Marketing, Communications and Fundraising of NGO

Marketing, Communications and Fundraising of NGO Chikondi Mbewe Introduction Urban Promise Wilmington is a Christian organization focusing on serving at-risk children and youths in Delaware State. It was founded in 1998 by Rob Prestowitz. The vision of the organization came into existence when the founder volunteered in Camden. The city of Wilmington is still known as one of the most unsafe cities in America due to violence and drug abuse. The violence and drug abuse does not only affect the communities but also in the lives of young people who have a future. Urban Promise is raising a generation of hope of Christian leaders on the East side of Wilmington where there are shootings going on observed Miller, (dalawareonline.com Sunday News Journal A17, 2010). In 1999, the organization started running afterschool program, targeting elementary children at St Joseph Catholic Church. From 2001, the organization extended its program to some three new sites: Camp Promise, Camp Freedom, Camp Hope, and own an elementary school. Other two middle school Camps were also o pened to reach out at-risk youths. In 2010, the organization embarked on another big project of opening urban Promise Academy high school. The Mission Statement The mission of Urban Promise is to equip children and young adults with the skills necessary for spiritual growth, academic achievement, life management and Christiana leadership. The vision is to be a community in Christ of transformational and servant leadership, seeking a full life for all involved, urban youths and families, volunteers and staff in the neighborhood our city Wilmington. Market Mix Marketing mix refers to a unique blend of product, place (distribution), promotion, and pricing strategies designed to produce mutually satisfying exchanges with a target market (Lamb, 2009 p.47). Product, place, promotion and price are the major elements that determine the market. How does the product affect the market or the needs of the customers? Product Products refer to tangible goods, series, places, and ideas which customers buy, lease, rent, or use to meet their needs and wants (Wood, 2011 p. 97). Any company or nonprofit organization before it goes on the market, there are a number of questions needs to be answered. What are we really selling? What are the features of our product or services? What are the benefits of our products or services to the customers? Who is our target audience primary, secondary or tertiary? As an organization, answering such questions can help to be focused on what it wants to deliver to the customer needs with quality and satisfaction. Urban Promise Wilmington does not produce tangible goods but rather services As such our services are programs that we offer such as Afterschool program in six sites, Urban Promise Elementary school program, Urban Promise High school Academy, Summer Camp, Trekkers Program, Street Leader job Training program, and Intern Program. The features of our services are the quality of the programs offers to the communities, children, and youths that are Christ centered. The benefits of our services look beyond current challenges to see a future of hope and purpose. Such benefits include educational performance, spiritual enhancement, life skills management and behavior change management for young people. The programs enrich kids in a safe, positive environment during high-risk hours. More personalized assessment and focused intervention. Motivational programs such as speech contest, spelling and math bees, college trips, UK speaking tour as we train the minds and disciple the hearts. Price Price is that which is given up in an exchange to acquire a good or service (Lamb, 2009 p. 559). Price can easily determine the value of the product or vice-versa. if customers perceive the price to be too high in relation to the benefits, they simply wont buy, which helps to lower demand; if they perceive the price to be too low, for the expected benefits or quality, demand also will suffer (Wood, 2011 p. 115). This suggests that the price is the deciding factor to create more demand for the service or supply. But in most cases, customers focus on the benefits of the service or product. Time also affect price especially in times of low inflation, business can increase profit margins only by increasing efficiency (Lamb, p 86 bright space article chapter 3) In this case, Urban Promise Wilmington, it offers free Afterschool program but there is still an element of price for some services. The free Afterschool program is one of the strategies to achieve its mission and against competitors. For example, College trips, children, and youths pay $10, summer camp each kid pay $25 which is used to buy summer T-shirt, and the field trip every Friday for six weeks. But parents are given options either to pay or not. To the customers who are parents, in this case, it might sound almost free when they consider the benefits. The price makes the services more valuable to the customers. On the other, the price is the essential weapon that can easily change the market system of the product easily (Lam, 2009). Though Urban Promise offers free services, but that does not really free as an organization. The organization suffers a lot to make sure it is working hard to fundraise in order to cover other costs that go for free to the customers. In fact, Urban