Community-Builder Institute
Bonus Opportunity!
On Friday afternoon, May 14, we offered a special Community-Builder Institute. Once again, conferees raved about this optional program of in-depth, practical workshops. This year’s focus was on high-impact communications. Preregistered participants attended one of two workshops:
“Public Works”: Tools for Shaping Public Opinion and Advancing Policy Solutions
Negative images have come to dominate most Americans’ understanding of government and its role in our society. These perceptions get in the way when making the case for changes in public policies. This workshop helped participants gain an understanding of the challenging intersection of public attitudes toward government, the economy and poverty, and learn about the impact of these attitudes on public policy communications.
Participants used hands-on exercises to practice strategies for overcoming unproductive stereotypes; fine-tuned techniques to help launch more effective public policy communications; and discovered ways to engage the public in more productive discourse about government’s role in achieving prosperity and opportunity at community, state and national levels.
Presented by Public Works: the Dēmos Center for the Public Sector, a nonpartisan public policy research and advocacy organization. Dēmos combines research, policy development and advocacy to influence public debates and catalyze change.
High-Impact Communications to Advance Social Change
Well-crafted communications can transform nonprofits. An investment in appropriate, well-planned communications can increase an organization’s bottom line – even when resources and staffing are tight. In this workshop, participants discovered how to strategically integrate communications into their organization’s work to accelerate social change. They learned how to increase their communication’s effectiveness through more informed choice of tactics, messages and vehicles to reach key audiences, raise awareness and boost funds.
Participants received a copy of The Communications Toolkit: a guide to navigating communications in the nonprofit world. This highly acclaimed, comprehensive resource offers practical information in virtually every area of communications based on findings from national qualitative and quantitative surveys of what nonprofits want in the area of communications.
Presented by Cause Communications, a nonprofit organization focused on advancing the work of foundations and other nonprofits through communications that reach, inspire and motivate. Cause applies many of the same communications strategies that Fortune 500 companies use to succeed. They have educated and/or trained more than 20,000 nonprofit leaders.
