A few times a year UGM hears from supporters like you in regard to our advertising practices. To those of you who have written and called to express your concerns or ask questions, we thank you. Union Gospel Mission sincerely appreciates the ownership you take of this organization and is extremely grateful that you feel compelled to ask questions, but more importantly, that you feel comfortable taking the initiative to reach out to us with your concerns.
As you know, UGM does not rely on government dollars to deliver the programs that benefit the hungry, hurting and homeless in our community. Those funds come solely from people like yourself. In order to keep up with the growing needs of the communities we support, UGM needs to share its message with the population at large to encourage more people to band together with us. One of the vehicles proven to work in this regard is advertising.
UGM does engage in online, radio and print advertising throughout the year, but only in media that produce a track record of success, and with businesses that provide UGM aggressive bonus opportunities and deep discounts. As a charity, we pay 50% or less of what a business would pay for our ad placement. UGM never pays full price for advertising.
While it may have seemed that we spent more money on ads this year, we actually did not. Due to the generosity of our media partners, we have paid no more this year than last year and have received colour ads for the price of black and white, larger ads than what we paid for, and a greater number of ads for the same price. Another reason you may have noticed this ad campaign is that it is quite simply an effective one. It’s designed to draw attention, and has succeeded – UGM has gained more first-time donors through this year’s ad campaign than any year’s campaign previous!
If UGM had its way, we wouldn’t advertise - period. However, as is human nature, people often need reminders and advertising reminds our supporters that we need help; it is also a vital tool for reaching out to new donors and potential supporters. If UGM fails to engage our current donor base or allows it to stagnate to the point where donations decline, the guests who rely on our services suffer. If UGM doesn’t reach out to new donors and supporters our programs become stifled and cannot grow to meet the increasing demand we encounter daily. Our preference would be to keep advertising dollars in house and not spend them, but frankly, advertising works and UGM continually recognizes a financial benefit coming in as a result of our advertising efforts that outweighs the hard cost associated with getting that message out.
Supporters can always help our dependence on advertising by becoming monthly donors, which helps UGM by creating a static, consistent revenue stream that we can count on every month. Monthly donors help us cut down on paper mailings and lessen the burden on the internal resources required to develop advertising campaigns. To become a monthly donor click here. UGM also adheres to the standards laid out by the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Canada Revenue Agency which determines the guidelines for the percentage of income non-profit organizations can spend on administration costs.
If you have any further questions, please call 604.215.5440 or contact us online and we will respond to your inquiry within 24 hrs (Mon – Fri), if you would like to review our financials, they are available here.
Please know we take our role as stewards of our donor dollars very seriously. We work for you, because you want us to work for society’s most vulnerable and we are acutely aware that without you, there is no UGM. Never hesitate to call, never hesitate to write, never be afraid of asking questions, we always love to hear from those who share our commitment to helping those in need.
Wishing you God’s Blessings,
William B. Mollard
