Session Materials: When the *%# Hits the Fan — How to Survive a Communications Crisis

So you’ve done your planning and you’ve got your communications program or campaign underway. And then, *%# happens. Current events, changing conditions, opposition attacks and other variables that are beyond your control can throw even the best-laid plans off track. Would you know what to do when the crisis hits? What about preparing in advance? These handouts from the conference, offer some suggestions about how to prepare for the unexpected.

Session Materials: Engaging Decision Makers — Lessons From California and Michigan

Too few policymakers and other decision makers understand the unique work and contributions of foundations. Does this matter? Recent experiences in California and Michigan suggest it does–and the results can be dramatically different when foundations make the effort to be better known to key audiences, or otherwise leave their fate to chance.

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Session Materials: Getting the Job Done — Building the Capacity for Effective Dissemination

Each year, foundations fund nonprofits (large and small) to produce and disseminate research that support their programmatic and advocacy goals. Foundations, too, disseminate a lot of their own knowledge products. But even the most resource-rich and communications-savvy nonprofits and foundations still struggle to reach their intended audience, let alone a broader readership. How can we do a better job, and use the knowledge from our work to advance our organization’s goals? This presentation discusses what foundations can do to make dissemination more than just an elusive goal associated with their grantmaking.

Session Materials: How to Avoid the Alignment Gap (From the “Words Do Matter” Session)

In this handout, you’ll learn to uncover hidden opportunities in seven key areas (called Alignment Gaps) where most problems arise in foundation communications. For example, in “Step 1: Identify the Problem” you’ll see how you can achieve better outcomes for your foundation simply by identifying and isolating key problems that cause communications to go awry.