Building Community Legacy: Communications Strategies for Nonprofits

Does your organization need a communications plan? Join us to learn about critical elements of communications & marketing, including brand alignment, media relations, and social presence. 

Learning Objectives

• Understand the basic components of a communications plan
• Know how to interact with and leverage media 
• Develop a solid communications plan that meets your nonprofit's needs

Description

This session will cover strategies and best practices for building momentum in brand alignment, media relations, and social presence that will serves as an introductory toolkit for nonprofits to draft and implement strategies that suit their unique needs and objectives. The session is designed as an overview and open forum for discussion and Q&A. 

Level

Introductory

Audience

Communications and Marketing staff, Advocacy staff, Executive Directors, Board of Directors

Presenter

Michael Barrio is an advocacy, communications, and branding specialist with extensive experience in the financial services, entertainment, and high-tech industries as well as state and federal government. He most recently served as Managing Partner & Vice President of Public Affairs for Albuquerque lobbying and public affairs shop, Leverage Point, whose work was pivotal in bringing data breach legislation to New Mexico. He spent several years in Los Angeles gaining extensive expertise in corporate human resources and communications, organizational development and alignment, and media relations during his tenure at The Walt Disney Company and Yahoo!, Inc. Michael also taught at New Mexico State University as an adjunct professor in Business & Professional Communication, Technical & Scientific Communication, Contemporary Identity Politics, and all levels of composition. 

He is actively involved in the New Mexico business, media, nonprofit, and political communities, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Rape Crisis Center for Central New Mexico., the Steering Committee for the New Mexico Health Equity Partnership, and the Economic Development and Entrepreneurship committees for the New Mexico Association of Commerce and Industry. He recently serves as President of Albuquerque Rotary del Sol and has been named Honorary Commander of the 377th Air Base Wing at Kirtland Air Force Base. He currently serves as Director of Advocacy for New Mexico nonprofit, Prosperity Works. 

Guiding Practices for Nonprofits

• Nonprofit communications plans should be integrated and central to all organizational planning and should demonstrate accountability to its constituents and the public. 
• Nonprofit communications plans should include goals, target audiences, core messages, tools, intended outcomes and means to evaluation results, as well as an analysis of the organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges necessary for message framing. 
• Nonprofits should exhibit transparency, fairness and honesty in every aspect of its communications. 
• Nonprofits should establish measurable outcomes for their communications strategies and tactics, and regularly evaluate the success and failures of each strategy. 
• Nonprofits should establish and promote its brand both internally and externally to support and strengthen its reputation. 
• Nonprofits should unify branding, marketing, and public relations efforts for consistent, persuasive messaging to target audiences. 
• Nonprofits should develop a clearly defined, written media relations strategy. 

The Guide is available as a free digital download at CNPENM.org/Guide. Hard copies of the Guide and Companion Workbook will be available for purchase at this training for $25 each with a credit card or check.

The Center for Nonprofit Excellence often takes photos during our trainings to share on social media. If you prefer not to be photographed, please let us know in the Special Needs field when you register.