The Association has always known that marketing is a clear priority of the organization. Human Services Week is proclaimed each year to promote organizations such as yours. Information is disseminated to agencies on how to utilize the week and efforts to expand this event continue to increase.

IARF has prioritized activities to promote its members and the industry in the coming year. Despite long histories of community presence and service, many human service organizations have bore the brunt of public criticism and misunderstanding.

The Association will focus efforts on identification of our members’ customer base and the service components used to meet customer-identified needs. At the same time, IARF will promote the quality and cost effectiveness of the services provided by human service organizations.

Due to the passage of the State Use Law in 1982, which the Association and its membership were foremost in the passage of this legislation, the Association now sits on the State Use Committee for the State of Illinois.

In 1997, at the request of the IARF Board of Directors, the Public Perception Committee was formed. They were troubled by the lack of knowledge about and social commitment to our industry, not just in the general public, but in the General Assembly and with state officials. This committee works directly to address this problem. The goals of the committee are as follows: a) Education of the public about who we are and what we do; b) Publication of the economic impact of our industry; and c) Publication of how we improve the quality of people’s lives.

In addition, Newsbreak magazine now offers member agencies the opportunity to be featured in the monthly publication. The Feature Program allows your agency to be featured on the cover of Newsbreak, as well as an inside story provided by your agency. The information provided for the feature story will then be used to create a Feature web site for the following month. Participating in the Feature Program can contribute to agency promotion required by accrediting bodies, provide a medium for the yearly publication of your annual report, and much, much more.

If you have a marketing question, call us at (217) 753-1190.