Transcript a slide deck with everything

Resources
Resources
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Resources
Resources are what organizations invest to achieve their goals.
They include dollars (grants, programs, services) and human
capital (labor, research, thought leadership).
 All organizations are different. Some have deep pockets, some possess
unique knowledge, and others are rich with human capital.
 What matters most is that you are clear about your available resources and
your options for “spending” them to advance your mission.
 Invest your available – and finite – brand resources where they can have
the most clear, discernible impact.
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Resources
270
The number of people who told us their CEO or
ED believes that communication advances the
organization’s goals.
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Resources
1
The rank of “lack of staff time” as a barrier to
strategic communication across organization
type and role type.
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Resources
5.5%
Percent of the United States GDP accounted
for by the nonprofit sector.
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Resources
“
“We are more than just grantmakers, we are
change makers. In order to create the
change we desire, we need to use tools
beyond grantmaking. Strategic
communications is essential to creating
long-lasting societal change.”
COMMUNICATION LEADER
Private Foundation
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Resources
“
“We can amplify every dollar we spend if the
programs we fund find more recognition,
more partners, and can influence those who
make polices that affect the people we serve.”
EXECUTIVE LEADER
Private Foundation
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Resources
“
“Communication is not an expense that reduces
our ability to make grants. It is a strategic
investment that allows us to magnify the impact of
our grantmaking dollars, by attracting co-funders
and energizing others to get involved.”
COMMUNICATION LEADER
Private Foundation
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Resources
How do you define
your resources?
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Resources
How do you “spend”
your resources?
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Resources
Where do you see
the highest return on
investment?
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Reputation
Reputation
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Reputation
Call it brand equity, issue expertise, or reputation.
It is the sum of earned and perceived credibility
an organization holds around a set of issues.
 Your reputation is shaped and grown by the choices you make over time.
 The ultimate goal is to make communication decisions that are clearly
aligned to your mission and consistent over time.
 Clarity and consistency are key, and knowing when to say no plays a big
role, too.
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Reputation
86%
Percentage of survey respondents
who agree that when foundations
communicate about an issue it helps
their grantees work more boldly.
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Reputation
49%
Percentage of survey respondents who feel
that communications always or often helps to
ensure that “progress made in program areas
‘sticks’ and leads to lasting change.”
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Reputation
75%
Percentage of survey respondents who agree
that “without effective communications we
could not raise the support we need (such as
funding, partners, and good will).”
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Reputation
68%
Percentage of Fortune 500 CEOs who have
absolutely no presence on social media.
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Reputation
“
“If we don’t tell our own story, someone
else will, and they will get it wrong.”
COMMUNICATION LEADER
Private Foundation
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Reputation
“
“When our president and CEO was hired, she visited
foundations of a similar asset size to find out, ‘If you could do it
all over again, what would you do differently?’ The consistent
message was, ‘Get communication right from the get-go. Tell
your own story lest someone else tell it for you.’”
COMMUNICATION LEADER
Private Foundation
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Reputation
“
“We communicate because we want to get others
excited about the work we are doing. We want
public sector players to take notice, and we want to
be seen as thought leaders in our issue areas.”
EXECUTIVE LEADER
Private Foundation
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Reputation
How do you earn
your reputation?
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Reputation
What factors impact
your reputation?
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Reputation
Who are the most important
audiences to determine
what your reputation is?
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Relationships
Relationships
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Relationships
Relationships are the universe of affiliations and associations
that give an organization authority and the capacity to advance
its agenda or shape behavior change.
 Success depends on identifying your base, being attentive to their everevolving priorities, and knowing how to communicate honestly with them,
at the right times and in the right ways.
 When you decide the time is right to act boldly or in ways that might test
the integrity of your relationships, do so with clarity of purpose.
 You will be surprised by how resilient well-managed relationships can be.
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Relationships
88/55/34
The respective percentages of community (85),
corporate (55) and family/independent (34)
foundations who report using social media.
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Relationships
86%
Percentage of survey respondents who spend
as much or more time communicating with
external audiences (like grantees or donors) as
with internal audiences (like the board).
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Relationships
$40T
Estimated wealth to be inherited by a small
group of Gen Xers and Millennials, much of
which will be designated for charitable giving,
according to NextGenDonors.org.
