding communications and how have you addressed it?
One of the things that comes to mind is being clear about our target audience. We really have two audiences in some ways: one is the supporters—people who donate and stakeholders—and then there are the people who use our services and who might like us on Facebook or subscribe to our newsletter.
We've been pretty clear all along about the investment we’re making—that our marketing is about strengthening our financial support. So we don't do a lot that's targeted towards, say, the neighbors who use our help center or those who participate in our education programs.
So that's a bit of a challenge because I know some of our clients and neighbors are reading these things. We want to make sure that what they're reading rings true for them and doesn’t feel like we’re using them as tools simply to raise money. We're not putting people on display to get people to feel sorry for them or to be manipulative.
To prevent that, we try to be careful about the language we use. We used to talk about empowering people, but now we don't because we understand that people empower themselves and we provide the resources.
That's one piece of the language shift. The other is that we never talk about “poor people.” Sometimes we talk about people who live in poverty, but I don't even like that because there are many different ways people can be impoverished. A lot of the people we serve have very rich and beautiful lives. They just happen to not have a lot of money. So even though it’s cumbersome, I prefer to say, “people who live with the effects of material poverty.”
Another thing is, when we present images of people, we want to respect the dignity of that person. We try to show happy people as opposed to people who are downtrodden or upset. I think that's a much more effective way to represent them and respect the people we serve.
Another significant challenge is that a lot of people still respond to our print campaigns by sending back a check. We know a good portion of our donors are still opening and reading those print pieces, so we don't feel like we're in a position to just stop doing that.
Doing both [digital and print marketing] obviously adds to the cost, but I think it’ll probably be another generation before we can stop with at least some of the print campaigns.
What advice would you give to other nonprofit leaders when it comes to connecting with and engaging supporters?
Obviously, nonprofits come in many sizes with varying access to resources. For small organizations like Emmaus House, it's important to get the expertise you need because we can't do it all. We can't be experts in everything. In my case, I'm not only the executive director; I'm also the chief fundraiser and marketer as well.
I don't have the expertise to do all those things, so I rely on professionals to help me.
But I think being willing to try new things and then look at the data and ask, “Is this working? Is it not working?” is really important, and so is making the investment. We have to realize that marketing and communication aren’t things that are “nice to have.” It's something I think is really essential if we are to continue to grow our work.
I know a lot of nonprofits, when times are tough, start looking at what they can cut. And you know it's easy to say, “We'll cut our marketing or we'll cut our communications.” But, in my mind, that just creates more of a downward spiral.
So just recognizing how important it is, and how marketing, fundraising, communications… they all go together.
What would you like audiences to know about Emmaus House?
I think it's important for people to know that we are a place-based organization; that we work in a particular set of neighborhoods and really invest a lot of time in going to community meetings, getting to know our neighbors, and understanding their needs.
With our economic security work and our education work, this allows us to really adapt to the changing needs in the community. In order to keep doing this work, we constantly must adapt as we attempt to reflect the needs of the people we serve.
Is there anything you want to share as far as your personal connection to Emmaus House and its work?
The biggest thing is that I get to live out my core values through my work.
Not everybody gets to do that. And I feel it's an incredible blessing to be able to feel like we, at Emmaus House, are being the hands and feet of God in the place God has called us to. That's a tremendous privilege. And, when things are stressful, I always remind myself what an incredible blessing it is to be here.
More Nonprofit Impact
Sign up for our newsletter to receive updates and tips on how to improve your marketing and communications.
