Beyond the
jitters
When Foundations and the News Media Connect
Lessons from the Foundation Media Relations Project
Beyond the
jitters
When Foundations and the News Media Connect
Lessons From the Foundation Media Relations Project
In Baltimore, a newspaper editor was so intrigued by what he learned from one meeting
with foundations that he has ever since devoted regular coverage to local philanthropy.
In South Florida, one reporter was amazed at how much he didn’t know about what
foundations were doing and asked for more regular updates. In Connecticut and Southern
California, foundations began offering a one-stop shop of story ideas and related information for journalists. In Washington, D.C., a philanthropy spokesperson couldn’t believe how
easy it was to talk to reporters.
Not that it was effortless. Engaging the news media takes a real commitment and dedicated
work. But the Foundation Media Relations Project illustrated for many foundations and
journalists just how rewarding even the simplest shifts in attitude and behavior could be.
Carried out by Burness Communications, this pilot effort has revealed five main lessons
from which foundations and philanthropy organizations nationwide can benefit.
The Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy at the Urban Institute studied this two-year
experiment of intensive media assistance to foundations and their associations in five regions
of the country. The goal was to extract critical lessons about working with the news media
for all those engaged in philanthropy – foundations and other grantmakers, regional and
national grantmaking associations, and affinity groups – and for those studying philanthropy.
Journalists are increasingly interested in covering nonprofits and foundations, and foundations are increasingly interested in cultivating relations with journalists. Thanks to generous
support from the Atlantic Philanthropies, the Foundation Media Relations Project has
significantly enhanced our understanding of why and how foundations should move from
interest to action in developing media relations. The Center and Burness Communications
developed this monograph in the hope that grantmakers will both perceive the value of
publicizing their important role in communities and strive to “put it into print” as well.
Burness Communications
7910 Woodmont Avenue
Suite 1340
Bethesda, MD 20814
p 301.652.1558
f 301.654.1589
www.burnesscommunications.com
Burness Communications
provides public relations support
to nonprofit organizations in
the United States and abroad.
Burness seeks to empower
people with information that
can be used to improve the
human condition and advance
social change.
The Urban Institute
2100 M Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
p 202.261.5709
f 202.429.0687
www.urban.org
The Urban Institute is a
nonprofit policy research and
educational organization
established in Washington, D.C.,
in 1968. Conclusions or opinions
expressed in this publication
are those of the authors and do
not necessarily reflect the
views of officers or trustees of
the Institute, advisory groups,
or any organizations that provide
financial support to the Institute.
Introduction
In January 2000, the Foundation
Media Relations Project was
launched to bridge the gulf
between journalists and foundations. This localized, experimental
effort was based on recommendations in a report by Burness
Communications for the Urban
Institute’s Center on Nonprofits
and Philanthropy. This report,
Overcoming the Jitters, singled out
regional associations of grantmakers as a logical starting point
to help diverse foundations work
with the news media.
With the assistance of the
Forum of Regional Associations
of Grantmakers and the
Communications Network,
Burness designed the Foundation
Media Relations Project for select
regional associations of grantmakers interested in and capable of
participating. The idea was, first,
to boost the associations’ relations
with local journalists. With few
exceptions, such relationships were
non-existent. Ultimately, the
project aimed to help the regional
associations become catalysts for
establishing media relations skills
at their member foundations.
and journalists, the report showed
that the philanthropic community
is almost universally frustrated
by the treatment of its work in the
press. Journalists, in turn, see
foundation communications
efforts as sorely wanting – press
releases are rarely “newsworthy”
and foundation staff are inaccessible – though reporters acknowledge that their organizations'
inattention to the nonprofit sector
is unjustifiable.
