Outreach

Understand that this is a fluid, ongoing process, and establishing a solid foundation with any public-facing source is going to take time.

• In addition to cable TV and national media outlets, focus on reaching out to local, ethnic media organizations.

• Be aware of the costs associated with large media outlets: Are there digital paywalls or print subscriptions that prohibit free access to your content?

• Invite local, nontraditional journalists and organizations to your event — the staff of a high school newspaper, members of various religious organizations, local collegiate club members, bloggers, and podcasters are all good options.

Learn More: Inclusive Outreach

In this digital, socially-distanced age, coverage, and messaging from a variety of mediums is crucial. From print to video to audio, your organization can reach a diverse audience simply by meeting them on their preferred platform.

• Establish a direct line of communication to your stakeholders to get a better understanding of what types of media they prefer, and what outlets they’re using to stay informed.

• When reaching out to the community, don’t just create flyers or send emailers — consider using innovative technology and new social media sites to extend your reach and elevate your platform such as podcasts, Instagram, Live Q&As, guest newsletters, etc. The more content you can push out into the world, the more engagement you’ll get.

• Consider directly connecting with communities through town halls, virtual meetups, and community events. In-person outreach can create deeper connections.

Learn More: Top 6 Social Media Trends for 2023

Before you develop your outreach, do your due diligence in understanding the people, partners, and complexity of the topic. As a communicator, you must develop insight into all facets of your organization’s outreach efforts, and their potential impact on real people.

• Reach out to those in your organization leading the efforts that you will be communicating about. Ask them to explain the details of the work.

• Research the topic to learn about the system that impacts the situation and its history.

• Have direct conversations with those affected by the issue to learn its impact on them personally.

The key message for your outreach to stakeholders should center on the people your organization works with and partners with as well as the people impacted by your efforts.

• Acknowledge the people your organization works with as individuals and not statistics. This will help strengthen trust and respect.

• When reaching out directly to communities, address their needs and the topics that are most relevant to them (and not your organization's agenda).

• Center people and their aspirations as the hero of the outreach, uplifting their strengths and positive contributions.

The way your organization defines its goals, mission, and the people it seeks to impact may be reinforcing biases and racist beliefs. Phrases like “at-risk” stigmatizes populations and alienates them from your message. Who wants to be referred to as at-risk? Not me. Not you. And neither do the people your organization serves.

• Use people-first language that separates the person from their circumstances (i.e. low-income family vs. a family with low-income)

• Use asset based language that describes people based on their strengths and aspirations rather than their deficits. (i.e. at-risk highschool student vs. a student who aspires to go to college)

• Differentiate the statistics of a community from the individual people of that community. Statistics tell the story of a population, they do not tell the story of a person.

Learn More: You Can’t Uplift People by Putting Them Down

Although communicators don’t intend to present lopsided versions of reality, we sometimes subconsciously cherry pick the sources, images, and stories we tell. Instead of featuring a narrow set of identities, roles, and lifestyles, actively strive to include the experiences of those that are most often overlooked.

• Consider what voices and stories you are featuring. Crowdsource for story ideas within all levels of your organization — make sure Black, Latino, American Indian, or other staff members of color are involved in not only the storytelling, but the idea-generating process as well.

• Go beyond speaking to traditional leadership. The board member of a fund focused on food systems will have a completely different perspective from a volunteer, or a community member that’s experienced food insecurity.

• Consider compensating storytellers for their time and insights. Their lived experiences and opinions are their thought leadership and is worth compensating them for.

Learn More: How (and Why) We Should Be Telling the Stories of “Quiet Influencers”

A good communications team focuses its efforts both internally and externally. This step is all about looking inward in order to fully represent your entire organization.

• Take a bottoms-up approach to information-gathering. Collect feedback from multiple facets of your organization and partners to gain a more intimate understanding of the organization’s work and the people it seeks to impact.

• When gathering materials for promotion, think about who you are quoting, and whether the end communications product is an accurate and genuine reflection of your organization and the people you work with.

• Create a recurring meeting with various members of your organization to re-evaluate your messaging. Review the various taglines in your communications toolkit to figure out whether they are an accurate and positive reflection of the work and the people.

Learn More: How to Make Your Communications Team a Catalyst for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

After successfully conducting community outreach, some organizations just leave it at that. Resist that urge. The people impacted by your policies are the living, breathing identity of your organization’s purpose; they are not something you can simply check in on once and be done.

• Understand that community outreach is ongoing, and a successful communications team cannot operate in a silo.

• Have frequent contact with community members and volunteers. Make their priorities your priorities, and show them how their voice matters with not only your words, but in your actions as well.

• Through stories, surveys, interviews, focus groups, and evaluations, enable community members to influence and enhance your communications and outreach strategy. Allow for their creative input, and keep that door open.

Learn More: Shifting Power Through Authentic Corporate Community Engagement

Some of the most powerful stories are organically and informally created on social media. As a nonprofit organization, you can use your platform to be inclusive and amplify the voice of communities.

• Test out new voices within your communications in order to provide your audience with a new perspective.

• Temporarily relinquish control of your platform – whether it’s a blog, an op-ed, a social media handle, or a newsletter.

• Consider compensating these new voices for their work.

Learn More: Taking a Long-Term Approach to Nonprofit Storytelling