A Smarter Baby Bottle Campaign

Guest Blogger: John Ashford, Executive Director of the Pregnancy Resource Center in Naples, FL.

The ultimate: a bottle full of quarters
The bummer: a bottle full of pennies
The average: a bottle full of random change, pocket lint, buttons, and the occasional euro or Canadian quarter.

The baby bottle boomerang has become a standard and profitable enterprise for PRCs all over the country.  The typical pitch is a story  of a life transformed and an invitation to partner with the center by filling the baby bottle with change to keep the amazing work going.

Nice, vague and nebulous, but nice none the less.

People tip to things that are nice.  But I believe that The PRC ministry is worthy of more than the tip of spare change.  The PRC ministry by the grace of God (in a very David and Goliath scene) is stemming the tide of innocent blood.  As leaders, our hearts are broken for those yet to be born, and we want to truly mobilize the community into action.  To accomplish this we need to be S.M.A.R.T. about our baby bottle approach:

Specific: what does one baby bottle represent?  For our PRC, one baby bottle is one life saved through our ultrasound program.
Measurable: 80% of abortion minded women choose life when they see and hear their baby for the first time on an ultrasound.  One ultrasound costs $28.00.
Actionable: You can save a life by providing the resources  for one ultrasound
Reliable: Please fill the baby bottle with $28.00 (you will get more cash and raise your per bottle average as many will round up to $30.00)
Traceable: A check for $28.00 provides these vital resources (a check builds your donor base and those that give, give again)

This method is not the “right” way, just one way that regularly produces good results.


Have a great day and know that the Lord our God lives.

~John

Care Net Conference

I find myself looking forward to the Care Net Conference all year. There is no other week in the life of Keener Marketing that gives me so much time to interact with you - our heart and soul. We love hearing what is going on in your centers and in your hearts and catching up on what God is doing through you.


I feel so blessed to be invited to participate in such a meaningful gathering of God's army. You guys are truly inspirational. We were honestly over-whelmed by all the nice things you had to say about us. Your enthusiasm and joy make our job an absolute pleasure. I came home recharged and ready to tackle another year of creating materials to make your work more effective. What an honor to be partners with you as you tackle this mission field in every corner of our great nation.

Thanks for all the kind words you had to say and for telling your friends about us. Nothing makes us happier than to heart that something we did was a part of making your center more successful. If you want to share your encouragement with the rest of our staff that didn't get to hear it face-to-face, post it here as a comment or leave a review on RatePoint or Yelp.

-Mary

$500 Design Donations Still Available!

Last year we decided to choose one Pregnancy Resource Center per month for twelve months and give each one $500 worth of free design services. We did that and God has blessed us for it. We want to continue to do this and if God continues to bless, we will increase the amount we give. You can't out give God!

We will continue to choose one Pregnancy Resource Center per month and give each one $500 worth of free design services. If your center is chosen you will be able to use any design service we offer and it is 100% free of charge, no strings attached. 

You can fill out our online application form here. 

Or Download a PDF and fax it back to us. 

You only have to submit one application for your project. We will keep them all and each month review them and decide which project to donate for that month. (No phone calls, please.)

Are you ready to create that new website you've been putting off? Redesign that outdated brochure? Get rid of that logo from 1979? 

Take a look around our website if you need more ideas. www.prcresources.com 

We look forward to hearing from you. If you know of a center in need of our services, please feel free to forward this to them.

Earth Day - Save some green

It's been a lovely spring and we just can't help but celebrate God's creation by giving you some discounts on earth friendly products. Take a look at our Tote Bags and Notebooks made from recycled materials and find some great gifts for your supporters.

http://bit.ly/cYSYwY

Key Improvements for Nonprofit Websites

We all know that a website has become an essential part of any organization. But just how important is your presence on the web?