• Engage regional associations
of grantmakers to improve
Overcoming The Jitters
In 1998, Burness Communications
produced Overcoming the Jitters:
The Uneasy Relationship between
Philanthropy and the Media and
Ways to Improve It for the Urban
Institute’s Center on Nonprofits
and Philanthropy. The report was
based on a qualitative survey of
reporters, foundation leaders, and
philanthropy observers. Most
survey respondents described as
“uneasy” the relationship between
grantmakers and the news media,
and agreed that improving this
relationship was strongly needed –
not just for foundations and journalists, but also for policymakers
and the general public. Through
interviews with foundation leaders
From the survey, Burness Communications developed several
recommendations to bridge the
chasm between foundations
and the news media, including:
communications among
member foundations
• Develop a Web site to
serve as a clearinghouse for
story ideas, national and
regional philanthropy statistics,
and news on giving
The Foundation Media Relations
Project grew out of these two
recommendations.
3.
Introduction continued
“Can a foundation be truly effective if its work goes
so unnoticed that it doesn’t contribute to public
appreciation of the role and value of private wealth
used for the public interest?”
Frank Karel
Former vice president of communications at the Robert Wood Johnson and Rockefeller foundations
Five associations participated:
The Association of Baltimore
Area Grantmakers, Donors
Forum, Inc. (South Florida),
Connecticut Council for
Philanthropy, Southern
California Association for
Philanthropy, and Washington
Grantmakers (District of
Columbia).
The Center on Nonprofits and
Philanthropy assessed the
project and extracted the lessons
learned. Highlights from these
lessons are presented in this
document – a primer for foundations and philanthropy leaders
nationwide. The Center’s recommendations for overcoming the
media jitters: a receptive attitude,
sufficient resources and support,
patience, and commitment.
4.
Based on the intensive training
and one-on-one technical
assistance provided through this
project, Burness Communications
also stressed the importance of
commitment to media relations
and persistence in engaging the
news media. It takes real investment (in time, staff, and resources)
and follow-through to produce
better, more consistent news coverage of philanthropy. Without
strategy and action, all the ideas
and training won’t result in
media coverage.
The Foundation Media Relations
Project was a first step toward
establishing more widespread
media relations in philanthropy.
It laid the groundwork for foundations in five regions to work more
comfortably and more frequently
with the news media. This report
explains what it will take to
build up, and out, from there. •
Why Should Foundations
Engage the News Media?
There are two compelling reasons:
public education and public
understanding. Foundations alone
lack the raw spending power to
achieve substantial societal change;
their grantmaking is a fraction of
nonprofit, government, and corporate spending on social programs.
But working with journalists
allows foundations to help educate
the public by identifying the
issues that are critical to social
well-being. And disseminating
the lessons from one foundation’s
efforts to alleviate a social need
or problem can be enormously
beneficial to other foundations,
to say nothing of policymakers,
activists, nonprofits, and the
general public. This leveraging
of the news media has the
potential to help inform public
discourse and affect real social
improvement.
Want to Move Beyond the
Media Jitters? Here’s How:
Public education through the
news media also helps the public
better understand what foundations do and what they contribute
to society. Many foundations do
not regard the woeful lack of
such understanding as a problem.
They should. The uninformed are
more easily swayed by negative
perceptions – and most Americans
have no encounters with foundations. Further, private philanthropy is a public trust, granted
tax-exemption and tax benefits for
donors. Policymakers could easily
decide to restrict, even remove,
this privilege. For purposes
of both stewardship and survival,
foundations must be open with
the public about their work. •
“The enhanced prosperity of foundations
is beginning to attract – and is certain
to continue to attract – increasing
attention from journalists for one
simple reason: the foundation industry
is enormous, and growing.”
1. A Receptive Attitude
A sustained, effective relationship with the press is only
possible when grantmakers
embrace the idea of media
relations.
2. Resources
Along with attitude, a
foundation’s size, type, and
financial resources influence its
participation in media relations.
3. Support
It is easier for foundations
to undertake effective media
relations – and then sustain
these efforts in the long-term –
when they can benefit from
colleagues’ materials and
experiences.