Promise understands that families whom they work could not manage to pay for services if offer. Again its goal was to penetrate into the community with the gospel. Afterschool was indirectly used to offer other services to the young people. How is the program promoted in the inner city? Promotion Promotion is also called consumer-influencer strategies. Lamb (2009) defines promotions as communication by marketers that informs, persuades, and reminds potential buyers or customers of a product in order to influence their opinion or elicit a response (p.471). Product or service, price, and distribution can literally get into the market points or distribution but the questions still remain. How will the customer know about your products or, your newly established brand and organizations? This is the role of promotions which includes advertising; public relations which help people know you or the products and services (Levens, 2010). How does Urban Promise Wilmington inform, persuades, remind, and educates the customers? Urban Promise uses several ways to educate and inform its customers. In the first place, it uses annual events like Banquet. The Banquet serves three main important roles: fundraise, sell the programs, and invite people for partnership. The event each year brings together more than six hundred people from the different world of the corporate world and nonprofit. Secondly, Urban Promise partners with different churches. Churches have been a powerful tool in informing the mass about the programs offered by organizations. Thirdly, each year Urban Promise go for recruiting in Colleges around the world in its intern program. The organization has people from Finland, Scotland, Chile, and Africa and within states. People who have served with Urban Promise have promoted the organization to the height. Lastly, it also uses internet such as website (www.urbanpromisewilmington.org), blogs, press release, magazines, flyers, and Face book. Multiple ways of promotion in the organization, suggest that customers usually feel, sense, and taste differently on the same product. Promotion strategy is closely related to the process of communication. As human we assign meaning to feelings, ideas, facts, attitudes and emotions (Lamb, p.400 Marketing and communication article, bright space) Place or distribution Place or distribution is an essential part of marketing because without it, products arent available for customers to buy and profit is lost (Levens, 2010 p.152). Further, Levens define distribution as the process of delivering products and services to customers (p.150). We cannot discuss product without considering where the product will be distributed or shared with the customer. Any customer accesses our services through distribution points that are strategically defined. The Afterschool program at Urban Promise Wilmington targets Church-owned facilities as key points of distribution service. Why? The churches in the City of Wilmington are the main partners of Urban Promise which have more customers to buy our services. The Afterschool program is offered in the way that meets the mission of Urban Promise by making the bible the center for counseling. Free Afterschool program and considering the bible as the center for counseling distinguish Urban Promise from its competitors. Urban Promise serves 600 children and youths each year through Afterschool and summer programs. The organization understands that the needs for educational excellence for less privileged families. The programs are offered at the most critical hours from 2:30 pm up to 6:30 pm of which most parents at work. The main competitors are The YMCA, Simply Equal Education, Literacy Delaware, and Jewish Community Center of Delaware, Inc. The stated nonprofits also run similar programs in the same locations. The only different with Urban Promise is the free Afterschool program and focuses on sharing gospel message to the young people and grooms them to become reliable citizens of their families and communities at large. Conclusion The elements of the Market mix are interconnected and missing one can easily affect both the organization and customers. The market mix helps the organization to achieve its mission through well-coordinated market activities such as product, price, promotion, and place or distribution. Products or services are supposed to add good value to the customers. Products or services determine the market. Good product that meets customers needs and satisfaction are likely to fetch high demand. Sometimes the quality of products or services affects price either positive or negative. Customers are accustomed to knowing the benefits of products before they even consider the price. In addition, the products, and price are also determined by the place or distribution. The same products or services can be charged differently depending on the status of the place. Furthermore, the product, price, and place require promotion to inform and persuade the customer to buy the services. Therefore, the goal of the market mix is to meet the needs and satisfaction of the customer. References Lamb, C.W, Hair, J.F McDaniel (2009) Essential of marketing; South-Western, Cengage Learning, United States Levens, M (2010) Marketing: defined, explained, applied. Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, United States Wood, M. B (2011, 4thEd) The Marketing plan; handbook, Pearson Prentice Hall, upper Saddle River, New Jersey www.urbanpromisewilmington.org Lamb, e-chapter13, (2009) Marketing and Advertising article https://eastern.brightspace.com/d2l/le/content/23621/viewContent/613432/View Lamb, e-chapter 3, (2009) Social responsibility, Ethics, Marketing and Environment article https://eastern.brightspace.com/d2l/le/content/23621/viewContent/613429/View