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Relationships
“
“We have just under $20 million to grant per year. That's
nothing. We will never achieve the results we want to achieve
alone. So our program team has been very deliberate about
leveraging our reputation to open doors, make deals, build
systems, and attract other dollars right into our strategy. It's
an explicit part of our theory of change. And we can't do it if
our image is weak or our results unclear.”
COMMUNICATION LEADER
Private Foundation
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Relationships
“
“If we want people to invest time, energy and
money in our foundation, they need to know
who we are and how we serve the community.
Without communication, we will not achieve
our mission and goals.”
EXECUTIVE LEADER
Private Foundation
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Relationships
“
“In everything we do we are trying to
leverage more support from others.
We can’t go it alone.”
BOARD MEMBER
Private Foundation
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Relationships
How do you measure
your relationships?
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Relationships
What are your
organization’s key
relationships?
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Relationships
How do you nurture
key relationships?
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Transparent
Transparent
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Transparent
Openness drives mission. Social change organizations
that operate transparently build trust with their stakeholders,
which helps advance their mission.
 People we trust are more honest, modest, forthcoming, and willing to
discuss difficult topics, including their own mistakes and shortcomings.
 When you are truly open about governance, finances, investments, HR
policies, partnerships, your grantmaking processes and programmatic
performance, you help grow a culture of trust and transparency.
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Transparent
24%
Percentage of respondents from private
foundations who agreed that their
organization should “stay under the radar.”
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Transparent
18
Number of foundations who have joined
Foundation Center's Reporting Commitment.
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Transparent
74%
Percentage of respondents to a Grantcraft
survey who say they have perceived an
increased demand for funder transparency
over the past 5 years.
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Transparent
30+
Number of foundations who have made
their Grantee Perceptions Reports public
as an act of transparency.
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Transparent
“
“Foundations need to share their information more
easily and freely. It also helps if they pay for general
funds for the communication needs of grantees and
budget communication into their programs.”
PROGRAM LEADER
Nonprofit
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Transparent
“
“It’s important to distinguish between strategic
communication and PR. Some communication really
can advance a cause and some is more focused on
recognition. Foundations are often not very good at
being honest about the difference.”
PROGRAM LEADER
Private Foundation
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Transparent
“
“With public funds, the public has the right to know
what the organization is doing with those funds.”
EXECUTIVE LEADER
Nonprofit
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Transparent
How open is your organization?
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Transparent
How do you share
information?
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Transparent
What should remain
“under the radar?”
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Transparent
Enter Title Here
Bullet 1
Bullet 2
Bullet 3
Bullet 4
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Inclusive
Inclusive
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Inclusive
Inclusive organizations are diverse at all levels. The decisions
they make incorporate a wide range of viewpoints and
perspectives, which promotes responsiveness and adaptability.
 Communication is more effective when inclusivity is valued.
 Inclusivity appears in many forms, ranging from diversity and cultural
competency trainings to providing opportunities for partners, peers and
grantees to share feedback on your organization’s performance.
 Organizations whose communication strategy is shaped by a multitude of
opinions tend to be more precise, honed, and focused at telling their story.
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Inclusive
85%
Percentage of respondents who agree that
effective communication is essential for
engaging all of the people the organization
works with.
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Inclusive
180
Number of foundations that have
signed on to Philanthropy’s Promise.
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Inclusive
26
Number of philanthropic organizations
in the D5 Coalition to advance diversity,
equity, and inclusion in philanthropy.
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Inclusive
30+
Number of foundations who have made
their Grantee Perceptions Reports public
as an act of transparency.
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Inclusive
86%
Percentage of nonprofit board members in the
U.S. who are white (non-Latino). A mere 7
percent are African American or black, and 3.5
percent are Latino.
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Inclusive
“
“If we don't tell our story about why the work we do
matters in the community, people won't know what we
stand for and won't have a reason to engage with and
be excited by what we’re trying to achieve.”
EXECUTIVE LEADER
Community Foundation
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Inclusive
“
“Communication is a form of engagement. Change
does not happen unless key stakeholders are
engaged in substantive conversations, meaningful
relationships, and practical actions that
demonstrate change-making.”
EXECUTIVE LEADER
Private Foundation
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Inclusive
“
“Communication is important because the work
only gets done if the people doing it and the
people being helped understand what we are
doing, why we are doing it, how well we are
doing it, and what comes next.”