4. Technology
Useful Web-accessible information significantly enhances an
organization’s relationship with
reporters.
5. Patience and Commitment
Even when conditions are
ideal, building independent
media relations skills
and capacity is a long-term
process.
Allan Parachini
Foundation communications consultant and former reporter,
The Los Angeles Times
5.
Lesson One: A Receptive Attitude
A Receptive Attitude
A sustained, effective relationship
with the press is only possible
when grantmakers embrace the
idea of media relations.
Foundation-support organizations,
like regional associations of
grantmakers, should direct most
training and technical assistance
services to grantmakers in the
second and fourth groups. Those
grantmakers in the first group,
who are already media-savvy,
could serve as valuable mentors
to grantmakers just beginning to
undertake media relations. •
When it comes to media relations,
foundations generally fit into one
of four groups:
1. Media All-Stars
Those that understand
the value of and pursue
media relations.
2. Media Recruits
Those that want to
undertake media relations
but do not know how.
3. Media Bystanders
Those that have heard the
message and decided it is
not for them.
Next at Bat: Who to Target for Media Training
Media All-Stars
“We have weekly contact
[with reporters]. We provide…information to localize
national stories, write
columns for local papers,
send data monthly via a [fax].”
Media Recruits
“We need help, as a small
faith-based organization,
to get stuff into the
media… not easy in a
town like this.”
Los Angeles - area foundation
Member, Donors Forum
of South Florida
4. Media Prospects
Those that have not yet
been educated about the
importance of media
relations for foundations.
6.
Media Prospects
“We haven’t been
discovered yet!”
Media Bystanders
“Press is not a priority;
we do not pursue it.”
Connecticut family foundation
Highlights from the Research:
How do foundations view
media relations?
Strong board and CEO leadership support for
communications is a key predictor of media
engagement. This need for “buy in” was anticipated
during planning of the project. At the outset, before
holding media trainings for their members, the
regional associations hosted luncheon meetings at
which key foundation leaders were introduced to
the project’s goals.
Foundation Attitudes about
Seeking Press Coverage
Not
Important
41%
Very
Important
24%
Important
13%
Somewhat
Important
22%
Source: Urban Institute,
Foundation Media Relations Survey, 2001
Number of Respondents = 230
V I T A L S T AT I S T I C S :
Date of incorporation: 1983
Region served: Baltimore, small metropolitan area
Number of members: 101
“We got a lot
of press coverage
after releasing
our giving report,
and the members
really noticed
that their names
were in the news.
No members resisted
our press work,
and this is a big
step forward.”
Kae Dakin
Washington Grantmakers
Previous media experience:
Some – consistent relationship with reporters; one or
two press releases; no press list.
What they are doing differently now:
“Media relations is more on our radar screen” (Betsy
Nelson). The Baltimore association has established new,
productive relationships with the media. It monitors
newspapers regularly and feels it now has a media presence. The association has become a resource for foundations who are undertaking press relations, providing
them with training, media contacts, and moral support.
7.
Lesson Two: Resources
Resources
Along with attitude, a foundation’s
size, type, and financial resources
influence its participation in media
relations.
Numbering more than 56,000
in the United States, foundations
as a group control over $485 billion
in assets and annually distribute
about $29 billion in grants (Foundation Center 2002). A survey
of select foundations (see sidebar)
showed that the more grant
Survey of Foundation Media Activity
In an effort to understand grantmakers’ media activities in the five
project regions, the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy conducted
a mail survey – once at the beginning and once toward the end of the
project – with the foundation members of the participating regional
associations of grantmakers. The survey questions were designed to
elicit how frequently respondents worked with the media, what media
relations activities they undertook, and whether they considered media
relations important. The survey yielded a small data set that allowed
investigation into the relationship between organizational resources,
attitude, and participation in media relations. Findings from the survey
contributed to the “lessons learned” in this monograph.
money foundations distribute,
the more likely they are to
undertake media outreach. The
same relationship was observed
between foundation media work
and staffing levels – after all,
a press release does not write
itself. These findings suggest that
larger foundations are better
positioned to use the news media
to educate the public or move
a social agenda forward.
