Just Do It

Throughout my career as a social work educator, I have had a secret passion, raising money. Social work is a business, effective financial management and fundraising are crucial skills that program directors must develop in order for social work programs to remain viable in the academy. I developed the love of creative management and learning about rudiments of the business of social work while attending an MSW program at Howard University.

To identify fundraising opportunities as well as develop innovative ways to market the social work department and social work education is easier than one would think. How many times have you had an idea and done nothing about it? Social workers are process people; we talk and talk and talk without ever sometimes taking action. We often resist the temptation to go after what we want, not wanting to be accused of being aggressive. We often think about things too long, unwilling to make concrete decisions. We often fail to lead change when change is needed; some feel the profession of social work education is reactive rather than proactive.

Working at a university, I have had numerous opportunities to develop programs to raise money. A few of the ways that I have raised money include: social work scholarships for the department, and for other organizations on campus, dollars for unique campus or community programs, and honorarium dollars. Most recently a unique opportunity for the social work department that will benefit practicing social workers in our community occurred by developing a partnership with a community bank. Each year it becomes more evident that social work educators can do more than we have done in the past to market the social work profession. If we do not participate in more marketing, then we could very well lose our profession by failing to attract students to social work programs. A low enrollment in both MSW and BSW Social Work programs has created a serious problem that we must pay attention to proactively. Marketing, public relation plans and fundraising must become a high priority for every social work director. We must recruit and retain social work students. We no longer have the luxury of sitting back and waiting for students to come through the door via the admissions office. We must create a public relations plan that brings students to us. The question that we all must address today, is how do we market our programs? How do we engage the community? How do we fundraise? How do all of these activities bring positive benefits to our programs?

The rules of marketing assert that one must be a risk taker if they are going to succeed. According to Vass (2005), patience, confidence, imagination, sensitivity, aggressiveness, energy, generosity and action are the skills necessary to hone to have success as a marketer. You must have the ability to sell your ideas and get others behind you. You must have the ability to be flexible. You must be creative and a risk taker. You must be an out of the box thinker. You must have energy. You must be flexible. You must realize that small steady steps bring success. Finally, you must act upon your ideas.

It is the responsibility of the chairperson and the faculty to take the time to develop strategies for recruiting students. The article “Mind Map Marketing: A Creative Approach in Developing Marketing Skills” (Erikkson & Hauer, 2004) discusses the use of mind map marketing. The diagnostic map, opportunity map, strategic map, and a CRM map are used as a creative approach to help one think outside the box. For example, the primary focus in recruiting social work students should focus on all social work programs (the industry) not just your social work program (the enterprise). “The diagnostic map describes the present situation; in this case, recruiting students to the field of social work. The opportunity map allows one to examine and discover ways to recruit students that will increase productivity. By focusing on opportunities, creative brainstorming and innovative ways to recruit students in a competitive environment are examined. The strategic map allows one to assess all of the viability within the strategies. Once a decision of how to recruit students is reached, the ideas are transformed into several action programs that can carry out the stated goals” (Erikkson & Hauer, p.179, 2004).

According to Ellis, Gould, Mallory & Shatila (2006), fundraising also requires plans and strategies if one is going to be successful. You must think about the targeted audience, the type of event, goals for the event, a time line, detailed responsibilities, advertisement, and evaluation. Fundraisers are a great way to gain publicity, increase volunteer support and raise funds. “It is important to remember that you are seeing a product. In this case, the product is twofold: a good time at the event and the opportunity for the donor to support the mission of the social work program” (p.253)

An example of successful fundraising is a project that our student social work club members carry out twice a year. The students sell roses to graduates’ family members prior to both the December and May commencement ceremonies. In its first year, the program raised approximately $1,000. Today, several years later, the social work club, bi-annual graduation sale, nets $6,000 per year. With these funds, students are able to travel to social work conferences and participate in community activities. They do not have to worry about money, since they understand how to raise it. The skills and successful fundraising goals that BSW students have developed will carry over into their professional lives. “Fundraising constitutes a major portion of any nonprofit organization’s activities” (Ellis et al., p.261, 2006).

Fundraising also requires risk taking and an ability to convince others that the activity is one in which staff would want to invest their time, to carry out the activities. It must be a win-win situation for all participants, but more importantly it must benefit the goals that the planning committee has established. “Planning a fundraising event is a serious decision. Partnering with other organizations can help fund community initiatives, but one must be knowledgeable about the strategies and techniques of fundraising” (Ellis et al., p. 260, 2006).

Ellis and colleagues (2006) believe that in order to get your creative mind flowing, it is important to develop a public relations plan. “The process by which an agency makes others aware of its existence and manages the ways others perceive it is a part of every agency’s public relations plan. There are at least two levels in which the plan must address. One level has to do with the goodwill produced by the daily operations and interaction actions of the agency [social work program]. The second level includes activities consciously and deliberately undertaken to increase the visibility of the agency [social work program] and to ensure that it is perceived positively by others in the community.” (p.100). A public relations plan charts the activities; these activities can include: “planned word of mouth campaigns, brochures and fact sheets, media coverage, direct mail campaigns, community events, press releases, media coverage, advertisement, web based publicity, and fundraising events. Each planned activity relates to improving the image of the social work profession by promoting the profession” (p. 101). The public relations plan creates a clear road map to success. A plan allows you to gain confidence as your embark in the field of social marketing and fundraising in order to promote the social work program. Smith (2000) (as cited in Pirani & Reizes, 2005) believes that “social marketing is a process for influencing human behavior on a large scale, using marketing principles for the purpose of societal benefit rather than commercial profit” (Pirani & Reizes, p. 132, 2005). By developing a public relations plan for the social work program you will become aware of the specific issues important to your department. The plan will improve the department’s image in the university and the community. It may increase the quality and quantity of the advisory board and other volunteers. It can improve staff satisfaction and finally it can help the organization prepare for all situations.

In an increasingly competitive economy, a social work program’s success depends on our ability to connect with all market segments. Social work can achieve anything, since we are trained problem solvers; we have the skills and the ability to work with people. Remember that life and the business of social work offers a lot of opportunities. You just need to know where to look for it, devise a public relations plan then take action. As stated in the beginning of the article, if you have an idea to market your social work program, do not brush it aside, keep in mind the slogan from Nike®, and “Just do it”.