In Defense of Strategic Communication for Non-profits
Many non-profits, philanthropic foundations, and social movements find it challenging to communicate the social change they champion. Nonprofits do magnificent charitable work and changing people’s lives. Too often, when they try to gain public support, they find indifferent and sometimes even unsympathetic audiences. This clash, between well-intentioned advocates and the public’s perception of their cause, could be harmful for a nonprofit’s reputation and discourage its workers.
Many non-profits, philanthropic foundations, and social movements find it challenging to communicate the social change they champion. Nonprofits do magnificent charitable work and changing people’s lives. Too often, when they try to gain public support, they find indifferent and sometimes even unsympathetic audiences. This clash, between well-intentioned advocates and the public’s perception of their cause, could be harmful for a nonprofit’s reputation and discourage its workers.
The current dichotomous public discourse, which celebrates sharp ideological differences, makes it even harder for nonprofits to spread their messages, gain legitimacy, and achieve their goals without causing antagonism or backlash. This can be exacerbated in nonprofits operating without a clear plan; these nonprofits operate in a crisis-response mode and fail to reach the full potential of their missions.
This is why effective communications are critical for nonprofits to achieve their goals in a rapidly changing scientific and political environment, and nonprofits must give additional attention to their communication strategy. They should carefully plan their communication activities to make sure they utilize it to bring the best results, support their cause, and engage in a meaningful dialogue with their extended audiences.
Strategic communication for nonprofits is an ongoing effort to plan the best path to achieve the organization’s goals via external and internal dialogues. It isn’t just about posting messages to your constituents on an imaginary bulletin board. Rather, it is a continuing effort to engage in a long-term dialogue with multiple potential audiences, aiming to deliver the right message for the right audience. It’s about explaining why nonprofits are fundraising, advocating, and doing their charitable work to help, and how can the public and donors support them.
A recent report, Identifying Best Practices for Communications Workforce at Science Philanthropies, published by three of the most prominent science foundations in the US, the John Tempelton, the Rita Allen, and the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundations, doubles down on the importance of strategic communication for philanthropies, arguing that perhaps more than ever, science philanthropies committed to advancing scientific progress must enact increasingly sophisticated communication strategies to ensure their messages are heard by the right people at the right time:
Based on interviews with nineteen officials at U.S.-based science philanthropies, the report recommends that foundations engage professional communicators rather than rely solely on scientists to handle their communications tasks; consider goals, audiences, and tactics from the outset of an initiative through its implementation; increase shared learning and partnerships to foster professional development and collaboration; diversify their communications teams so as to reach a broader audience and generate deeper insights; and prioritize communications-centered professional development to respond to rapidly changing information environments.
In order to plan the best communication strategy in today’s polarized environment, non-profits must ask themselves two key questions:
- What is the most effective way for our message to be heard?
- How can we most productively represent our cause?
Spurred on by social networks, the current public discourse often bestows prestige on those who publicly call out wrongdoing, whether individual or collective. This crucial act can signal what is culturally and morally inappropriate, give voice to the victims, cultivate new cultural norms, and even drive social change, as we have seen in the #MeToo movement.
While non-profits can leverage this trend to gain social capital, they must carefully navigate the turbulent media discourse to promote their visions. To do so, they must frame their messages meticulously to achieve two essential objectives: (1) deliver the explicit message to the right audiences and (2) avoid potential backlash from other audiences.
For those working on a cause they care about, the first instinct is often to make sure that as many people as possible are aware of the problem and the organization’s efforts to solve it or support the victims. When we care about an issue or a cause, it’s natural to want others to care as much as we do. This is why many nonprofits are eager to deliver their complete story and find it challenging to adapt their messages for their target audiences. This requires omitting some aspects and highlighting others.
Too often, nonprofits focus their marketing and strategic communication on seeking to convey information with the hope that it will have a positive effect on their audience and that people will become more aware.
This approach, which falls broadly under what has been called the “Information Deficit Model” of science communication, rests on the incorrect assumption that much of the public’s skepticism about science and new technology was rooted in a lack of knowledge. This model postulates that if the public only knew more, they would be more likely to embrace scientific information.
For example, vaccinations, hurricane preparedness, or legal rights, are important issues that require information. However, is it ever enough for people to simply know more about something? In each of these cases, delivering the information is only one aspect of the change and must be accompanied by a call for specific actions to overcome the threats.
Careful planning of nonprofits’ messages can build social tolerance for supporting their efforts, so they can publicly discuss important issues without raising antagonism, highlight their importance, and mobilize the public to donate and take action.
Communication is a continuing dialogue with multiple potential stakeholders: volunteers, donors, employees, board members, peer organizations, local government institutions, constituents, mass media, and the public.
Nonprofits must be ruthless in identifying and reaching their target audiences as effectively as possible. Also, they must constantly explain to the public why their organization exists, how it improves society and most of all why it’s important to support its mission and activities.
Planning nonprofit communication strategy is an active, timely, and goal-oriented mission. By understanding how the public currently thinks and framing the issue in ways that resonate with people, nonprofits can project their messages beyond their immediate circle of influence — the people who are likely already convinced that their message matters.
Message content is essential, of course, but audiences also learn about nonprofits from the way they communicate. A nonprofits’ brand includes the appearance, timing, tone, attitude, and visual story of their message. These clues tell the whole story: the words only play the supporting role. Even in a crisis situation, strategic planning can ensure less chaotic behavior and encourage much more pre-planned dialogue with your audiences.
