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PO Box 9300
Naperville, IL 60567
630 328
2857
info@comnetwork.org
December 14, 2006
NETWORK NOTES-WINTER 2006
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The Power to
Persuade Revealed
One of the most vexing problems for
anyone involved in social change is
getting people to take action—especially
those who say they
already care deeply about
specific issues or causes. A new report
suggests, however, that there are ways
to move people from concern to action.
Discovering
the Activation Point, produced by
the Communications Leadership InstituteTM
and Spitfire StrategiesTM ,
is designed to help nonprofits and
others promoting social change develop
appropriate actions to help persuade
people to act on what they know and what
they believe.
For a copy of the
Activation Point, which was made
possible by support from
the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the
David and Lucile Packard Foundation. and
the Open Society Institute ,
click here.
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DoGooder TV Hits the
Web Air Waves
Dubbed the “YouTube for Nonprofits”—DogooderTv
is a new web service that enables nonprofits
to post videos about their organizations and
causes and, if successful, encourage viewers
to donate. A project of Chicago-based
See3
Communications, DoGooderTv
offers any 501(c)3 a free page on its
website, storage for up to 100mb of video
footage, and links to the featured
organization’s website.
According to See3 principal Michael Hoffman,
“DoGooderTV is being built as a community
for people who care about issues and
organizations. Our goal is to bring this
qualified audience into the work of
organizations through their vides. Once
emotionally hooked by watching their videos,
the audience will be able to act – to
donate, sign-up or learn more.”
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Meet Newest Board
Member: Carol Stabler
At its Annual Meeting and Fall 2006
Conference in November, veteran
communications professional Carol Stabler
joined the Communications Network's board.
For more information about Stabler, who
serves as director of communications for The
Meadows Foundation in Dallas,
click here.
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What’s Big, Spends $30
Billion a Year, and Operates In Secret?
Question:
What organizations spend about $30 billion
annually but whose ways of working still
largely remain a mystery to the American
public?
Answer:
Foundations.
In a book to be released next month:
THE FOUNDATION: A Great American Secret,
Joel Fleishman, professor of Public Policy
at Duke University, argues that too many
foundations “operate within an insulated
culture that tolerates an inappropriate
level of secrecy and even arrogance in
their treatment of grant-seekers,
grant-receivers, the wider civic sector, and
the public officials charged with
oversight."
Fleishman, who served as president of the
Atlantic Philanthropic Service Company, the
U.S. program staff of Atlantic
Philanthropies, says the failure of
foundations
to provide sufficiently detailed
documentation about initiatives "to permit
unbiased outside appraisal as well as the
failure to communicate openly about how
decisions are made" are among the reasons
the public does not recognize foundations as
"primary engines of social change." In the
book, Fleishman argues for greater
foundation transparency and accountability
as key to fending off increased government
regulation.
THE FOUNDATION: A Great American Secret
will be published on Jan. 7, 2007 by
PublicAffairs.
Click here
to read an excerpt.
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Are You Interested In
Becoming A Member of the Communications
Network?
Over the past several years, the
Communications Network has become the
premiere voice for the practice of quality
communications in foundations and
nonprofits. Our membership is made up of
communications professionals from across the
country, representing a rich mix of
experiences and skills. Many of our members
have spent years working for foundations and
nonprofits, while others are new to the
field, but not to the profession. The one
thing they all have in common is a
commitment to using communications
skillfully and effectively to help their
respective organizations succeed at their
missions. Similarly, by being a part of the
Network, they have expressed a willingness
to exchange ideas, learn from each other,
and to explore ways to be even more
effective communications practitioners.
If you would like to become a member of the
Network, we invite you to enroll by
clicking here and completing our online form.
If you have questions about the Network,
please email
info@comnetwork.org
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Grantmakers and
Grantseekers: The Need for A Common Language
It's pretty much a fact of life that the way
funders and nonprofits communicate with each
other has gone through major changes in
recent years. No longer is it enough for an
organization seeking funding to stand on its
record of doing "good work." And funders
have had to be much more explicit about the
nature of the work they do and what they are
trying to achieve through their grantmaking.
As a result, grantseekers and grantmakers
have had to develop a new "common language"
according to panelists at a recent
discussion, "Standing
Out in a Crowded Field: Attracting Resources
to Meet the Ambitions of Today's Social
Entrepreneurs." The discussion was
part of an ongoing series presented by
Solomon
McCown & Company, a Boston-based communications consulting firm.
Click here
to download a summary of the discussion.
Click here
to listen to an audio of the entire
discussion.
(To
Download Right-Click and Select: Save Target
As.)
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Network Opens Message
Boards
The
Communications Network has added message
boards to its website. The new feature is
intended to promote the exchange of
information and ideas throughout the
Network.
If you are familiar with using a message
board, you'll find the Network's boards are
similarly easy to use.
To get to the
message board click
here.
You can also get there by going to
any page on the Network
website
and clicking "Message Boards" on the
left hand menu.
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Contributions
for future editions of Network News
are always
welcome. Send them to
info@comnetwork.org
Also, please
send jobs you'd like listed on the Network's
website to
jobs@comnetwork.org
If you have
questions about the Communications Network,
please write Bruce Trachtenberg, executive
director,
brucet@comnetwork.org
or phone 630-328-2857.
The Communications Network, a non-profit
organization
that provides the philanthropic community
with leadership, guidance, and resources in
order to
advance the practice of the strategic use of
communications
as an integral part of effective
philanthropy.
www.comnetwork.org
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Communications Network
Copyright 2006 All Rights Reserved
Privacy
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