EXECUTIVE LEADER
Private Foundation
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Inclusive
How do you include
your community?
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Inclusive
How do you
define diversity?
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Inclusive
What changes can
be made to incorporate
more viewpoints?
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Respectful
Respectful
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Respectful
People who communicate effectively are open to divergent
opinions and views. They listen actively and thoughtfully, even
when they disagree with what’s being said.
 Institutions should strive to make active, respectful listening a cultural
norm, especially when it comes to communications.
 Accept that diverse points of view have inherent value.
 Embracing things you don’t know and insights you can learn from others
heightens your awareness and expands your capacity to be truly engaged,
alert and responsive.
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Respectful
23%
Americans who say that most people they
meet have very good manners (Public
Agenda).
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Respectful
42%
Drop in perceived respect parents have for
teachers, from 91% to 49% (Harris Poll).
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Respectful
95%
Percentage of Americans surveyed who believe
we have a civility problem (Weber Shandwick).
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Respectful
“
“Communication enhances the value of our
work as a team. If we are serious about
moving the dial on the issues we care about,
we have to engage our stakeholders.”
COMMUNICATION LEADER
Community Foundation
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Respectful
“
“Since grantees are hands-on, they
frequently have better policy contacts and
credibility than a foundation executive.”
COMMUNICATION LEADER
Nonprofit
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Respectful
“
“The biggest gap I see is in communication with
donors or funders, which happens quickly,
and communication with constituents, which
always seems to happen last minute, with less
intention, and often different quality.”
PROGRAM LEADER
Nonprofit
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Respectful
When is active, respectful
listening encouraged?
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Respectful
How do you
seek out contrary
perspectives?
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Respectful
How do you act on
feedback you receive?
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Self-aware
Self-aware
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Self-aware
A self-aware organization understands its unique strengths and
capacity to effect change; it also knows its limitations and
boundaries.
 Self-aware organizations are committed to learning and continuous
improvement.
 Sometimes this involves formal assessment mechanisms, other times it
might be as informal as a brown bag lunch.
 Organizations who are self-aware understand the value, and limitations, of
their brand assets – their reputation, relationships and resources.
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Self-aware
92%
Percentage of executive leaders who feel
that outcome measurement is not a
barrier for effective communications.
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Self-aware
300
Number of foundations who have commissioned
CEP’s Grantee Perception Report.
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Self-aware
50,000
Number of grantees who have completed CEP’s
Grantee Perception Report about a funder.
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Self-aware
“
“Improving an organization's communication
capacity can create organizational cohesion,
concentrate focus, and reinforce shared values.”
PROGRAM LEADER
Private Foundation
www.com-matters.org
www.com-matters.org
Self-aware
“
“Sometimes there's a dynamic tension between
communication and program. The two groups can
work together to eventually get to a place that everyone
is comfortable with. So this tension is not a bad thing.
Everyone is doing their job.”
PROGRAM LEADER
Private Foundation
www.com-matters.org
www.com-matters.org
Self-aware
“ “Based on my grantmaking experience, when you are
innovating—trying stuff, failing, and iterating—
communication needs to be in the mix. You need to
communicate to partners what you're trying, what's
working, and what's not.”
PROGRAM LEADER
Private Foundation
www.com-matters.org
www.com-matters.org
Self-aware
What are your
organization’s limitations
and boundaries?
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Self-aware
What kind of
assessment mechanisms
do you employ?
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Self-aware
How do you encourage
internal reflection?
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Goals
Goals
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Goals
The first step in any strategic communication effort is clearly
defining your objective. Think of it as a destination, a specific
spot on the map.
 A goal statement should be simple and unambiguous.
 Your goal should also be realistic and aligned with your available capacity,
resources and time.
 Think about the ultimate social change you are seeking and the ways that
your communication activities will complement the programmatic work
required to get you there.
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Goals
1
Rank of "build communication capacity of
nonprofits" as a goal of communication.
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Goals
2
Rank of "build public will" as a goal of
communication.
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Goals
3
Rank of "influence policy and practice" as a
goal of communication.
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Goals
“
“In this day and age, often
communication is the work.”
EXECUTIVE LEADER
Private Foundation
www.com-matters.org
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Goals
“
“Without communication we cannot advance our
public policy objectives or raise the dollars we need.
Communication is central to our strategy. It is a
programmatic lever that we use early and often.”