Type
There are several different types
of foundations in the United
States, with varying responses to
the idea of media engagement.
Source of endowment, long-term
goals, legal constraints, organizational structure, and reach of
giving (local or national) all contribute to a foundation’s willingness to publicize its work and
perception of whether it even has
a story to tell.
Spectrum of Media Activity
issue press releases
8.
track press coverage
employ media relations staff
“[South Florida] foundations
are mostly unstaffed,
or one-person offices.
They need more clarity on
why foundations should care
about media work.”
Jo Anne Chester Bander
Donors Forum, Inc.
Connecticut
Council
for
Philanthropy
V I T A L S T AT I S T I C S
Date of incorporation: 1969
Region served: State of Connecticut
Private, independent foundations
represent almost 90 percent of all
foundations in the United States,
but many thousands of these are
very small family foundations
without staff. Community foundations make up only one percent
of all grantmakers but hold over
six percent of total U.S. foundation assets and are usually staffed
(Foundation Center 2002). And
there are only about 2,000 corporate foundations and giving
programs, but their access to
media professionals, desire to reap
the rewards of their community
work, and their name recognition
put many of them “ahead of the
game” in engaging the media. •
or consultant
pitch stories to reporters
Number of members: 102
Previous media experience:
Fairly extensive – relationships with key journalists;
annually-updated press list; two to three press releases
a year; did not systematically track press coverage, but
looked for and filed articles informally.
What they are doing differently now:
“[We now ask] should we get and how do we get media
for this or that program?” (Carol Schofield) The Council
focuses attention on media during organizational planning, rather than as an afterthought. They track issues in
the newspaper and consider whether a response is
appropriate. The association has even planned its own
media event around the topic of stock transfers to foundations made during corporate mergers, which involved
a special advisory to community foundation donors, a
press release, and calls to several key media contacts. The
effort received broadcast coverage, both on radio and
cable television.
invite press to foundation events
9.
Highlights from the Research:
How do type and resources influence foundation media relations?
Media
Relations*
No Media
Relations
Community Foundations
100%
0%
Corporate Foundations/Giving Programs
94%
6%
Independent Foundations
81%
19%
Family Foundations
50%
50%
Foundation Participation
in Media Relations by Type
Number of Respondents = 230
Track Press
Coverage
90
80
Number of Respondents = 213
Issue Press
Releases
70
60
Percent
Foundation Participation
in Media Relations
by Annual Grants
Contact
Reporters
50
40
Invite Press
to Foundation
Events
30
20
10
0
Under $10 Million
Over $10 Million
No Media
Outreach
Annual Grants
90
80
70
Percent
60
Foundation Participation in
Media Relations by Staffing
50
40
Number of Respondents = 224
30
20
10
0
Media Relations*
No Employees
No Media Relations
Full- or Part-Time Employees
Source for above graphs: Urban Institute, Foundation Media Relations Survey, 2001
* Includes the following activities: issue press releases, track press coverage, pitch stories to reporters, and/or invite press to foundation events.
10.
Lesson Three: Support
Support
It is easier for foundations to
undertake effective media relations – and then sustain these
efforts in the long-term – when
they can benefit from colleagues’
materials and experiences.
Support structures, both formal
central organizations and informal
networks, are critical to initiating
and maintaining foundation interest in media relations. This project
illustrates that regional associations of grantmakers, which are
formal membership structures
for foundations, can play a critical
role in:
1. Providing media training
opportunities
2. Giving members technical
assistance or advice on how
to find media help
3. Consistently reminding
foundations of the value
of doing media work
Other infrastructure organizations,
like the Council on Foundations
and the National Center for Family
Philanthropy, also fulfill this role
or have the potential to do so. The
Forum of Regional Associations of
Grantmakers acts as a similar
support structure for the regional
associations themselves.
