Effective communication is essential to the success of your nonprofit. Communication allows you to make a meaningful connection with your supporters and draw them in to help you achieve your mission. Social media, email and websites offer many different avenues that will allow you to communicate with a variety of prospective supporters.
Below you will find advice on various aspects of nonprofit communications, focusing on topics like storytelling, social media, webinars and planning strategic communications.
Should your nonprofit join the rising star social network, Bluesky?
Bluesky is a new social media platform that’s being developed as an alternative to sites like X/Twitter. In just a few weeks post-US elections, its user base jumped from 13 million to over 21 million, with 3.5 million daily active users.
The growth of Bluesky is partly due to increasing ...
Naming the cause of the problem
‘Poverty rates are rising,’ ‘democracy is under threat’, ‘women are still being paid less than men’’: we in the nonprofit world love to use the passive voice. Perhaps it’s because we think it sounds more academic, and so more authoritative, perhaps it’s because we don’t want to offend anyone by p...
Standing Out in a Crowded Space: How Nonprofits Can Compete for Attention and Funding
Marketing is Vital.
With over 300,000 registered non-profits in South Africa competing for funding with tertiary institutions, schools, clubs and faith-based entities, for funding, marketing is imperative. The majority of NPO staff and volunteers are fully occupied in fundraising and project del...
Highlighting strengths: how to transform your nonprofit messaging
In my previous post on accentuating the positive, I referenced an approach called Asset Framing, developed by Trabian Shorters. I wanted to say a bit more about that approach. Shorters noticed that many nonprofits and foundations focus on talking about the problems facing the people they are...
Research Insights: Crafting positive nonprofit messages
In the realm of communications and advocacy, the power of positive messaging cannot be overstated. In this insightful piece, Brett Davidson delves into the compelling research and expert advice that underscores the importance of focusing on aspirations and solutions.
In communications and advoca...
AI should assist, not replace, the writing process
At #nonprofit, we regularly receive article submissions for our digital magazine. Many of these are excellent, useful resources or insightful thought pieces. However, we have been receiving an increasing number of article submissions that are clearly AI-generated, submitted with li...
Facebook is still relevant for your nonprofit, despite what your teenager says
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The importance of plain speaking and writing for nonprofits
Many years ago I worked on a daily radio current affairs show. One of my pet hates was interviewing people from NGOs, because I could never understand what they were talking about. Many organisations were doing amazing work on important issues like housing, health, or education, but when I asked,...
Why your nonprofit needs a communications budget
In Nonprofits: We Must Break Out of the Scrappiness Cycle, Vu Le talks about the extremely frugal nature of most nonprofits. “We are always scrimping, trying to find the best deals, trying to get stuff discounted or preferably free. … It has become a mindset that is ingrained...
The neglected art of listening (Part 2)
I wrote previously about the importance of listening if nonprofits want to do a better job of reaching and moving their audiences. However, listening is not only a crucial step in crafting effective messaging. Genuine listening can be hugely persuasive in itself.
In his excellent book How Minds ...
The neglected art of listening (Part 1)
Too often those of us in the nonprofit world sit in our offices and boardrooms, hashing out messages with our colleagues and allies - people who share our values and think like we do. We argue amongst ourselves for hours over exactly which words and phrases are most correct and precise. And then ...
Connecting ethical storytelling and narrative change
If storytelling is to be a truly powerful tool for social justice activism, it is important to pay as much attention to the process of storytelling as to its outcome. Unless it is approached thoughtfully and with great care, impact-driven storytelling can easily become transactional and extractiv...
A language audit for the ‘new normal’
Thoughtful and clear communication can sharpen ideas and activate calls to action. But this requires us to be conscious of our language and the phrases that we popularise, because words that are intended as calls for social change can easily be restrung to subdue our brave ideas and quiet our mos...
Narrative Emergency Kit: How should we prepare for the next crisis?
Watching tragedy unfold in Ukraine, I have been thinking about the powerful, rapid, and often unexpected impact that major, shocking events can have on narratives that underpin our understanding of the world. While narrative and culture change work tends to take years, events have the power t...
What is UX design and why is it important for your nonprofit?
UX means “user experience” and refers to designing and creating products with the user in mind. With nonprofits, this can refer to how a user experiences your organisation via your website.
For example, let’s imagine that someone hears about your organisation through a social media post, and the...
What do we mean by effective storytelling? Letting go of magic bullets
How do we tell more effective stories? This is a central question for us at IRIS, a new collaborative hub that brings together funders, storytellers and activists. It’s something I have been interested in since the early days of my career, in radio current affairs in South Africa in the ninet...
Storytelling for non-profits
Storytelling, used well, is the single most powerful tool available to nonprofits
You know you love reading a good book, watching a great movie or listening to an engaging story. But why? And how does it relate to telling stories for your nonprofit?
Our brains love stories
It’s true! Rese...
Understanding Storytelling
People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did but people will never forget how you made them feel - Maya Angelou
When nonprofits talk about their work, there is a tendency to emphasise dry facts and figures, or ‘NGO-...
Getting started with storytelling
The idea of adding something as challenging as storytelling to your already busy day may feel overwhelming. However, this does not have to be the case. Stories are all around you, and you can gather them in the course of your work over a long period of time.
Creating a story bank
Your story ban...
Quick tips on writing for the web
Web writing has its own style. It’s direct, visual, and to the point. Here are a few simple tips to help you optimise your writing for the web.
Keep your intro short! Few people will read long intro text. They glance through the article and try to find the main points in a few seconds.
Start ...
Managing your social media staff
Communication works for those who work at it. - John Powell
Few NPOs can afford to appoint a full-time staff member to manage their social media. However, you can assign the work of social media manager to a staff member who is well-versed in your programme work and your mission, who has an unde...
Skills required to manage social media
Nonprofit social media management is often left in the hands of anyone in the office who uses social media in their personal capacity. But communicating on behalf of an NPO requires a specific set of skills. Is it worth the reputational risk to allow this critical part of your brand to be...
Developing a basic comms plan
As a digital media consultant, one of the first questions I ask clients is how their website and social media work fits into their communications plan. More often than not, this question is met with either uncomfortable silence or just laughter.
“Communications plan? Who has time for that?”
The...
Stop wasting your time on social media
Are you wasting your time on social media? If any of these points sound familiar, you are very likely wasting your time:
You’ve left social media content to your resident ‘techie’ or intern to manage
Your organisation has opened accounts on multiple social media channels, but you’re not sure ...
Guiding questions for social media policies and procedures
Everyone involved in your social media work should have a solid understanding of the NPOs social media policies and procedures. Clarifying these issues can help you avoid potential problems later.
Responsibilities
Who has overall oversight over social media?
Who is responsible for creating a...