BOARD MEMBER
Nonprofit
www.com-matters.org
www.com-matters.org
Goals
“
“I’ve seen people who embrace communication but
don't really get it. They want to make a snazzy video
but haven't really thought it through. Why?
What is the purpose? Who is the audience?”
PROGRAM LEADER
Private Foundation
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www.com-matters.org
Goals
How are your goals aligned
with the social change
you are seeking?
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Goals
How do you communicate
your goals internally?
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Goals
How do you measure
your goals?
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Audiences
Audiences
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Audiences
Define your target audiences before you select the best
way to reach them. Focus on those best positioned to directly
determine the success or failure of your goal.
 It is imperative that you clearly identify, as narrowly as possible, the people
you need to reach and influence with your communication.
 It is important to remember that policy change is determined not by
faceless, governmental cyborgs, but by living, breathing humans.
 Be careful to avoid the pitfall of stratifying your audiences into imprecise
subsets like “voters” and “electeds.”
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Audiences
50/50
Roughly the split between time spent on
internal and external communication.
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Audiences
9%
Average percentage of communication time
spent communicating with policymakers.
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Audiences
22%
Average percentage of communication time
spent communicating with grantees.
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Audiences
““By communicating what the foundation is supporting
to our key audiences, such as policy makers and
potential partners, we can amplify our impact in
achieving our mission-driven goals.”
EXECUTIVE LEADER
Private Foundation
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www.com-matters.org
Audiences
““If our efforts aren't heard by the right people, it’s just
as if a tree fell in the forest. Without communication
our work is like that tree. No will care.”
COMMUNICATION LEADER
Private Foundation
www.com-matters.org
www.com-matters.org
Audiences
“
“Communication is essential. The best
evidence is of little value if it doesn’t get to the
people who need it, when they want it,
in a form that's understandable to them.”
EVALUATION LEADER
Nonprofit
www.com-matters.org
www.com-matters.org
Audiences
Can you clearly define
your audiences?
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Audiences
How do you segment
your audiences?
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Audiences
Who is your internal
versus your external
audience?
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Point of View
Point of
View
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Point of View
Every successful communication effort has an inherent point of
view. Think of point of view as the tone, voice, style or
personality for your communication.
 Point of view can be carefully designed and cultivated, or an organic
outgrowth of your organizational style.
 Whatever your circumstance, the key to success is acting authentically.
That means communicating with a point of view that is believable,
appropriate and aligned with your organizational values.
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Point of View
20%
The percentage of annual expenditures
that most nonprofits can spend on
lobbying.
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Point of View
17M
The number of Ice Bucket Challenge videos
that were shared to Facebook. The videos
were viewed more than 10 billion times by
440 million people.
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Point of View
74%
Percentage of participants in a 47-country
survey who said that seeing the film An
Inconvenient Truth caused them to change
some of their daily habits.
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Point of View
“
“Foundations should be as loud as possible about
issues, grantees, and grantmaking approaches that
move the work forward. I think foundations should be
extremely mouthy in an “it's not about us” kind of way”
COMMUNICATION LEADER
Private Foundation
www.com-matters.org
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Point of View
“
“I have frequently heard advocates ask us to put our
name on something, because policymakers find it
easier to hear it from us.”
COMMUNICATION LEADER
Private Foundation
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Point of View
“ “One of the things we have been thinking a lot about
lately is our voice. It's tricky trying to strike the right
balance between authentic, strategic, approachable,
and visionary.”
PROGRAM LEADER
Private Foundation
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www.com-matters.org
Point of View
What “voice” do
you use for your
communications?
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Point of View
Is your point of view
cultivated or is it organic?
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Point of View
How is your message shaped
by your
point of view?
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Messages
Messages
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Messages
Successful messaging requires clarity and consistency. Good
messages also must align with the interests and concerns most
important to your audience.
 The best messages are those that align with an audience’s value system.
They are simple, factual, and provocative.
 Identify the values that sit at the core of the change you are seeking and
zero in on them as crisply and succinctly as possible.
 Give careful consideration to the visual design of your messages and the
pictures you use to tell your story.
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Messages
20
Number of times people need to hear a
campaign message before it sinks in.
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Messages
45
Or above. The recommended Flesch
score for better readability.