ForeSee Results (a leader in online customer satisfaction measurement) released a study last spring that examined nonprofit websites and concluded that websites are an essential area of focus for nonprofits during difficult financial times. The report states, "It is essential, now more than ever, to gain intelligence on how to use the website to its fullest potential as a way to reduce costs, generate donations and revenue, and build membership, loyalty, and positive word-of-mouth. "

It goes on to say, "Even though nonprofits don’t have the same resources to invest in their websites as private sector companies, unfortunately, they are judged by the same standards."

We agree. Your website has to compete side by side with "the best of the best". What can you do about it? Here are the key findings from that report.

• Nonprofits have plenty of room for improvement when it comes to online customer satisfaction. On the 100-point scale used for the study, the average nonprofit website scores a 73. The threshold for excellence in website satisfaction is generally considered to be 80. Even though nonprofits don’t have the same resources to invest in their websites as private sector companies,unfortunately, they are judged by the same standards. Therefore, it’s crucial that nonprofits understand how to allocate resources by investing in the areas of their websites that will increase satisfaction and make visitors more likely to donate, volunteer, recommend, etc.
• Satisfaction is predictive of future behaviors important to nonprofits. A highly satisfied visitor to a nonprofit website is:

49% more likely to donate

38% more likely to volunteer

57% more likely to have a favorable overall impression of the organization

65% more likely to recommend the site to others

55% more likely to return to the site

• Key areas of improvement for nonprofit websites, in general, are sites’ functionality and the expression of the organization’s image online. In general, the areas that will have the greatest impact on visitors’ likelihood to donate, volunteer, recommend, and return are site functionality (the usefulness, variety, and convenience of features on the site) and image (how well the website reflects the organization’s image). These two factors were more impactful in driving website satisfaction than sites’ content, navigation options, or look and feel.
• Nonprofits need to encourage more people to donate online instead of through other channels. Site visitors who donate online are more likely to donate, period. Making it easy for visitors to donate online is critical to growing the pool of repeat donors. In addition, nonprofits will see more of the money if donations are made through the more cost-effective web channel.
• Site visitors value online information and donation capability. The top two reasons people visit nonprofit sites are: news and events (40%) and to stay informed about the cause the organization addresses (40%). Almost one in five (18%) website visitors are there specifically to make a financial contribution.
• People listen to outside sources. Almost one in five who visited a nonprofit site found out about the organization through word-of-mouth, and visitors who found the site through the media or a news story were the most likely to donate.
• The election year had a very small impact on donations to nonprofits. Only 3% of all respondents said that political donations reduced the amount they donated to other organizations in 2008
  

For more details on these findings you can download the full report at the ForSee Results website.

Light in Darkness

"The clearest and deepest words God grants the soul are often those that come in a dark season of life. One of the dearest treasures in your darkness will be the song he will give you if you will receive it."

– Beth Moore

"If I say, 'Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,'
Even the darkness is not dark to You,
And the night is as bright as the day
Darkness and light are alike to You.
For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother's womb."

– Psalm 139:11-13

Walk for Life - New ideas

Keener Marketing is working on making this year's walk for life season more exciting. We've got new products that will spruce up your walk and make things more interesting again.

Check out new Recycled Grocery Totes and Online Walk Registration!

NEW: SOHLS VIDEO

Keener Marketing has created this video to help Pregnancy Resource Centers present their needs to churches. Very appropriate for Sancticity of Human Life Sunday, but effective any other time also. Purchased videos can be shown in multiple churches, whether a representative is available to speak or not.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Be sure to check out our After Thanksgiving Sale:
No crowds, no stress! Just give us a call Monday, November 30 - Wednesday, December 2 and we'll take 25% off all volunteer/donor Gifts.

We are so thankful to be a part of so many great ministries across the country! Thank you for letting us work with you!

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October Newsletter:

The October newsletter should be in your Inbox! If not be sure to subscribe:

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GET INSPIRED

A healthy dose of encouragement, some interesting and relevant news stories, and an encouraging verse of scripture to brighten your day and remind you that you aren't in this fight alone.

