Not-for-profit communications

What are communications?

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines communication as “a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs or behaviour.” If that’s helpful, great! If not, a simpler definition is thinking about communications as the giving and receiving of information.

At Tanck, all our work is for-purpose and our clients are overwhelmingly not-for-profits. That’s why this article focusses on not-for-profit communications, which we define as the ways not-for-profit organisations share and seek information.

Internal communications

Internal communications are about the information exchange with and between the stakeholders working and volunteering within your organisation. For not-for-profits, internal communications generally involve your:

  • Board of directors (or committee of management) and any associated sub-committees

  • Executive or senior leadership team

  • Other team members, including managers, team leaders, frontline employees, back office and administrative staff and technical experts

  • Volunteers

  • Members

Profit-for-purpose and other impact-led companies may also need to consider additional stakeholders in their internal communications, including:

  • Investors

  • Shareholders

  • Owners

  • Founders

We intentionally used the words “with” and “between” in the opening sentence of this section because effective not-for-profit internal communications need to consider both.

Sharing information with your internal stakeholders often takes the form of top-down updates. This could include a company-wide announcement by your Chair, an organisational memo from your CEO, or a manager advising their team of an important business change.

Your internal communications also need to consider how information moves between people and around your organisation. This is about enabling your internal stakeholders to answer questions about your not-for-profit, speak with one another, and break down siloes. This relies on having the right communication channels available to your team underpinned by a culture that values and strengthens internal communications and collaboration.

External communications

External communications are about sharing information with and receiving information from stakeholders outside of your organisation. Not-for-profit external communications may involve:

  • Beneficiaries, customers, clients, end-users and community members

  • Local, state and/or federal government

  • Other not-for-profits, charities and for-purpose organisations, such as social enterprises, social businesses and B Corps

  • Philanthropic trusts and foundations

  • Individual donors

  • The private sector

  • Universities, academics and researchers

  • Media

  • Suppliers and vendors

  • Consultants and advisors

  • Unions

  • Religious institutions and orders

As with internal communications, it’s vital to think about external communications as a two-way street or, to stretch the analogy, a roundabout. This is because information flows in different directions and comes from multiple places.

Why are communications important?

There are many reasons why not-for-profit communications are important. We’ve summarised a handful of these below.

  • Today’s communication landscape is bustling and busy. Individuals and organisations are bombarded with information, which varies in form, length, accuracy and source. Globally, over 150,000 emails are sent every minute and, on average, people spend over two hours a day on social media. In Australia, over 7000 phone calls happen every day and there are five million Twitter users. Newer platforms like YouTube, podcasts and TikTok are booming, while older ones like TV, radio, billboards and print mail continue on. Great communications can help you cut through this cacophony and rise above your competitors.

  • Have you ever had the experience of seeing an advert that didn’t strike a chord whatsoever? Chances are that particular ad wasn’t for you at all – you likely weren’t the target market. Communicating effectively has the opposite effect, whereby the messaging hits home with the audience at hand. This is about content that makes sense and is meaningful to the person reading, viewing or listening to it. After all, reach is one thing and engagement is another.

  • When done powerfully, not-for-profit communications shine a light on society’s biggest challenges. Think of moustachioed men walking around in support of Movember, moving UNICEF campaigns featuring children in need, and the laugh-out-loud funny toilet puns Who Gives A Crap puts out into the world. Our long-term client Woven Threads is another incredible example – their films about people’s experiences with mental health, seeking asylum and more are engaging, educational and emotive.

  • Let’s be brutally honest - things don’t always go to plan and they don’t always go well. Whether it’s a time of confusion, crisis or another conundrum, great communications are vital. If your organisation is rocked by a scandal, you can apologise and talk to what you’re doing differently to ensure it doesn’t happen again. If your staff aren’t aligned, you can articulate your organisation’s unique role in making the world a better place. If intimidating external challenges emerge, you can identify the issues and explain how you plan to respond. These are just a couple of examples that illustrate the important role of not-for-profit communications when you find your organisation in a tricky spot.

What are some channels for not-for-profit communications?

There’s an incredible array of communication platforms and channels out there including:

  • Face-to-face conversations and meetings

  • Webinars and online events

  • Blogs, vlogs (video (b)logs) and articles

  • Print mail, flyers and brochures

  • YouTube and Vimeo

  • Radio

  • Podcasts and eBooks

  • TV and streaming services

  • Local, national and international press

  • Academic journals and industry publications

Different organisations use different communications channels. It helps to be intentional and proactive here, otherwise there is a risk that your stakeholders have too few or too many ways to engage with your organisation. Considering the channels that are best for you is a useful discussion to have when developing your communications strategy – more on that below.

It’s worth keeping in mind that some companies provide free or discounted access to for-purpose organisations. One high profile example is Canva, who provide their premium graphic design tools and templates to not-for-profits for free. You can find out more here.

What is a not-for-profit communications strategy?

