Important Anthropological Research

Carolyn Nordstrom is an anthropological rock star. Nordstrom studies wars, the illegal drug trade, gender relationships, and war profiteering. Yet, she is one of the most cheerful and positive people I know. It is amazing.  Nordstrom proves to me that knowledge is power and that one person really can change the world for the better.

Check out these titles available on Amazon 

Nordstrom titles

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​​_____Lynn Thompson Baca

Fascinating statistics from a recent USA Today article

There are 30 million business in the U.S., 99% of which are small businesses. Of those, only about two-thirds have a website. And fewer than half have a business social media presence. But, that said, where do new customers come from? You bet, a lot these days come from online searches and interactions. Indeed, roughly a third of all customers now find businesses online, and 25% of Millennials find new businesses primarily via social channels. – Steve Strauss, for USA Today

Click here for the whole story

What is your marketing strategy for your website? What is your marketing strategy for social media? If you are looking for new customers – and who isn’t – it is definitely worth putting a LOT of time into your planning and implementation of an effective web presence and ensuring the consistency and reach of your messages through social channels.

____Lynn Thompson Baca

Fundraising Ideas

Working with schools we've learned a thing or two about fundraising ideas for groups. The following are two of our favorites -- both have big potential, both capitalize on including community into students' education, both are easy activities to pull off in communities of any size. 

BOOKS! Students from Wilson Middle School in Albuquerque, New Mexico worked with a local Barnes & Noble Bookstore to fundraise an educational trip. Students handed out coupons that, when presented at checkout, enabled the group to receive a percentage of the sale. It was that simple! Customers bought great books and supported education and archaeology in their community. PARTICIPANTS: Barnes & Noble, Coronado Center · 6600 Menaul Blvd. NE and Wilson Middle School, 1138 Cardenas Dr. SE Albuquerque, NM

RAFFLE! The Archaeology Club at Capital High School in Santa Fe sold $5 raffle tickets (all proceeds going to the club) for an opportunity to Punt, Pass & Kick to win a new truck! The 2015 GMC Crew Cab 1500 Sierra truck was donated by Garcia Buick GMC of Santa Fe. Now THAT'S community support! PARTICIPANTS; Garcia Buick GMC, 2721 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe, NM and Capital High School, 4851 Paseo del Sol, Santa Fe, NM

​Here are some more ideas from the Enrollment Manager at an experiential education center - she has seen great success with these fundraising activities!​ ​   * Host a school dance; these could be themed-Sock Hop, 1980’s, Disco, etc and charge entrance fee. You'll want to get a band or DJ to donate their time and effort for a good cause! * Sponsor and run the concession stand at some of your school's games, rallies, etc. You can provide just one item (like nachos) or the whole shebang. * Host a car wash. Easy, clean, fun! * Restaurant Match. This can be a terrific fund raiser. Work with a local restaurant; on a certain date anyone who goes into the restaurant and identifies that they are with your school will ensure that a certain portion of their meal purchase goes towards your fundraiser. * Glow Bowling. This is similar to the Restaurant Match. Work with a local bowling alley. On a particular day a percentage of proceeds from entry fees will go towards your school's fundraising efforts.

____Lynn Thompson Baca

Why should you have a marketing plan for your organization?

"Why should I have a marketing plan for my company? I'm a small shop! I don't have time to do marketing anyway." Do you find yourself thinking those thoughts? Well, let me tell you -- if you don't have a marketing plan you are missing an opportunity to position your company for success. 

A good marketing plan is much like a good strategic plan. Both look at strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to an organization. Both help identify where an organization wants to be in the next year, three years, five years. Both can help an organization identify its internal and external customers -- especially those all-important ideal customers!

A good marketing plan will then focus on the product, pricing, and promotion. Finally, a good marketing plan will clearly identify where the organization needs to be visible. Marketing efforts might be recommended via print ads in expensive magazines. Or maybe a very low-key social media campaign will be recommended. The best marketing plans are ones that work FOR an organization . . . not the other way around!   

____Lynn Thompson Baca