Rabbit Proof Fence Essay

Physical journeys involve the movement of a person from one place to another. They provide opportunities for travellers to extend themselves physically, intellectually and emotionally as they respond to challenges and learn more about the world around them. This concept of physical journeys can be clearly seen in the texts â€Å"Rabbit-Proof Fence† by Phillip Noyce and â€Å"A Horse with No Name† by America. Both texts use a number of methods and technical features, to represent the journey and the impact of its result. The film â€Å"Rabbit-Proof Fence† tells the story of 3 Aboriginal girls (Molly, Daisy and Gracie) who travel on foot across 1500km of inhospitable Australian outback to be reunited with their family, after being forcibly removed by the Australian government. It has been represented as a physical journey of epic proportions, an act of survival and a quest for freedom, as the girls lead by Molly, overcome various obstacles. Such as surviving without food, water or shelter in the harsh Australian bushland, while navigating their way home via the rabbit-proof fence and cleverly outsmarting their tracker. The primary setting of the text is the physical landscape of outback Australia over which the girls embark their journey. This landscape is used throughout the film to represent the progression of the girl’s journey through its changing terrain, emphasising the distance they have travelled and the hardships that they have had to face. Their lack of freedom on the journey is represented visually through the juxtaposition of point of view shots of the landscape through the bars of imprisonment, when they are being sent away. This contrasts the previous scenes where an aerial shot is taken of them roaming freely, in their vast and spacious environment. In effect it symbolises they oppression that they feel and creates an understanding of the importance of the journey to the girls. The use of other film techniques such as slow motion, the playing of indigenous Australian music and close-up shots of their faces during the girls travels emphasis their physical and emotional displacement as a result of the journey. Also as the film is seen through the eyes of Molly we are aware of the importance of the journey to her through her continuous determination, as well as the impact it has had on her through her gradual deterioration and exhaustion. The film relies on the conventions of realism to represent the physical journey undertaken. The hardship of the journey is illustrated through a series of images, including a heat haze-where they are dragging their feet through the sand, them digging desperately for water and Molly carrying Daisy, as she cannot continue any longer. This physical journey has resulted in individual learning and growth and an understanding of the world. This is particularly evident through the character of Molly. As a result of this journey, she has discovered many things about herself, her spirituality and her identity, as well as the world she lives in, and her place in it. In the song â€Å"A Horse with No Name† a story is told about a man travelling by himself through the desert on a horse. He is exploring the world, and discovering things about himself and life without the interruptions that society and its people bring. The theme of physical journey has been reinforced by the consistent rhyming pattern of ABAB throughout the song. As it flows, it progressively reveals his story and reinforces the impact it has had on him. The concept of physical journey has also been achieved through the choice of words that reveal his inner feelings and motifs. Evidence of this is in the line â€Å"in the desert you can remember your name, cause there ain’t no one for to give you no pain†. This indicates he is on the search for his identity and to escape from society, which inturn represents the physical journey as a quest for spiritual growth and change. Throughout the journey the man looks many aspects of nature and life, these have had an impact on him physically due to the harsh climate of the desert and emotionally due to the sadness he feels in the face of death. This is illustrated through the use of figurative language in the lyrics and shows the impact and reality of the journey. The metaphor â€Å"the ocean is a desert with its life underground, and a perfect disguise above† represents and adds depth to the theme of physical journeys resulting in discovery and an understanding of the world. The extensive use of visual features and imagery such as â€Å"the sky with no clouds†, and the â€Å"red hot desert sun† coupled with the precise attention to descriptive detail, offers a realism to the experiences on his journey and the impact that this journey has made in his life. In conclusion, in both â€Å"rabbit-proof fence† and â€Å"a horse with no name† the concept of physical journeys is represented as a way by which people learn about themselves and discover the world around them, and will often result in spiritual growth.