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Messages
5.4M
Total number of foundation followers on
Twitter (January 2013)
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Messages
4.4M
Total number of Facebook likes for
foundations (January 2013)
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Messages
““We communicate to reach policy makers. We can have
the best programs and policies in the world, but unless
we translate them into language that reaches policy
makers and the public, we won’t be effective.”
EXECUTIVE LEADER
Nonprofit
www.com-matters.org
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Messages
“
“When you say things in a clear, exciting, engaging
way, people listen to what you have to say. If we want
people to respond to our mission, we need to
communicate that mission clearly.”
COMMUNICATION LEADER
Nonprofit
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Messages
““So many of the issues we work on are stuck because of
the dominant narrative, and that doesn't change just
by doing program work that gets results. To leverage
those results to create new narratives takes
strategic communication.”
COMMUNICATION LEADER
Private Foundation
www.com-matters.org
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Messages
How do you tie your
messages to your values?
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Messages
What are examples
of successful messages
you have used?
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Messages
What kind of visual
messages do you use?
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Messengers
Messengers
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Messengers
Choosing the right messenger is a critical step in every strategic
communication effort. Without the right person delivering it,
your message is just a nice set of words.
 Cognitive science has demonstrated time and time again that what is being
said can matter far less than who is saying it.
 The key is to be intentional about choosing messengers who are viewed
with trust, respect and the appropriate level of authority on your issue.
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Messengers
50,000
Videos created and uploaded to the It Gets
Better Project.
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Messengers
$112M
Raised by the ALS Association in the Ice
Bucket Challenge (as of September 2014).
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Messengers
71%
Percentage of foundations using social media
who have not developed a formal social
media strategy.
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Messengers
“
“Though the foundation speaks to what
we're learning, we never wanted to be a
soloist. Instead, we find ways to make
sure that others can effectively "join the
choir" and use what we learn.”
PROGRAM LEADER
Private Foundation
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Messengers
“
“We only achieve our goals through the efforts of
others. We need to communicate so that our goals
and objectives are shared by others. If we can
enlist others into our perspective, we have more of
us working toward our goals.”
EXECUTIVE LEADER
Private Foundation
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Messengers
“ “We are working on integrating communications into
the grant cycle with communication capacity provided
to our grantees. Their reporting helps provide more
stories, media outreach, and impactful outcomes for
our internal and external communication efforts.”
COMMUNICATION LEADER
Private Foundation
www.com-matters.org
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Messengers
Who are the right
messengers for your
organization?
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Messengers
What is your
social media
strategy?
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Messengers
Have your messengers
changed over time?
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Channels
Channels
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Channels
Your likelihood for success increases when you chose the right
channel to deliver your message. Consider how you want your
audience to receive and engage your communication.
 Earned media: Can you control how (or if) the story will be reported?
 Paid media: Will it have the resonance and influence you need to best
advance your goal?
 Owned media: The price tag might be more appealing, but will these
channels help you reach the decision makers you’ve identified as your key
audience?
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Channels
87%
Percentage of American adults who use
the internet.
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Channels
90%
Percentage of American adults who have a
cell phone. 58% have a smart phone.
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Channels
74%
Percentage of internet users
who use social networks.
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Channels
7th
The rank of annual reports as a source of
information by engaged Americans.
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Channels
““Every year our board asks us why we aren't in NYT or
WSJ. The answer to that is easy. We work on systems
change! There's nothing sexy about changing systems.
The story is in the work our grantees do.”
COMMUNICATION LEADER
Private Foundation
www.com-matters.org
www.com-matters.org
Channels
“
“I care more about the content and strategy of
communication than the tools. I'm passionate about
seeing the communication field in philanthropy move
away from a fascination with the tools.”
COMMUNICATION LEADER
Private Foundation
www.com-matters.org
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Channels
How do you choose
your communication
channels?
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Channels
What is your
social media
strategy?
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Channels
How do you control
your message in
different channels?
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Listen
Listen
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Listen
Communicating is an active process made up of three continuous
and mutually reinforcing actions. It starts with listening, but
involves equal parts learning and sharing. Doing all three well
requires intentionality, focus and time.
 Good listeners listen to understand, not to respond
 Listening can take many forms: paying attention to news cycles,
participating actively in social media, running regular focus groups or
opinion polls, and more.
 www.com-matters.org
Listening also takes time. It is not something you do once, or once a year.
