Nonprofit Federation Member Spotlight Series: CARE
ANA member CARE works around the globe to save lives, defeat poverty and achieve social justice. CARE's CMO Monica Rowe spent nearly 20 years working for some of the world's most influential fashion and beauty brands before transitioning to the for-purpose space. Alicia Osgood, director of communications for the ANA Nonprofit Federation, spoke with Monica about marketing humanity and how CARE overcomes the economic storms by innovating, embracing new technologies, and maximizing partnerships.
Tell us about your organization and your role within the organization.
As the CMO of CARE, one of the world's largest NGOs, I often tell people that my role is to market humanity. For nearly 80 years, CARE has worked across nearly 110 countries saving lives, defeating poverty, and promoting social justice. Every day we help some of the most marginalized people recover from crisis and conflict, and build ways to create, implement, and scale powerful solutions to local challenges, like education, economic empowerment, and gender equality.
Describe your career path and what led you to your organization.
I spent nearly 20 years working for some of the world's most influential brands in beauty and fashion. For the last seven years, I've worked in the nonprofit industry driving impact through brand, marketing, and communications. What inspires me about CARE is the 7,000 plus staff, located around the world, who are brilliant and compassionate people dedicated to making a difference in the world.
How is your organization navigating the quadruple threat of a decline in charitable giving, inflation, weakened donor trust, and low response, especially from new donors?
Yes, the quadruple threat is real, and we are strategizing every day on how to change course, when needed. The great thing about CARE is that we've been in business for nearly 80 years, we've weathered many storms, and will get through this one. One of the most exciting initiatives in the pipeline is the launch of a new brand platform that we believe will attract new supporters and inspire existing donors. Additionally, the marketing team is leaning into new ways of working with influencers and celebrities to broaden our awareness, particularly around crisis appeals.
Has your organization begun using AI and if so, how? If not, what other new technologies are you investing in and why?
We are embracing it and learning as we go. One of the ways our team is exploring the use of AI is by using it for different platforms to generate copy and images. For example, asking AI to take a long-form CARE news article and convert it into social media copy for a particular social media platform. The best part, I believe, is that it helps build additional skillsets for our content teams who can review different forms of copy.
At the same time, we're grappling with the ethics around AI generated content as it relates to INGO marketing. For example, in a moment of crisis, should CARE use an image generated in AI to launch our fundraising appeal faster? (We think no.)
There are much larger ethical concerns and implications related to the speed at which AI is being released for public use.
Can you talk about your partnerships with brands? Are you seeing increased interest from brands?
CARE has some of the best partners in the world from corporations to foundations to entrepreneurs, who are committed to developing and supporting socially responsible initiatives that build stronger communities in the developing world, while enhancing business and development goals. For example, P&G has worked with us on our International Women's Day campaign for the last few years. And, PepsiCo's Quaker brand, Quaker Qrece developed a nutritious food supplement targeting children ages two to five years old with malnutrition. The CARE Guatemala office distributes the supplement (in the form of a packet of cookies with a mix of nutrients and vitamins to promote healthy nutrition in kids) and delivers food and nutrition training to households to reinforce the importance of regularly consuming the cookies and providing other nutritious foods for growing kids. Results are happier, healthier kids that are growing on track with their age. There are many more examples of good corporate stewardship working with us to defeat poverty.
Interested in participating in this series, email Alicia Osgood at AOsgood@ana.net.
Alicia Osgood is director of communications at ANA Nonprofit Federation.
The views and opinions expressed in Industry Insights are solely those of the contributor and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the ANA or imply endorsement from the ANA.