Gender Inequality and Discrimination Essay

The working environment in the United States is still not free of gender discrimination. There are still many cases of arbitrary discrimination that come to the attention of the public, such as Chrapliwy v. Uniroyal. The court case challenged the system of Uniroyal Inc. (a rubber company), which employed mostly female workers in their footwear production division, while males dominated the other lines. This segregation is arbitrary gender discrimination, for there is no biological reason as to why women are more suited to working with footwear as opposed to men. Furthermore, there is an inequality in pay rate between men and women. In an article about gender differences, Time Magazine found that for every dollar a man makes at a certain job, a woman makes only $0.79 at the same job. This may be filed under arbitrary discrimination, for the benefits of this position are brought about by irrational decision-making. The question of gender should have nothing to do with the pay rate in cases that deal with the same employment opportunity. Sex discrimination is commonly defined as the â€Å"arbitrary or irrational use of gender in the awarding of benefits or positions†. In other words, even when a job does not relate to gender roles, the employer chooses to consider gender when hiring employees. For example, the job of a teacher is very gender-neutral; the job skills do not require anything special that only one sex provides. A construction worker, on the other hand, must be physically strong, and in this case, generally speaking more men are suited for this role. If a school principal were to hire a new teacher (from an applicant pool of both men and women) based solely on the fact that he doesn’t want to hire a woman, this is an example of arbitrary discrimination. The logic behind the decision is irrational, for the woman may be more qualified than the man, but the benefits are no t awarded to her only because of her gender. Kymlicka goes on to describe gender inequalities: these are already built-into jobs and positions so that women are at a disadvantage. Men have defined job roles and thus have made it more difficult for women to be suited for these roles. The most common example is  of jobs that require the employee to be free from childcare. This means that the employee is not the primary, full-time childcare provider. For example, lawyers work full-time, which is near impossible with young children to take care of. The raising of a child in itself is a full-time responsibility, so it is difficult to balance with a demanding career. In this case, Kymlicka would argue that men would naturally be more suited to the job of a lawyer because men have structured this job â€Å"in such a way as to make [it] incompatible with child-bearing and child-rearing, and which does not provide economic compensation for domestic labor†. In other words, because society views childrearing as the female’s role, and childrearing requires much time and attention, a lawyer is a male-suited role because it requires much time, which males ha ve. Although Will Kymlicka gives a good analysis of the gender discrimination and inequalities that happen in today’s society, his solution is not enough to answer the broader political and psychological question that society faces. Kymlicka argues, â€Å"Since the problem is domination, the solution is not only the absence of discrimination but the presence of power†. He says that if women could have the power to redefine the existing job roles (or if they would have had the power to define the job roles when they were created), â€Å"we would not have created a system of social roles that defines ‘male’ jobs as superior to ‘female’ jobs†. I believe that the real issue is not how women can redefine pre-existing jobs so that gender inequality is abolished; but rather, how can society change its prejudices towards the role of women through the restructuring of laws and policy implementation? Instead of changing job characteristics so that they become gender-neutral, society should look at men and women as equals so that women have an equal chance at fitting the demanding roles that have already been established. One can start by looking at a doctor as an example of a male-defined profession that is arguably becoming female-dominated. To become a doctor, much education is needed, and when this job was created, only men had the ability to get this higher education. The first woman to graduate from medical school (Elizabeth Blackwell) did so in 1849: much later than the men who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School in 1765. Now that the admissions gender ratio of medical schools are about even, this has ceased to be a â€Å"male† job; rather, it is gender neutral. On the other hand, the career of an attorney still has a major  discrepancy between the sexes. Even though 49% of law school graduates are female, they only make up 27% of licensed lawyers in the country. Obviously, the access to education is equal, and so does not contribute to the male dominance of this field. On the contrary, this job is male-suited because of the limitations that it poses for women who wish to have children. