Nonprofits can take part in marketing boot camp

The 2018 Nonprofit Marketing Boot Camp, hosted by Volunteer Center McHenry County, will be a full-day marketing mini-conference held at the MCC Shah Center for Corporate Training from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15.

The event will feature expert speakers from national companies like Yelp Inc. and Constant Contact, as well as local businesses like Dobbe Marketing & PR and Think Big Go Local Inc.

Presentations will focus on vital marketing strategies and actionable tactics to help nonprofit agencies grow and flourish in McHenry County. The speakers will dive into topics like digital marketing trends, brand development, social media best practices, creating video strategy, growing email marketing lists, managing online presence and more.

Presenter Tracy Jenson, owner of Frizz Marketing and a Certified Constant Contact Solutions Provider, says that email is still "a main communication driver," but nonprofits need to focus on a few key tactics to make sure their messages don't get lost in the inbox shuffle.

"There are easy and accessible tools available on most platforms to help make this work easier for lean teams under a time crunch," says Jensen.

Presenter Bobbi Baehne, owner of Think Big Go Local Inc., explains that video and livestreaming are the future of marketing and social media, and believes nonprofits should jump on this opportunity.

"Nonprofits need to start focusing on how and where to create video content to effectively reach their donors, volunteers, and those that will benefit from their services," Baehne says.

Other presenters include Darnell Holloway, director of business outreach at Yelp Inc., and Sue Dobbe-Leahy, owner of Dobbe Marketing & PR. Sponsors for the event include the MCC Shah Center for Corporate Training and Mariano's Crystal Lake.

Volunteer Center McHenry County's partners include the Community Foundation for McHenry County and the McHenry County Mental Health Board.

Volunteer Center McHenry County's mission is building capacity of nonprofits. They aspire to be the premier agency helping local nonprofits flourish by developing standard educational programs, creating direct channels among nonprofits and volunteers, raising the ability of nonprofits to create diverse fundraising streams, and fostering collaborations and network groups that encourage relationship building.

To register or learn more about the 2018 Nonprofit Marketing Boot Camp and Volunteer Center McHenry County's other educational programs, visit volunteercentermchenrycounty.org.