Media Support for
Foundations:
The Project in Action
• A community foundation asked
the Connecticut Council for
Philanthropy to help identify a
media angle, when the Eastman
Kodak Company offered to
publish pictures conveying the
foundation’s “unique message.”
• The United Jewish Endowment
Fund asked Washington
Grantmakers to help the foundation develop stories and make
press contacts.
• With the assistance of a reporter from the Miami Herald
and a volunteer from a public relations firm, Donors Forum
held a media training session especially for health and
medical research grantmakers.
• The Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers hosted a
media relations training – designed by an outside public
relations firm – for the nonprofit grantees of its members.
11.
Lesson Three continued
Also important is the role of
more informal networks – affinity
groups like the Communications
Network, for example – that:
1. Facilitate an exchange of
adaptable media materials
(sample press releases, story
pitches)
2. Share enthusiasm about
publicizing specific issues
(education or health,
for example) or activities
Those regional associations
helping member foundations to
develop and pitch stories to the
media often work through
affinity groups. For example, the
Association of Baltimore Area
Grantmakers and Washington
Grantmakers are convening their
education, health, and environmental funders groups to “brainstorm”
on key issues that deserve press
coverage, as well as strategies for
doing so. However, a key finding
of the Foundation Media Relations
Project is that sustaining the
momentum of such “brainstorming” gatherings is often difficult. •
Highlights from the Research: The dual role of regional associations of grantmakers
Project interviews and surveys
benefit by accepting the regional
revealed that regional associations
associations as the public face
of grantmakers fulfill a dual role
of philanthropy. Feedback from
in regard to media relations: not
project participants brought to
only are they well-positioned
light these views of the associato train and guide their member
tions’ role:
foundations through media work;
they also speak for the local phil- “There’s a culture of
privacy in New England
anthropic community. With few
that extends to family
financial and human resources
foundations. CCP has a
to undertake their own press outrole in convincing them
reach, small foundations may
that it’s not ‘bad form’
benefit the most when regional
to do press outreach.”
associations take the lead in publi- Carol Schofield, Connecticut
Council for Philanthropy
cizing the important work
of grantmakers. Foundations that
shun the spotlight also ultimately
“We can convey to foundations that the media is
an effective messenger and
help them have positive
experiences...[to] get out
of the mindset that the
media is out to get you.”
Betsy Nelson, Association of
Baltimore Area Grantmakers
“An appropriate role for
a regional association
of grantmakers or other
networks of foundations
is to take the lead on
educating the public and
media about what philanthropy does in society.”
Miyoko Oshima, Southern California
Association for Philanthropy
Informal Networks Become
Learning Communities
Through:
• Brainstorming sessions to develop
stories and create media materials
• Periodic group conference calls
to share successes and problems
• Listservs that send all messages,
queries, and accomplishments
to all subscribers
• Web-based bulletin boards
Learning Communities
Work If:
V I T A L S T AT I S T I C S
• Members consistently contribute
ideas and support – if a listserv
receives sparse postings or users
infrequently respond to queries,
the listserv is not working
Region served: Southern Florida
• Members share a sense of mutual
engagement and purpose from the
beginning – if attendees at a brainstorming session do not agree on
a basic strategy or understand why
the end result is important, the outcome will likely be poor
• All members have access to and
know how to use any technology
utilized by the network, such
as e-mail and Web-based bulletin
boards
• They are guided by a central moderator – Web “bulletin boards” are
always more useful for the group
when they are moderated for
relevant, civil content
Date of incorporation: 1985
Number of members: 120
Previous media experience:
Fairly extensive – several media relations trainings for
members; a few op-eds published and many press
releases produced; had a communications committee,
though it was inactive.
What they are doing differently now:
“The concept of communications and media is getting
clearer all of the time” ( Jo Anne Chester Bander).