INSPIRE OTHERS

Do you have a word of encouragement for other centers? We'd like to give you the opportunity to share it with them. Post it as a comment here or send your story to Mary@keenermarketing.net and she will include one in next month's newsletter.

A donation success story: Annual Reports

Annual Reports let your donors know they make a difference!

Nancy Tefft, Executive director of Open Arms PCC, knew it would mean a lot for her donors to see exactly what was being accomplished with their money. She also needed them to see how the center's rapid growth was taxing their budget. However, she struggled to find the money to make it possible. She saw our $500 donation offer and sent us this letter:

"Dear Margie,
Our Clinic moved to a new location in December of 2008. Since that time, we've seen incredible growth in the number of clients served, particularly those who are most at-risk (nearly 60% increase in the first 6 months!). For several years I have wanted to provide an annual report, but haven't had the resources to purchase something attractive and appealing. I would like to apply for your material donation to help purchase annual report materials to be used at our Dessert on September 25, 2009. I would love to show our donors how their funds can make a huge difference in this time of growth. Thank you so much for your consideration."

What an exciting time for Open Arms PCC! Naturally, we couldn't wait to help. Margie designed a beautiful annual report for them and got it printed at a great price.

"Please extend our gratitude to all who helped create the beautiful Annual Reports for us. They are so well done and very appealing. I'm truly excited to share them at our Evening of Dessert! Thank you so much for your service to the Lord which blesses so many. You have repeatedly revealed Him through your gifts and service. May He bless you abundantly."

We want to extend OUR thanks to you, Nancy, for letting us work with you on this project. We can't wait to hear what God is going to do through your ministry.

Annual reports are such an important way to keep donors informed of what their money is making possible. Everyone wants to know that their donations are making a difference, if not they make take their money where they feel it will be more effective. Be sure your donors know how much you appreciate them and that they truly make a difference.

Have you applied for our $500 design donation yet? If not download an application or send us an email describing a specific project you need help with and why we should choose your center.

>>Download Application

Lord, You are a Faithful Provider

by Flo Martin, from Giving in the King's Service

Here is a little quiz for you to take. It’s a real easy one because I have marked the correct answer for you:

Our God is faithful:
___ a.) some of the time.
___ b.) most of the time.
_X_ c.) all of the time.

I know we all have times when money gets tight. We sit and look at all of our bills and scratch our heads and wonder where in the world we are going to come up with what we need. I want to share with you 2 personal journal entries that I made several years ago. The first is from February 6 and the second is from 3 weeks later on February 26.

Journal Entry 2/6:

Malachi 3:10-11 “ ‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,’ says the LORD Almighty.”

Journal Entry 2/26:

When I wrote out the above verse I had come to the end of all that I could do. Our bills were so far behind that I was really scared of what was going to happen. I had not been giving tithe because I didn’t even have enough to pay my bills, much less enough to give some away. But the day I wrote the above verse I decided to obey this verse and trust God to fulfill His word.

I decided to give to him a tenth of whatever I owed in bills each week or a tenth of all that my husband and I brought in, whichever was greater. It was really scary to do because our bills were well over $1,000.00 each week and we were not bringing in nearly that much. But I did it anyway. For 2 weeks I still wasn’t able to pay all my bills but I continued to do what I had set out to do. I was so depressed and really scared.

Then on 2/24 I wrote out all of the bills that I could not pay. I wrote my husband a note and told him the balance of what I could not pay this month and that he needed to let me know what to do. He called me at work later that day and told me that the Credit Union without our knowledge had been pulling out a little more from his check each week than needed to pay back his loan and we had a balance of $922.00 extra that we could get out.

I was so happy. I thought that would take care of most of what we still owed. When I got home from work that day, there was a check in the mail for $93.00 from an overpayment we had made. Together both checks came out to $1,015.00. The amount that we had been unable to pay on bills this month was $1,012.00.

