Getting the Message Across: Practical Strategies to Help Charities to Change the Way Stakeholders See Them

This report and guide from nfpSynergy and The ImpACT Coalition is focused on empowering charities to formulate and communicate simple messages to dispel misperceptions their stakeholders may have, both about themselves and the wider charity and social service sector. It begins by explaining how and why the public, donors, volunteers, and other stakeholders often misunderstand and adversely stereotype charities. It then identifies six generic messages that, according to the authors, charities need to get across to their own stakeholders in order to address these key gaps in understanding. Next, it advises six strategies that can be employed for “packaging” these, and more specific, messages; and finally, it suggests a whole range of practical tactics for delivering these well “packaged” messages on a sustained, consistent, low-level basis.

The reasoning behind the "6 generic message" strategy, as presented in the guide, is that the public needs evidence to build its trust, understanding, and confidence in the transparency and accountability of a charity. The guide asserts that messages fall into the categories of motivating and of comforting. The latter category is meant to assuage worries about the costs of fundraising, the possibility of waste and inefficiency or extravagance, and the impact or effectiveness of the organisation. Messages that erase the doubts of donors keep stakeholders from leaving the organisation or withdrawing support. The former category, motivating messages, attracts donors and inspires stakeholder support. These 6 generic messages, according to the guide, are:

1. Charities are effective and do a great job.
2. To raise money, charities have to spend money
3. Charities use donations carefully and wisely.
4. Charities are highly regulated and adhere to a range of strict standards.
5. Charities work together.
6. Charities need the public’s donations because they really do make a difference.

The guide supports charities in customising each generic message with a range of short examples, "pithy wordbytes" called “pub facts,” that are often the vehicle that delivers the message.

Following the themes and supported by examples and further strategies are what the guide calls 6 "ways to get your message across":

1. The pledge approach;
2. Tangible successes and numbers;
3. Testimonials;
4. Quartiles, percentiles and surveys;
5. "Wordbyte pub facts;”
6. Confiding in stakeholders; and
7. Turn your core advantages or your impact into your brand - word bites and sound bites.

In conclusion, authors offer a strategy on "creating a drizzle of messages across all communications." Their list of vehicles for these short communications includes: invoices; business cards; the back of letterhead and bottom of every email; conversations with trained staff; radio and television interviews and press releases; on every web page, payslip, and donation form; and on the outer and return envelopes of every mailing.