Donors Forum is starting to think strategically about
convincing members to talk to the media, about bringing
foundations out of the “private” mindset and into an
awareness of their public role and their responsibility for
shaping a public message about philanthropy. The South
Florida association now sees that it plays an important
role in guiding members through advocacy work and
related media activity.
13.
Lesson Four: Technology
Technology
Useful Web-accessible information
significantly enhances an organization’s relationship with reporters.
Over and over, journalists involved
with the project emphasized that
they are not ultimately interested
in random press releases or phone
calls from foundations. They are
looking for trends, for information
that is new or initiatives that show
results in the areas they cover, like
health or education. To be an
information resource for journalists, the research suggests, philanthropic organizations should have
a Web presence, with a dedicated
Web site and an e-mail strategy.
A Web site and periodic e-mail
alerts allow an organization to
frequently update the public on its
knowledge of a particular subject.
And these tools offer journalists
ever-important context – not only
providing them with detailed
information about the organization itself and its members or
grantees, but also highlighting and
linking to other organizations and
14.
relevant materials that may have
escaped a reporter’s notice.
Periodic e-mails from foundations
or regional associations of grantmakers continually remind
reporters that they exist.
Donors Forum of South Florida
experienced first-hand the value
and ease of using electronic communications for media relations.
After receiving numerous e-mail
inquiries about and requests
for copies of its Gay Giving report,
the Forum made an electronic
version of the report available
through its Web site (www.donorsforumsf.org). Much of the attention given to the report, including
that of the media, was due to its
on-line accessibility. •
Highlights from the Research:
How does technology support
foundation media relations?
Journalist perspective
V I T A L S T AT I S T I C S :
Date of incorporation: 1983
Region served: Several cities, large area
Number of members: 151
Previous media experience:
Little – tracked coverage of their members informally;
no “sustained relationship” with reporters although
received some press calls; had not produced any press
releases.
What they are doing differently now:
“In recent years, SCAP never held a program about strategic communications” (Miyoko Oshima). Now, members
are making it clear that they appreciate the Association’s
new focus on communications and media relations.
There is more media coverage of wealth and giving in
the Southern California region and more specific coverage of foundations as well. As a result, many SCAP
members want to do message development, especially in
the event of negative press coverage.
During a media leaders roundtable
hosted by the Association of
Baltimore Area Grantmakers, the
editor-in-chief of a daily business
and legal newspaper commented
that foundations should be “only
an Internet site away” for reporters.
Another journalist suggested that
grantmakers who want to develop
relationships with reporters should
“create an Internet community.
Phone calls and personal interaction
are still important, but communications are becoming increasingly
electronic.” And the Baltimore
association reports a positive media
response to its own Web site:
“A reporter from The Baltimore Sun
loved it!”
Foundation perspective
Grantmakers participating in this
project seemed convinced. Nearly half
of the attendees at one of Washington
Grantmakers’ media training identified Web-based media as the one area
they would seek to enhance in their
media relations work.
15.
www.ctphilanthropy.org
www.scap.org
www.washingtongrantmakers.org
16.
Press Rooms on the Web
Most of the regional associations participating in this project had already planned to
establish a “virtual” press room – a section
of the Web site geared toward journalists.
Burness provided guidance in these efforts,
and created for each association:
• Web forms – through these templates,
each regional association can easily post its
own and its member foundations’ press
releases and related news articles, without
requiring special html programming. This
tool is particularly valuable for foundations
that are unable or unwilling to host their
own Web sites.
• An e-mail listserv for journalists – this
“virtual” mailing list allows interested
journalists in each region to be notified
by e-mail as the local association of
grantmakers adds new content to the
press room.
• A national repository of information on
philanthropy – to further enhance the press
rooms, Burness created a Web-based
repository of national philanthropy statistics
that looks to all users like a feature of
the associations’ own sites. These statistics add national context to a reporter’s
local or regional story angle.
“[We] need information [on Web-based
media]. This is a
growing field, and
this is an area
every grantmaker
could be involved
in. That is, every
grantmaker could
make their own news
on their Web site.”
