Supporting foundations and nonprofits to improve lives through the power of smart communications.
Get Going with Mobile! Email, Responsive Design and More
Guest Post: Chris Wolz and Nam-ho Park
We hear a lot of questions from foundations, grantees, nonprofits and NGOs about whether they should make their online communication “work” for mobile devices. Our answer is, yes, because mobile adoption is at high levels and increasing:
- Global smartphone shipments exceeded PC shipments in 2011.
- More than 50 percent of US adults and more than 60 percent of young adults own a smartphone
- 50 percent of U.S. smartphone users have sent/received email via their phones
- 31 percent of American adults own a tablet computer as of Jan 2013
The good news is that there are pragmatic steps to get started making websites and emails mobile-friendly.
Four Named Wilmer Shields Rich Winners
The Communications Network and Council on Foundations today announced the 2013 recipients of the Wilmer Shields Rich Awards. A partnership between the two organizations, the awards recognize and encourage excellence in communications by foundations and corporate giving programs, and showcase organizations that are effectively using communications to achieve their goals and further their mission.
A Quick Word With…
A Quick Word With… is our ongoing series in which Communications Network members from a range of organizations tell us about themselves, their work and where they draw their inspiration. This installment features George Soule, manager of strategic communications at the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
What is a recent communications success you are particularly proud of?
Helped manage the handover by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Afghan President Hamid Karzai of the first of what will eventually be hundreds of thousands of digitized manuscripts, rare books, maps, and photographs related to Afghanistan’s history. Afghanistan lost access to many culturally significant items through colonialism, war, internal upheaval, or natural disasters. Our grantee, the Library of Congress, has helped to virtually repatriate these treasures.
When you were 13 years old, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A cartoonist for the New Yorker. I couldn’t believe people actually got paid to do that.
Gates and Atlantic Show Clear Evolution of Annual Reports
Guest Post: Susan Herr
During the past decade, a protracted debate raged as to whether foundations should produce printed annual reports in this digital age. (For the low down on the debate, check out this microsite, produced by the Communications Network and Philanthropy Awareness Initiative in 2010.)
Two new digital annual reports from two foundations – The Atlantic Philanthropies and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – suggest that a lot of arguments fueling the conversation back then have been rendered moot as foundations have found ways to breathe new life into their annual reports.
Avoiding the Blind Spot: Telling Your Story with Pictures (VIDEO)
You’ve probably heard countless times that a picture is worth a thousand words. But how often have you actually heeded that advice and opted for a picture instead of a paragraph to create powerful messages for your organization? By choosing words over images are you creating an unintentional blind spot in your messaging? What can communicators – usually hired for our excellent writing skills – learn about using visuals?
To answer these questions we recently held a webinar, Avoiding the Blind Spot: Telling Your Story With Pictures. During the webinar Liz Banse and Scott Miller of Resource Media shared the neuroscience behind image processing, strategies for effectively communicating using photos and video, examples of extraordinary visual storytelling and practical, low-cost tips for better visual communications.
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