The

ThinkTank for Nonprofits Social Enterprise Development Plan

Positioning Statement
For local nonprofits, the ThinkTank is the helping hand that delivers much-needed PR and marketing services that help them grow and get their message to the people who need to see it. As a hybrid for-profit/nonprofit social enterprise, we provide the link between NPOs that provide much needed services to the local community, the financial support of corporate sponsors, and the hard work (and educational development) of the next generation of PR and marketing professionals. At the ThinkTank, our mission is to help nonprofits help others because it is the right thing to do.

Value Proposition
There are four groups of people/organizations that would benefit from the ThinkTanks purpose.
Nonprofit Organizations (NPOs) ThinkTank helps NPOs communicate what they do more effectively to the public. This public includes the media, corporate donors and other entities whose energy and funding could be put to use in providing much-needed services to the local community. The services we offer (which would include media relations, social media, event planning and business development consultation) would help these nonprofits on their path to becoming viable organizations that would eventually no longer need our services, allowing us to shift our focus to another organization that does. College students The ThinkTank, again with an eye for local social impact, would be powered by interns from local universities that are looking for a place to utilize the skills they have learned in the classroom and have expressed an interest in nonprofit communications. These students would be recruited to join a program that would develop them as leaders within both the communications arena and the nonprofit world. They would be charged with developing an account as a group with roles that cater to their strengths and interests in PR (i.e. social media management, media relations, etc.)

Another special benefit lies in compensation for the students. At times, it seems nearly impossible for a student to find a paid internship in an industry that looks down on those without experience in the field. Many firms take advantage of that fact, hiring unpaid PR interns and benefitting from their labor and talents under the guise of providing students with opportunities for practical experience. The ThinkTank would only employ interns with the intent of compensating them for their work because we believe that unpaid internships are wrong - it is unethical for a communications organization to withhold compensation from someone who adds value to their organization.

Colleges/Universities
Universities would benefit from an official partnership with a local PR-focused organization with potential for great impact. The partnership would enable journalism, communication and business schools with the opportunity to offer their students internships through an official school-sponsored program and the ability to use the presence of programs like this in their recruitment efforts for new students. This also provides universities with the unique opportunity to show how their students are using their skills in the field to make an impact on the community around them.

Corporate Donors (CSR)

The ThinkTank is a great fit for companies looking to invest their money in a viable community-focused organization as a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. The CEO and high-level staff of any successful corporate company knows that marketing, PR and advertising are paramount to the advancement of any company and that nonprofit organizations are no different. The funding that these companies would provide would go to providing training, workspace, supplies and other essentials that would allow ThinkTank interns to work on behalf of the NPOs who need it most. They would then be able to promote this to their stockholders and to potential customers that are looking to do business with companies that are socially responsible and informed of the problems in the community around them.

Goals
Every long-term vision can be realized through reaching specific short-term goals that will change as the ThinkTank story continues. These goals should be SMART - specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. The goals for each of our partner groups are different based on their individual needs and purposes. As this plan develops, we will figure out what we need to take care of in the short term in order for the plan to work. NPOs Long-term goals o Provide PR, marketing, social media, event planning and business development services to our clients o Land media placements for clients o Make sure that all clients have functioning social media pages o Help each client become self-sufficient in their communications efforts o Generate increased funding for clients through media coverage, outreach College students Long-term goals o Provide interns with paid experience that they can use later in life o Give interns a fun, yet productive workplace they can enjoy o Provide learning opportunities for interns - relate classroom learning to practical learning through small lectures, activities, etc. o Facilitate growth of interns through mid-term and final evaluations Universities Long-term goals o Build partnerships between ThinkTank and local universities o Facilitate intern recruitment on college campuses o Involve the Presidents office of all institutions o Create designated internship programs with the J-schools/Business schools of each institution specifically for marketing and comm. students Corporate/Financial Institutions Long-term goals o Give institutions a unique opportunity to spend their CSR dollars, one that would reward them in the form of brand exposure, editorial opportunities, etc. o Keep institutions informed on ThinkTank news and the news of the clients they sponsor o Involve them in client projects as product sponsors (where applicable) o Allow them to capitalize on the conversation by showcasing the company (and our clients) in their news/social media as well (When the mission of their CSR is furthered through our services, our mission is furthered as well.)