Member
Washington Grantmakers
Only three months after the Southern
California Association for Philanthropy
launched a virtual press room, 29 users were
already signed on to its e-mail listserv. These
users include member foundations, journalists, consultants, and nonprofits. Other
participating regional associations that offer
this press room feature have received
equally positive feedback.
17.
Lesson Five: Patience and Commitment
Patience and Commitment
Even when conditions are ideal,
building independent media
relations skills and capacity is
a long-term process.
The Foundation Media Relations
Project was a two-year effort to
bring both the regional associations of grantmakers and their
member foundations “up to speed”
on basic media relations. The project assumed at the outset that two
Highlights from the Research: One approach to
assessing media relations capacity building
Urban Institute’s Center on
Nonprofits and Philanthropy
employed a combination
of methods – both quantitative
and qualitative – to analyze the
project’s approach to building
foundations’ media skills. These
tools, which helped extract
the lessons presented in this
report, include:
• Surveys of grantmakers’
media activity
• Interviews with regional
association staff and other
stakeholders, such as board
and committee members
• Participant evaluations of
media training sessions
• Observation of meetings
and trainings
• Analysis of media and other
materials produced by
the regional associations
of grantmakers
18.
years was enough time to get most
of these groups working with
journalists. But it took nearly the
entire two years to fully engage
the regional associations in media
relations – and foundations not
already involved just started moving toward media work. Now, the
associations are taking over the
role of trainer, convenor, and cheerleader. In most cases, they are on
their way to building substantially
more media-savvy memberships. •
“The biggest value
[of this project]
was an internal
commitment, a mind
shift within the
organization.”
One Approach to Building
Media Relations Capacity
Betsy Nelson
Association of Baltimore Area
Grantmakers
Burness Communications shared its
knowledge, and offered assistance
and feedback to the participating
regional associations, with the goal
of institutionalizing media relations
in each region. Training and ongoing
support included:
• Meetings to determine the
individual media goals of the
regional associations and key
member foundations
• Media training sessions for foundations and nonprofits, which included
panel discussions with journalists, sessions to develop news stories, and
a media relations guide
• Help for the regional associations on developing stories, crafting language
for reports and press releases, and organizing issue forums for journalists
• Introductory meetings with local journalists
• Periodic check-ins and group conference calls to assess progress, offer help,
and facilitate the sharing of experiences and media materials
• A Web site offering media tips and ideas for all participants and their member
foundations
• Special templates and statistical information on national philanthropy to
enhance each regional association’s own Web news room
19.
Lesson Five continued
Accomplishments
V I T A L S T AT I S T I C S
Date of incorporation: 1992
During the course of this project,
the five participating regional
associations of grantmakers made
great strides in their quest to
become media savvy. Here are
just a few accomplishments that
highlight the collective results:
• Extensive media attention for
reports on charitable giving in
their regions
• New philanthropic news column
in one local paper
• Comprehensive press lists
developed by the associations
themselves
• Roundtables with local foundation leaders and key media
representatives
• Increased comfort in fielding
questions from journalists
Despite these accomplishments,
the regional associations and
their member foundations continue
to struggle with:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Lack of staffing
Resistant boards of directors
Hesitant members
Technology limitations
Budget limitations
Being pulled in many directions
Region served: Washington, D.C., large metropolitan area
Number of members: 140
Previous media experience:
Very little – one press release in the past year; did not
track press coverage; no consistent relationship with
the press, although staff sporadically fielded calls from
reporters.
What they are doing differently now:
“Washington Grantmakers’ media work has increased
700 percent since the beginning of the project”
(Kae Dakin). The number of news articles achieved
by the association has increased dramatically, especially
since hiring a new communications staff person. The
association convenes a communications committee and
its in-house funding collaboratives to produce more
community press coverage.
