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
www.com-matters.org
www.com-matters.org
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
www.com-matters.org
www.com-matters.org
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
www.com-matters.org
www.com-matters.org
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
www.com-matters.org
www.com-matters.org
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
www.com-matters.org
www.com-matters.org
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
www.com-matters.org
www.com-matters.org
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
www.com-matters.org
www.com-matters.org
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
www.com-matters.org
www.com-matters.org
Relationships
“
“In everything we do we are trying to
leverage more support from others.
We can’t go it alone.”
BOARD MEMBER
Private Foundation
www.com-matters.org
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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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