Athens Area Homeless Shelter- A Marketing Plan A Presentation Submitted To Dr. Gerald Merwin In Partial Fulfillment of PADM 7040 By Justin M. Vollmer Valdosta State University Valdosta, GA October 19, 2005

Athens Area Homeless Shelter- Current Mission  Mission Statement  “The Athens Area Homeless Shelter (AAHS) provides a cooperative approach to the homeless individuals and fosters public awareness of the homelessness in the community. AAHS’ Almost Home Transitional Program provides long-term residential support for single women and families with children who are homeless and who wish to make life changes to regain self-sufficiency and independence. The Job TREC program provides case management and support to all homeless in Clarke County by offering personalized job training.” Source:

Athens Area Homeless Shelter  Goals  Provide short and long term shelter of families and single women  Provide employment and education supportive services  Provide assistance to homeless families with child care  Educate the community that homelessness is a result of several complex factors  Advocate for the homeless

Athens Area Homeless Shelter  Who is served?  Single women and families in need of transitional housing, job placement, training, and counseling.  Particularly serving individuals in Athens area (Northeast Georgia).

Organization-level competition  Many nonprofits feel that they are attempting to reach the same social goals.  There are hundreds of nonprofit organizations in the Athens, Ga region that offer homeless aid.  AAHS must “….understand who their competitors are and what strengths and weaknesses each has” (Andreasen and Kotler, p. 78).

Strengths of AAHS  Large number of Volunteers  Many community service organizations from the University of Georgia  i.e. fraternities and sororities  Full time staff  Administrative Staff  Board of Directors  IT staff  Night and weekend staff

Weakness of AAHS  Working against publics ignorance of the extent of the homeless problem  Limited number or beds (21 total) and size of facility.  Budget is inflexible – AAHS relies on 40% of budget from donations

Future opportunities for AAHS  The biggest opportunity for AAHS is differentiation, or offering something few others can offer.  By offering many homeless aid programs, such as Job TREC, Nancy Travis House, etc., AAHS is able to cope with competition and compete for volunteers, funding, etc.

Core Marketing Strategy - Athens Area Homeless Shelter  AAHS’s Marketing Strategy will reflect its weaknesses including:  Inflexible budget – will work to increase donations and lower overhead costs  Begin a community education campaign to reveal the homeless problem in Athens and surrounding areas.

Core Marketing Strategy (Cont.)  AAHS Marketing Strategy will focus on the three elements as provided by Andreasen and Kotler on page 82.  Selection of specific target markets  Determine competitive position  Marketing Mix

Selection of Specific Target Markets  Selection of Specific Target Markets  Target markets will include the homeless, donors, and volunteers.  Determine Competitive position  Use differentiation of services to remain competitive and helpful to the homeless  Marketing Mix  Use of various and original marketing methods Source: Andreasen and Kotler, p. 82

Increase Donations  Create Social Alliances  Cause-Related Marketing  Sales-Related Fundraising  This type of marketing will be directed towards local businesses and corporations looking to increase their sales by contributing to AAHS.  Ideal Program-  5-10% of sales from business go toward donations at AAHS

Increase donations  More Fundraising events  Benefits are two-fold  Increase funds  Advertise AAHS and goals  Fundraising events can influence target audiences for donations by segmenting the audience by having various and different events appealing to different audiences.

Educating the public  Updating and renovating existing web- site to include educational items and statistics concerning homeless

Additional Marketing Strategies  Begin a “Branding” Campaign  “Out of the Rain and Towards the Sun…”  Mission and goals would not have to be changed using this “Brand”  Indicates a supporting and starting place organization.  Conveys meaning and emotion (Andreasen and Kotler, p. 175)  Important to keep branding continual and maintained.