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the position of attorney is extremely time-demanding: lawyers are forced to work irregular hours, weekends, with 33% working over 50 hours per week. How can this job be redefined so as to allow more women to be competitive in the job market? Kymlicka would suggest that women be empowered to redefine the position to suit them better—this would mean redefining the position by not working as many hours. If it can be done, it will be difficult. The alternative to this solution is to go to the source of the problem: the gender roles that society already holds. Women are usually the primary source of childcare; this means that their employment opportunities are severely limited to those jobs that have flexible hours in which they could balance domestic and public/private sector work—jobs unlike that of a lawyer. If society would be more accepting of males being the primary caregiver for children, the number of males who either stay at home or take on less-demanding occupations would displace the high number of women who already fill this role. The women who would enter the job market would then be on equal terms with their male counterparts seeking the same demanding jobs. If society would view the two genders as equal for child rearing (e.g. women are not the majority of primary caretakers), there are still complications that arise from the roles, which are deterrents for women. For instance, even if the woman is not the primary caretaker of the child after pregnancy, this does not make up for the fact that there is still a period where she is unable to work due to pregnancy. In other words, the role of mother and father can never be fully equal because the mother has the extra responsibility of carrying the baby to term. However, if the social roles for each gender were to be equal, viewing paternity leave as mandatory could solve this problem. According to the Newborns’ and Mothers’ Health Protection Act of 1996, health plans must pay for at least 48-hour (vaginal) or 96-hour (caesarean) hospital stay afte r childbirth. This means that at the minimum, a woman should take two days off for maternity leave to recover, if nothing else. Although a man does not  need to physically recuperate from childbirth or pregnancy, he is still a parent of the child and should be viewed with equal consideration when dealing with childcare issues. By making paternity leave mandatory, employers could no longer discriminate between the sexes by accounting for the time lost due to pregnancy. This would not be a difficult policy to implement, considering 71% of fathers took advantage of paternity leave in 2007. To expand on the idea that the roles of the sexes cannot be equal in every aspect: mothers who choose to breastfeed are at a disadvantage, for they will likely take more days for maternity leave. Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), a woman can take up to 12 weeks off of work. This option serves as a reason why an employer may not hire a woman, even if the social roles of men and women were equal. However, this can be easily fixed by creating an incentive for women to choose to formula-feed or to pump their breast milk—this would make it so that they could return to work as soon as a man would. The FMLA states that although maternity and paternity leaves are unpaid, health benefits still apply. These health benefits could extend to partially cover the cost of formula or a pump. Baby formula is very costly because of the quantity that is needed, and breast pumps and bags can range from $20 to over $200 (depending if it is manual or electric). By making alternative options to breastfeeding more accessible, women need not take more time off than men, and so gender inequality is invalid. Furthermore, even if society views gender roles equally, this does not account for the fact that the majority of men are physically superior to the majority of women when it comes to manual labor. Looking at any construction or shipping sites, one will find that if not entirely composed of men, almost all employees are male. Obviously, if the job is physically demanding and the male sex is the most equipped at handling physically demanding jobs, females will very rarely be more qualified for the job than a male applicant. This can be remedied by the use of technology. In today’s society, much manual labor can be handled my machines that are designed to lift even more than a human being can. These machines need not be operated by those physically superior. If we take manual labor out of the equation by adding technology, both sexes would have an equal opportunity at the job; this is considering the fact that neither sex is inferior in controlling technology. It is here where society can put aside sexual