{"id":115,"date":"2017-06-14T11:12:52","date_gmt":"2017-06-14T11:12:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/2020\/12\/23\/making-communications-work\/"},"modified":"2025-10-15T12:55:32","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T07:25:32","slug":"making-communications-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/kn-in\/making-communications-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Making communications work for you"},"content":{"rendered":"

A friend recently did some pro bono work for a nonprofit.  Since she had no experience in the social sector but had tonnes of it in the communications space, she decided to lend these skills to the nonprofit. After all, she thought, if the organisation is doing good work, it must have great stories to tell. It’s just a matter of helping them identify the stories and putting them out on appropriate platforms.<\/p>

Turns out it was easier said than done.<\/p>

As they get sucked into the business of running programmes, managing people and raising funds, most nonprofits, especially the smaller ones,  often let communications drop lower down in their list of priorities. Thus, countless stories that could have helped stakeholders understand and appreciate their work, go untold.<\/p>

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Image courtesy Charlotte Anderson Photography<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>

While the best time to start is right at the beginning, it’s never too late to put your nonprofit’s communications in order. Whether you are a new non-profit or a small non-profit stretched for resources, there are a few basic things you must check off the list to succeed with your communications.<\/p>

Count communications in
\n<\/strong>Factor in adequate resources for communications when you work on your business plan, fundraising budgets and hiring strategy. Whether you decide to create an in-house team or hire external resources, make sure you create a place for communications—and an important one—in your organisation. Let it not be an afterthought.<\/p>

Have a plan<\/strong>
\nOnce you have decided to allocate resources, have a plan in place. The best way to go about it would be to link your communications to the programme goals. So if you have a certain set of goals for a given timeframe, your communications strategy must be designed to help you to achieve those goals.<\/p>

Here are a few things to consider:<\/p>