My husband and I both knew that God had truly worked a miracle. The next day I was able to sit down and pay all of my bills. I decided ahead of time that I was going to tithe on the $1,015 we had just received. I did that first and then paid my bills. Somehow it worked out that I still had enough to pay all of my bills and even had $80.00 left over. God is so good.

God truly is good. And He is faithful. This taught me a lesson that I have never forgotten. Now I never fail to pay my tithe first before anything else. And I have never again faced the fear and worry about paying my bills that I faced when I wrote the above journal entries.

Messages from Our King

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38)

”Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” (Matthew 5:42)

“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:2-4)

”Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7)

>>Read More

Christmas Time is Here Again!

It's hard to believe, but I heard Christmas music playing in a store yesterday. The scary thing is it worked - I'm ashamed to admit it - I bought a Christmas ornament . . .

Many of you asked us at the Care Net conference when to expect the new Christmas designs, so here they are. You'll notice they are displayed in a new format. We're experimenting with what will be the new look of KeenerMarketing.com and PRCResources.com. We hope that this format makes it easier for you to see what we have to offer. Please be sure to let us know if you have any problems viewing the new christmas card designs in the new format and if you have any suggestions to make it easier to use.

You may not be in the Christmas spirit yet, but think of all the stress you'll save by getting them ordered and ready to go before the season's craziness settles in. You'll even get a discount off your order if you order early - ask us for details!

>>Order Yours Now

GET INSPIRED

Pregnancy Resource Centers are our inspiration and we want to return the favor and offer back a little inspiration to you. In the past we've offered you savings and let you know about new products, but we've missed something important. From now on we want to offer a healthy dose of encouragement, some interesting and relavent news stories, and an encouraging verse of scripture to brighten your day and remind you that you aren't in this fight alone.

INSPIRE OTHERS

Do you have a word of encouragement for other centers? We'd like to give you the opportunitiy to share it with them. Send your story to Mary@keenermarketing.net and she will include one in next month's newsletter or you can post it as a comment here.

Read the first issue>>

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End of Summer - Back To School

A cooler week here in Tennessee, with highs closer to 85º than the usual 95º with high humidity. It almost makes it believable that summertime is almost gone. Schools have already started back and colleges and universities are gearing up for the new year.

As kids and teachers are heading back to school, we are sure that abstinence programs are on the minds of nearly every pregnancy center staff across the country. To ease the burden gearing up and college students will be back on campus.

To help you get ready we're offering a sale on our Abstinence Materials and our Client Posters! We have some new designs up so take a few minutes to check them out on our website.

A Letter From Margie: $500 in Design to be donated every month

With the economy so tight we are all feeling the pinch. And I know that your center is feeling it more than most businesses because you depend on donations.

Even though we are not a nonprofit organization we have always considered Keener Marketing a ministry to Pregnancy Resource Centers as we try to help you economically improve your public image with quality promotional pieces. But we want to take this to a new level.

Proverbs 3:9 says "Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops." NIV

We feel that God is calling on us to give more than we have been to PRC's. Unfortunately right now we really don't have much wealth to spread around, but we still have our abilities.

So we have decided to choose one Pregnancy Resource Center per month for the next twelve months and give each one $500 worth of free design services. If your center is chosen you will be able to use any design service we offer and it is 100% free of charge, no strings attached.

Because there are so many worthy centers to choose from, we are at a loss to know which centers should receive this donation. To help us choose I would like for you to send me an email to tell me about a project we could help you with. It doesn't have to be long, 300 words or less, simply explaining the project you want us to donate.

Would you create that new website you've been putting off? Redesign that outdated brochure? Get rid of that logo from 1979? Take a look around our website if you need more ideas. www.prcresources.com

You only have to send one email. We will keep them all and each month review them and decide which to work for that month. (No phone calls, please.)

I look forward to hearing back from you. If you know of a center in need of our services, please feel free to forward this to them.

May God bless your ministry during these difficult times.

Margie Wertz, President

Email your response: Margie@keenermarketing.net

>>Download Application