Your non-profit’s communication strategy is falling short. How can you turn it around?

In my extensive 17-year tenure managing nonprofits, gauging an organization's potential begins with a preliminary assessment of its social media reach, website traffic, and media coverage, particularly in mainstream outlets. These three benchmarks serve as initial indicators of the effectiveness of the organization's communication efforts. By scrutinizing the impact across these channels, we gain valuable insights into our NGO's visibility and engagement within the broader community. This strategic evaluation enables informed decision-making to enhance outreach and solidify our presence in the public sphere.

Talk to as many "non-staff" stake holders as you can. Donors, partners, foundations, clients you serve etc. Get to know what they are thinking and feeling. You'll learn way more than you can from just pulling reports from social media, email, web etc (all though those are helpful). You'll how your message is being translated, where gaps might be, and opportunities that you can take advantage of you didn't know where there.

Instead of solely relying on internal perspectives, broaden your understanding by reaching out to external experts, consultants, or community members who can provide an unbiased viewpoint on your nonprofit’s communication landscape. Engaging with individuals outside your organization can bring fresh insights, uncover blind spots, and provide a holistic understanding of how your messages resonate in the broader context. This external perspective can contribute valuable nuances to your communication audit, enriching the overall assessment.

First, see how your non-profit talks to people. Are people paying attention? Do they understand? Look at what's working and what's not. Ask yourself if your message is clear. Check if people know what you're doing. If things aren't going well, figure out why. Then, make a plan to fix it.

You can work with a hired strategic planning organization or do surveys with your employees and get their feedback. Employee surveys are a good way to learn about the inner workings of the organization and can provide insight into what’s not working.

In my 17 years of nonprofit leadership, effective external communication aims primarily at increasing engagement from potential partners, volunteers, and, crucially, donors. The temptation to showcase the organization solely from a self-centric perspective must be resisted. Emphasizing audience and organizational interests in the long term is paramount. What donors truly wish to see and what ensures long-term revenue growth may not always align with immediate desires or political considerations of the board. Crafting communication that addresses these two fundamental questions serves the organization best over time.

Figure out what you want to say and why. Ask yourself, what do you want people to know or do? Set clear goals, like sharing information or getting support. Make sure your goals are easy to understand and achievable.

You need to have properly defined goals. They need to S.M.A.R.T goals. I.e. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timebound

One of the biggest pitfalls I have seen, is fall in work or communication aligning with original goals or expectations. Keeping these objectives and expectations clear and constantly relevant helps the unclog the pipeline of communication.

Quelle est votre cible ? (ou vos cibles ?) Ensuite comment cette cible se renseigne, se tient informée ? Il faut également prendre en compte la notion de temps et donc d'investissement nécessaire pour toucher votre cible.

Find out who cares about your non-profit. Talk to the people who might be interested, like supporters, volunteers, or those you help. Ask what they want to hear from you and how they want to hear it. Knowing them helps you share information that matters to them and keeps them involved.

With over 17 years leading nonprofits, I emphasize aligning our communication strategy with the values and principles cherished by our donors. Sadly, it's not uncommon for organizations to overlook their sponsors' profiles or neglect to listen to their most important perspective: understanding donors' expectations and determining what the organization can do (and communicate) to encourage even greater support. Crafting a communication strategy that resonates with our donors fosters a deeper connection and ensures sustained engagement. It's not merely about what we want to say but, more importantly, about what our donors need to hear.

You need to know your audience and learn as well as understand how to communicate with them. Whether they are millennials or Gen Z, etc. Learn their key demographics.

Lors de chaque rencontre avec vos parties prenantes il faut en retirer des informations : comment vous ont il connu ? quelle image ont elles de vous ? pourquoi il n'y a pas plus d'engagement de leur part au sein de votre organisation ? Il faut écouter et ensuite en échanger avec votre équipe.

In my experience, NGO communication strategies fall short when they seek to focus on identifying channels, instead of creating a community. Spend sometime evaluating how your community could engage or prefers to interact and then determine which channels and tools would best foster that. Does your community prefer deeper conversations between small groups? Then maybe a Facebook Group or Slack channel is better. Is your community driven to sticky, thought-leadership type of storytelling? Then, maybe a weekly newsletter, rich with different content pieces would work.

Pick ways to talk that work best for your non-profit. Think about where your audience is - like online or in person. Choose tools that fit, like social media or newsletters. Keep it simple, so people get your message easily.

Le premier canal reste vos membres, partenaires... Il ne faut pas oublier qu'un avis positif permet d'en influencer un autre, mais qu'un avis négatif en convainct 10 autres !

An important part of choosing your tools and channels is understanding your audience. It’s best to meet their needs rather than throwing resources into tools that will evidently be ineffective. When you’re strategic in this way, then you can select the best tools

If your non-profit's communication needs a boost, keep it simple. First, know what you want to say – your main message. Next, choose where to share it, like on social media, emails, or your website. Be consistent so people remember you. Keep your message clear with simple words and visuals. Encourage people to share and talk about your stuff to reach more folks. Finally, see what works and what doesn't, then make adjustments. Keeping it easy and consistent will help your message get across better!

De part mon expérience, il est très facile d'obtenir des articles dans des journaux locaux ou des chaines tv régionales... C'est un canal grand public qu'il ne faut pas négliger. Il faut être engager dans des réseaux pour profiter de l'expérience de ses membres également.

As a non-profit, people should be at the center of your strategy so that your content resonates. People like to see facts and figures as well that help to drive your cause and relevance home. Ensure your content is visually appealing, easy to read and all text is concise.

Rather than viewing the monitoring and evaluation process as a final step, integrate it into the ongoing culture of your nonprofit. Foster a mindset that embraces learning and adaptation. Encourage team members to share insights, both positive and constructive, in regular debrief sessions. By treating evaluation as a continuous and collaborative process, your nonprofit can swiftly respond to changing dynamics, ensuring the communication strategy remains agile and effective over time.

The most problematic situation in nearly all young, or underfunded, nonprofit organizations is the complexity of voices. When board members each have individualized content and communication strategies, the structure is likely to fall flat, and disorganization will become the result. Adding similar complexities from the members of the board to the Executive Director, COO, CFO, multiple program directors, and funders…..well, you can see the morass now being a distressed communication strategy, and the linear result being destroyed. Every one of these players simply must be aligned like the razor’s edge if the organization not only survive, but to thrive.