differences and  instead become â€Å"sex-blind†. A sex-blind society is one that does not take into account gender for the awarding of benefits through employment, opportunities, etc. There are many instances in which it would be helpful to have a sex-blind society, but there are some instances where different treatment of the sexes is justified. Kymlicka brings up the example of sex-segregated washrooms. These would not be considered discriminatory because the physical difference between the sexes calls for different treatment. Still, these instances are so rare and are so well justified that they should not interfere with the important notion of the sex-blind society. By eliminating the need for discrimination in manual labor due to physical differences through the implementation of technology, society can successfully become sex-blind and thus end gender discrimination. So to answer the question of how to change society’s prejudices towards the role of women, it is obvious that if minor changes are made to these demanding jobs, they can be viewed as gender-neutral. This in turn will allow more women to compete against men for a variety of jobs. Instead of redefining job roles, society must redefine gender roles through the lens of childrearing; this is so that jobs that are now limited to those individuals without the responsibility of childcare may become more gender-diverse in competition. Today’s society has all the resources needed to implement these changes—it’s just a matter of time until they are enacted in policies and eventually shift gender relations and stereotypes in favor of gender equality. Works Cited Armour, Stephanie. â€Å"Workplace tensions rise as dads seek family time.† USA Today, December 11, 2007. Accessed May 9, 2011. http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace/2007-12-10-working-dads_N.htm. â€Å"Chrapliwy v. Uniroyal.† Wikipedia. Accessed May 9, 2011. Last modified February 22, 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrapliwy_v._Uniroyal. Cloud, John. â€Å"If Women Were More Like Men: Why Females Earn Less.† Time Magazine. Accessed May 9, 2011. Last modified October 3, 2008. http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1847194,00.html. Kymlicka, Will. Sexual Equality and Discrimination: Difference vs. Dominance. 1990. In Morality and Moral Controversies: Readings in Moral, Social, and Political Philosophy, edited by John Arthur and Steven Scalet, 572-575. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009. â€Å"Leave Benefits: Family & Medical Leave.† US Department of Labor. Accessed May 9, 2011. http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/benefits-leave/fmla.htm. Lewis, Jone Johnson. â€Å"Elizabeth Blackwell: First Woman Physician.† About: Women’s History. Accessed May 9, 2011. http://womenshistory.about.com/od/blackwellelizabeth/a/eliz_blackwell.htm. Lloyd, Mark Frazier. â€Å"The University of Pennsylvania: America’s First University.† University Archives and Records Center University of Pennsylvania. Accessed May 9, 2011. Last modified November 1999. http://www.archives.upenn.edu/histy/genlhistory/firstuniv.html. â€Å"Newborns’ and Mothers’ Health Protection Act.â €  US Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration. Accessed May 9, 2011. http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/newsroom/fsnmhafs.html. â€Å"Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition, Lawyers.† Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. Accessed May 9, 2011. Last modified December 17, 2009. http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos053.htm. Werner, Wendy. â€Å"Where Have the Women Attorneys Gone? .† Law Practice Today. Accessed May 9, 2011. Last modified May 2004. http://apps.americanbar.org/lpm/lpt/articles/mgt05041.html.

Vouloir, Pouvoir, Devoir French Verbs

It is important to understand and be able to use three irregular French verbs—vouloir, pouvoir, and devoir — as they are very common as well as useful. They are often taught together because of the similarities in their conjugations. Conjugating Vouloir, Pouvoir, and Devoir The table below shows the basic conjugations and meaning of these verbs together with brief examples. Vouloir - to want Pouvoir - can, to be able to Devoir, must, to have to Je veux danser avec toi.I want to dance with you. Je peux danser avec toi.I can dance with you. Je dois danser avec toi.I have to dance with you. Voulez-vous parler?Do you wish to speak? Pouvez-vous parler?Can you speak? Devez-vous parler?Do you need to speak? je veux peux dois tu veux peux dois il veut peut doit nous voulons pouvons devons vous voulez pouvez devez ils veulent peuvent doivent Useful Conjugation Tables and Details Get a more in-depth look with these complete conjugation tables and details about these verbs: Conjugations of vouloir in all tensesConjugations of pouvoir in all tensesConjugations of devoir  in all tensesUsing vouloirUsing pouvoirUsing devoirExpressions with vouloirExpressions with pouvoirDevoir vs Falloir