Media Relations: From Hindsight to Foresight
The Foundation Media Relations
Project worked intensively in
five regions of the country to help
foundations improve their outreach to the news media. Because
of their vast knowledge of issues
they fund, grantmakers should be
valuable sources of information,
not just of stories about philanthropy or charitable giving. Indeed,
foundations can offer, through
the news media, real guidance and
innovative ideas on topics from
community development to health
to the environment.
But few foundations have been
such information resources to
date, for several reasons. The lack
of media know-how is, of course,
a major one. The Center on
Nonprofits and Philanthropy at
the Urban Institute evaluated
the project to extract lessons for
engaging the news media.
According to the research, foundations need: to appreciate the purpose of talking to journalists – or
communicating with the public
through them; to have sufficient
staff and financial resources; to
receive strong support and guidance from their philanthropic
colleagues; to be accessible to journalists, and smart users of Webbased technology; to make
a long-term commitment to
media relations; and perhaps most
important, to be patient.
After all, developing relations with
news organizations is not a simple
proposition. It takes serious,
sustained effort to achieve real
benefits. But the critical first step
toward successful media relations
is a shift in perspective. Before
this project, many of the five participating regional associations
of grantmakers thought about the
news value of an event or a survey
only after the fact, if at all. Now,
these grantmaker associations
consider the news value of everything they and their members do,
and generally beforehand. This
shift from hindsight to foresight
in media relations is essential to
cultivating relationships with journalists, who want to know what’s
happening now, or what will
happen later.
And in the future, the hope
of all involved in the Foundation
Media Relations Project is that
relations between journalists and
foundations will deepen in these
five regions and the rest of the
country. This document is intended as one small contribution
toward that goal. •
21.
Association of Baltimore
The Donors Forum, Inc.
Washington Regional
Area Grantmakers
Executive Director:
Jo Anne Chester Bander
Association of Grantmakers
Executive Director:
Betsy Nelson
Program Manager:
Amy Donatelli
2 East Read Street
8th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21202
p 410.727.1205
f 410.727.7177
info@abagmd.org
www.abagmd.org
150 S.E. Second Avenue
Suite 700
Miami, FL 33131
p 305.371.7944
f 305.371.2080
info@donorsforumsf.org
www.donorsforumsf.org
Southern California
Executive Director:
Kae Dakin
Communications Manager:
Ariel Carr
1400 16th Street NW
Suite 740
Washington, DC 20036
p 202.939.3440
f 202.939.3442
info@washingtongrantmakers.org
www.washingtongrantmakers.org
Association for Philanthropy
Connecticut Council for
President:
Miyoko Oshima
Philanthropy
President:
Nancy Roberts
Director of Communications:
Carol Schofield
221 Main Street
Hartford, CT 06106
p 860.525.5585
f 860.525.0436
ccp@ctphilanthropy.org
www.ctphilanthropy.org
Special thanks to
315 West 9th Street
Suite 1000
Los Angeles, CA 90015
p 213.489.7307
f 213.489.7320
scap@scap.org
www.scap.org
Elizabeth T. Boris, Director,
Center on Nonprofits & Philanthropy
at the Urban Institute
Andrew Burness, President,
Burness Communications
Jennifer Auer, Research Assistant,
Urban Institute
Mollie Fromstein Katz, Senior Associate,
Burness Communications
Andi McCarthy, Senior Associate,
Internet Strategies,
Burness Communications
Rachel Mosher-Williams,
Research Associate, Urban Institute
Doug Rule, Associate,
Burness Communications
Paul J. Neuner, PJ Neuner Interactive
Carey Design, Alexandria VA
22.
For more information about the Foundation
Media Relations Project, please contact:
For more information on the research
informing this report, please contact:
Doug Rule
Burness Communications
301.652.1558
drule@burnesscommunications.com.
Rachel Mosher-Williams
Urban Institute
202.261.5252
rwilliam@ui.urban.org.
THE URBAN INSTITUTE
WA S H I N G T O N , D C