Research
There are still some questions that need to be answered before we can solidify our plans for this organization.

Question 1: Which universities would benefit from a partnership with our organization? Why?
Universities with both a marketing program (within their business schools) and a dedicated JMC program (journalism/mass communication) would be the universities that would benefit from our program. This would allow us to make the most impact and have a wider variety of student from which to choose. The two largest universities in the county are Florida International University (FIU) and University of Miami (UM). Both universities have designated programs for marketing and JMC. FIU Pro: o o o We already have connections to the institution through our staff Social Enterprise Specialist is active in the FIU community Social Enterprise Specialist has relationships with many vital departments within the University, including but not limited to the School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC), Division of External Relations, Office of the President Diverse population of student body More knowledge of the population of student body Known for attempts to give back to the community Distance from main campus for JMC students (North Miami Beach)

o o o Con: o

UM Pro: o Location - located in Coral Gables, closer to TI HQ

Question 2: Which nonprofit organizations would benefit from our services? Who are we targeting? We are making an effort to target the organizations with the greatest need AND potential but the fewest available resources. This would allow us to really focus on increasing the viability of those nonprofit organizations that are struggling.

The first issue we would tackle is defining struggle for the purpose of this development plan. How do we know if a nonprofit is really struggling? Do we believe it because the nonprofit says so? If not, do we perform an analysis of the organizations we are interested in recruiting and take a look at the how the negative impact caused by lack of communication services are affecting these organizations? struggle [strgl] vb 1. (intr) to exert strength, energy, and force; work or strive to 2. (intr) to move about strenuously so as to escape from something confining 3. (intr) to contend, battle, or fight 4. (intr) to go or progress with difficulty For the purposes of this document and with The ThinkTanks mission in mind, we will define a struggling nonprofit in four ways based on the definition above. 1. A struggling nonprofit actively works toward a specific mission for the benefit of the greater good in different choice areas of the nonprofit sector 2. A struggling nonprofit is led by ethical people who continue to support the organization in times of increasing hardship 3. A struggling nonprofit continues to have a measurable impact on the community around them regardless of their organizations status 4. A struggling nonprofit is actively working to escape from the confines of budgetary limitations that prevent them from providing communications and marketing services for themselves or from seeking out the assistance needed in those areas

Internship Program
Types of Interns
Interns would be hired to fulfill roles for different nonprofits based on the organizations needs. They would hold titles similar to those of the staff members within ThinkInk and would essentially work as a team presiding over one nonprofit account. Not all of these services would be offered to every organization - again, it would depend on our analysis of their needs. Certain services would be offered when The ThinkTank begins work with the NPO, and other services can be added later after an evaluation of their current status. That allows The ThinkTank to slowly fill in the pieces to the puzzle and focus on the areas that are crucial to an organizations success. Visibility Specialist (Media Relations) Social Media Specialist Copy Writer Multimedia Production Specialist Creative Planning Specialist Digital Design Specialist Web Specialist Special Event Specialist (Event Management) Visibility Specialist Media pitching Press release writing Media management at special events Social Media Specialist Social media management Social media development strategy Publicize client stories Blog writing/management Copy Writer Development of written work, i.e. news stories, white papers, thought leadership pieces Multimedia Production Specialist Responsible for photo/video coverage of stories relevant to clients Works with Copy Writer for coverage of such stories Should be proficient in photography or videography as well as editing

Creative Planning Specialist Brand development/unification Advertising placement Works with Digital Design Specialist on design concepts Digital Design Specialist Responsible for design elements of ThinkTank documents, i.e. brochures, document templates, website elements Proficiency in Photoshop, InDesign, etc. Web Specialist Responsible for planning out aspects of organizations website Works with Creative Planning Specialist and Digital Design Specialist to design website elements (i.e. banners, graphics, etc.) Knowledge of HTML, Java, Flash

Intern Qualifications
Full-time college student Pursuing an undergraduate degree in appropriate field 3.0 GPA Junior or senior class standing Legal authorization for employment in the United States Experience with Microsoft Windows applications Experience in programs/duties related to each position