During this time of racial reckoning in combination with the global pandemic and catastrophic climate change, we must seize the opportunity to reinvent, reimagine and more effectively communicate a collective vision—a world of interconnectedness and collaboration, where those most impacted are prioritized and communications and technology are used to "sustain, heal and empower" rather than divide (Design Justice Network Principle 1).

The nonprofit sector is constantly evolving in response to the needs of our communities and planet—finding innovative and often grassroots solutions to our society’s most complex problems. Unfortunately, these same organizations are often forced to not only compete but are also starved of resources, professional development and collaborative opportunities to build, think and learn. 

Unfortunately, nonprofits, service providers and funders have been siloed by issue and geography, operating within a scarcity mindset—competing with each other for resources. This fragmented and competitive approach often sacrifices the needs of the communities suffering the most harm and cannot deliver systemic change. As a sector, we need to reframe our shared values, vision and work through a lens of anti-racism, equity, trust and mutual aid. We need collaborative, systemic-focused, transformational change in order to solve intersectional challenges at the individual, community and national scale.

Communications, is easily the most adaptive tool we have to promote anti-racist, inclusive solutions that center the communities most impacted. Shared communication strategy builds clarity around what is at stake and promotes a comprehensive vision to guide community stakeholders towards a common purpose. 

We need to tell the right message to the right people at the right time, together.

Research repeatedly shows that those organizations with a strong focus on brand and communications strategy are, "stronger, smarter and vastly more effective." - Sean Gibbons, Executive Director, ComNet, The Case for Communications, Stanford Social Innovation Review

However, communications are often overlooked or forced to be an after-thought within organizations that are challenged by limited resources. This leads to less than equitable outcomes at best & harmfully reproductive outcomes at worst. “Today, communications is not just an opportunity for nonprofits; it’s a necessity. Whether we’re fundraising or trying to influence policy, how we reach the right person with the right message has changed profoundly." - Andrew Sherry, The New Communications Imperative, Stanford Social Innovation Review

Our internal data shows, and external studies support, that a focus on communications capacity building creates more resilient organizations as well as more equity-centered leaders.

Join us in co-designing and developing a community-driven communications collective. We as support organizations, funders, service providers and community organizers "must bring leaders together, creating spaces that are conducive to honest discussions, feedback, and collaboration. As the challenges facing our communities become more challenging, we play a critical role in strengthening communications among nonprofits." -Vu Le, The Mycelium Model for capacity builders, professional associations, funders, and other support organizations

Over the last 4 years, rootid—in collaboration with various community partners, as well as input gained through hosted workshops, surveys and individual stakeholder interviews—has co-designed and developed a suite of professional development and communications capacity-building experiences. The flagship of which is rootid's brand and communications strategy cohort model—a 5-working session experience paired with monthly office hours and rootid's 1-on-1 coaching that support nonprofit leaders' journeys toward the development of equitable, inclusive and strategic brand and communications. In conjunction with the cohort, rootid also co-hosts monthly roundtable discussions open to the larger community, where nonprofit leaders come together in a 'solution room' style format to discuss their challenges and work together to think, learn and brainstorm solutions to common cross-sector issues.

rootid has collaborated with over 150 nonprofit organizations in 2020 alone and are grateful for the ongoing partnership of UpMetrics: Data for Good Fund, Giant Rabbit, TechSoup, Kalamuna, Full Circle Fund, and the David Brower Center, just to highlight a few. 

A few sample events: 
Fundraising & Communications Virtual Roundtable: ~45 organizations attended
Year-end Campaign Planning Roundtable: ~25 organizations attended
Nonprofit Technology Summit: ~45 organizations attended
Upcoming 2021 Brand & Communications Coaching Cohort

#GivingTuesday is just around the corner, and with it, the opportunity to see a substantial increase in support for your nonprofit. Since its inception in 2012, the movement has raised over $1,000,000,000 online in the United States—including last year’s record-breaking total of $400,000,000! How are these organizations making such an impact? They’re asking the right people the right questions the right way.

Easier said than done, we know. In previous #GivingTuesday posts, we shared memorable campaigns and broke down their common elements. This year, we thought it would help to focus on that crucial messaging formula.

The Right People

If you’ve conducted stakeholder interviews or sifted through your analytics, you likely have a good idea of who your audience is and what resonates with them. You may have even created a few personas—or, fictional, generalized representations of your ideal donors. These are the people you should consider when writing any text copy this #GivingTuesday. Social media posts, emails, video scripts—anything.

Avoid this pitfall: Too often, organizations assume because they represent a universally acknowledged “good” cause, their audience is everyone. Unfortunately, this is the kind of thinking that exhausts budgets and prevents meaningful connections.

The Right Questions

Let’s say you have a few personas. Take a moment to think about how each one prefers to interact with your organization. Are they financial donors? Do they prefer a more involved role as a volunteer? Maybe their contribution is sharing your content with their network. Once you’ve made that determination, you can segment your mailing list and tailor your “ask” to what they’re most comfortable giving.

Tip: The easier you make the experience, the better your results will be. 

• If you’re looking for donations, make sure your donation page includes proven features and functionality. 

• If you’re looking for volunteers, include a list, search, calendar, or map of opportunities. 

• If you’re looking to spread the word, provide share buttons, scripted click-to-tweets, links to existing posts to share/retweet, etc.

The Right Way

How does your persona perceive value? What is it that makes them believe and motivates them to act? The answers to these questions will shape your campaign. 

For example:

If your persona is focused on impact, you should highlight an impressive statistic. 

If they’re drawn to more emotional pleas, share a touching story or photo.

And if you’re attempting to reach multiple personas, consider who you are centering and address their preferences first. 

Putting It All Together

• Personas are key. 

• Using what you know about them, you can better frame your ask.

• Using what you know about them, you can better shape your campaign.

• Asking the right people + the right questions + the right way = success

So, what do you think? Are you ready to kick off the charitable season? 

Applications are now open for our 2020 cohort!

"Learn How to Scale Your Impact through Communications Strategy"

Effective communications is the difference between an idea and a movement. brandUP empowers nonprofit leaders, like you, to escape the day-to-day and focus on communicating your vision through a strategic brand and communications plan.