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, of course. Some have deep pockets and the capacity to push big dollars at a problem. Some possess unique knowledge ideal for tackling complex issues. And others are rich with human capital, able to mobilize a skilled staff or a vocal volunteer base quickly into action.

What matters most is that you are clear about your available communication resources and your options for “spending” them to advance your mission.

Just like no foundation can fund every grant request they receive, no community based nonprofit can deliver all the social services they would like to provide, or disseminate every idea they have to share. Our work requires us to make hard choices.

An effective communication strategy demands that you invest your available – and finite – brand resources where they can have the most clear, discernable impact. That might require you to forego producing a printed annual report, or another website refresh, or a timely advertising campaign, in order to stay focused on other tactics with a higher return on investment.

by the numbers

270

The number of people who told us their CEO or ED believes that communication advances the organization’s goals.
SURVEY

1

The rank of “lack of staff time” as a barrier to strategic communication across organization type and role type.
SURVEY

5.5%

Percent of the United States GDP accounted for by the nonprofit sector.
SOURCE

tips and insights

Charitable contributions by individuals, foundations, bequests, and corporations reached $316.23 billion in 2012.
SOURCE

Approximately 25% of Americans over the age of 16 volunteered through or for an organization between September 2009 and September 2013
SOURCE

Individuals gave $228.93 billion in 2012, an increase of 3.9% from 2011.
SOURCE

In 2012 the U.S. was home to 86,192 foundations with $715 billion in assets and $52 billion in giving.
SOURCE

Voices

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

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

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

Exemplars

exemplar

Kids Count

Annie E. Casey Foundation

Annie E. Casey has turned Kids Count into an authoritative resource for the field. They have deployed their institutional knowledge as an asset that advances their mission.

exemplar

The Role of Brand in the Nonprofit Sector

Kylander & Stone, Stanford Social Innovation Review

Many nonprofits continue to use their brands primarily as a fundraising tool, but a growing number of nonprofits are developing a broader and more strategic approach, managing their brands to create greater social impact and tighter organizational cohesion.

exemplar

Preview of Key Facts on U.S. Foundations, 2014 Edition.

Foundation Center

An overview of key facts and giving trends from 86,192 independent, operating, corporate and community foundations in the United States