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Listen
74%
Percentage of nonprofit leaders who named
fundraising as a challenge to their personal and
professional effectiveness in the Meyer
Foundation’s Executive Director Listening
Project.
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Listen
1
Organizations' rank of the importance of
communication and listening skills compared
to other skills.
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Listen
3000
The number of marketing messages an
average American is exposed to each day.
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Listen
125-250
The number of words per minute the average
listener is capable of hearing. By contrast, we
think at 1000 to 3000 words per minute.
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Listen
“ “So many of the issues we work on are stuck because
the dominant narrative is wrong, and that doesn't
change just by doing good grantmaking that gets
results. To leverage those results, to create new
narratives, takes strategic communication.”
COMMUNICATION LEADER
Private Foundation
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Listen
“ “Persistence is a problem in the philanthropy world.
For all the talk about we’re in it for the long haul,
there’s a certain amount of impatience
in philanthropy.”
EXECUTIVE LEADER
Private Foundation
www.com-matters.org
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Listen
“
“Tell me one major, successful social change
initiative that did not have very strong
communications as part of its success.”
COMMUNICATION LEADER
Private Foundation
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Listen
What intentional,
consistent methods for
listening do you use?
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Listen
What tools do you
utilize for monitoring
your message?
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Listen
What listening tools
can you build into your
communication actions?
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Learn
Learn
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Learn
Communicating is an active process comprised of three
dynamic and mutually reinforcing actions. Learning follows
listening, but is equally important. Both listening and learning
are prerequisites for sharing.
 Learning is about internalizing what you hear and engaging in true
self-reflection before proceeding with any outbound message
 There is much to be learned from internal audiences—your colleagues,
peers, and partners can shed insight that external audiences cannot.
 www.com-matters.org
Learning also takes time—lots and lots of time.
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Learn
73%
Percentage of survey respondents who wish
they had more data to prove that
communication investments are worth making.
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Learn
44%
Percentage of survey respondents who say
their organization always or often
communicates to share learning about what
has and has not worked.
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Learn
44
Number of years it took to go from one state
where marriage is legal for all couples, to 19.
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Learn
“
“Improving an organization's communications
capacity can create organizational cohesion,
concentrate focus, and reinforce shared values.”
PROGRAM LEADER
Private Foundation
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Learn
“"Communication moves at a fast pace. The foundation
world does not. And so opportunities are missed.”
COMMUNICATION LEADER
Private Foundation
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Learn
“
“There is a dynamic tension between
communication and programs. Communication
feels that what program wants to say is too boring,
wonky, complex. Program feels communication
is stretching the truth by trying to simplify.”
COMMUNICATION LEADER
Nonprofit
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Learn
How do you learn from
internal and external
audiences?
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Learn
What do you do
to encourage
self-reflection?
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Learn
Are you receptive to
what your audience
can teach you?
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Share
Share
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Share
Communicating is an active process made up of three continuous
and mutually reinforcing actions. Sharing, the final step in a
virtuous circle, rarely succeeds fully until you have listened and
learned first.
 Sharing is the active dissemination stage where your messages are
delivered to, and received by, your key audiences.
 Sharing assumes many forms, channels, and routes, nearly all of which
require the communicator to ultimately cede control of the message.
 www.com-matters.org
Active, effective communication unfolds slowly, even when it is done
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masterfully.
Share
1 in 10
Ratio of Americans who can give an example of
a foundation’s impact on an issue they care
about.
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Share
8 in 10
Ratio of Americans who think it would be a
loss for their community if foundations no
longer existed.
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Share
65%
Percentage of millennials who receive regular
email or newsletters from 1 to 5 nonprofits.
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Share
“ “Strategic communications raises the visibility of the
issues we address, shines the light on organizations
and leaders we value, and leverages the grant making
investments made by the foundation.”
PROGRAM LEADER
Private Foundation
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Share
“
“If people we wish to impact don't understand the
issue, what we are trying to change, or how it effects
the society in which we live, we will never achieve
lasting change.”
COMMUNICATION LEADER
Private Foundation
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Share
“
“We’re dealing with policy makers who have limited
knowledge about foundations. Many don’t know what
a foundation is or does, and that’s our fault, not theirs.”
EXECUTIVE LEADER
Private Foundation
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Share
Are you listening and
learning before sharing?
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Share
What do you do to
calibrate your content?
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Share
How do you deal with
messages that fail?
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