A communications strategy identifies the who, why, what and how of your communications. The “who” refers to your key audience groups, ideally identifying a shortlist of priority stakeholders. Next comes the “why”, which is all about your goals for each audience. The “what” can be summarised as key messages you’re looking to convey. Finally, we have the “how”, which refers to the channels and platforms you’ll use, frequency of engagement, and resourcing to enable activities to happen.

When thinking about your not-for-profit communications strategy, make sure to tie it back into your organisational strategy, including your vision, purpose, outcomes sought and values.

With an overarching communications strategy in place, you will then want to create action plans and lists for specific areas. This could include things like a content calendar, list of key events and conferences, media release plan and more. Whether you have a dedicated communications team or it’s one part of one team member’s role, it’s worth thinking about how to ensure communications are effectively built into your organisation’s BAU.

When implementing communication strategies, we always look for ways to leverage existing content. This is about making the best use of the content available therefore maximising your activities, resources and networks. For example, if your local MP attends an event that your not-for-profit is attending, make sure to get a photo and a quote. You can then use this content in your social media, eNewsletter, internal communications and more, as well as sharing it with the MP for them to include in their own comms.

How do not-for-profit communications interact with government engagement, advocacy and government relations?

When engaging with government, communicating effectively really matters. First of all, we check whether our clients have recognised government as a key audience group, both in terms of increasing impact and mitigating against risk. To shift theory into practice, we encourage that at least 1-5% of not-for-profit communications resources and activities are directed toward government.

With government acknowledged and the associated resourcing in place, it’s then critically important to talk about your work and impact in a way that government stakeholders can understand and will care about. For example, a family violence not-for-profit could talk in a fairly general way about how victim-survivors need access to safe homes. Instead, when speaking with a politician, it’s going to be more meaningful to speak to the number of victim-survivors in their electorate and how many of their constituents your organisation is currently assisting. This kind of messaging and framing shifts the conversation from macro to local, which could well be the difference between irrelevance and relevance.

As with many forms of communications, sharing a mix of quantitative and qualitative information is key. The quantitative stuff conveys the evidence base to your government stakeholders, while the qualitative stories makes it personal, tugs at the heart strings and is often the game changer.

There are other ways that not-for-profit communications interact with government relations. One of these is that many not-for-profits have a trusted voice that, when on the same page, can complement government messaging. This means that not-for-profits provide communications channels that government are eager to tap into where vision, values and goals are aligned. Where appropriate, this can include not-for-profit social media, emails, advocates and supporters, press releases and broader change campaigns.

How do we approach communications at Tanck?

A number of features characterise our not-for-profit communications services and broader approach at Tanck. We’ve included a quick summary of each below.

If you’d like to learn more about Tanck, our people and our approach, you can find bios of our team here and an overview of our purpose here.

  • With everyone going on, it’s easy to fall into a rhythm of reacting and responding. Constantly putting out fires is stressful and exhausting, and rarely gets the best outcome. We help our clients think ahead and think strategically. Key here is developing a not-for-profit communications strategy with clearly defined direction and priorities. Having this communications strategy in place helps get everyone on the same page to drive the greatest possible impact.

  • As noted above, the vast majority of our clients are not-for-profits and all of the work we do is for-purpose. This means all of our clients exist to make the world a better place – on that’s more just and sustainable. This really matters, both to our clients and to our team. That’s why we make sure to keep focussed on the outcomes and impact our clients are working towards at all times.

  • Our team know the machinations, challenges and aspirations of government… because we’ve been on the inside. That’s why we adopt a political lens when helping our clients with their communications. While we recognise that not-for-profit communications aren’t always directly about government engagement, we’re cognisant that a careless decision here or there can jeopardise meaningful government relationships in the blink of an eye.

  • Many of our clients are not-for-profits. They range in size from small organisations to big, high profile entities. Many have significant resource constraints and all have some form of resource limitation. When developing not-for-profit communications strategies and associated action plans, we factor in the available resources to enable progress that doesn’t burn the team out.

  • You’ve probably had the experience of working with a consultant who squirreled away behind closed doors and provided you with a shiny report. At Tanck, that’s not our style at all. We collaborate with our clients to build skills, knowledge and confidence. That means when we part ways, the expertise and experience continues on.

  • We talk a lot at Tanck about structural and systemic approaches. What do we mean by this? Well, for us, this is about breaking down siloes and stereotypes to maximise all of the people and resources in your organisation. Our communications strategies tap into the collective capacity, talent and connections of your whole organisation, rather than just one or two high profile leaders.

  • Great communications are ultimately all about effective messaging and interactions with people. While data, number crunching and strategies all have a role to play, we make sure to put people at the centre of all our communications strategies. (This includes reminding our clients that politicians are humans with feelings too!) We’re also friendly and responsive to work with, both helping our clients navigate the crises and challenges as well as celebrate and bask in their wins.