03/24/2011

On March 10 The Communications Network held the latest in its regular webinar series, an ongoing professional development program designed to help advance communications practices among foundations. The webinar, "Can Foundations Train Their Grantees to Be Effective Communicators?" explored how foundations can help their grantees build the communications capacity to advance their missions.

Done in a question-and-answer format, the webinar featured host Andy Goodman of the Goodman Center, and guests: Eric Brown, communications director for the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation; Gwyn Hicks, COO, and Dennis Poplin, both of Spitfire Strategies; and Mary Command, principal, The Williams Group. Much of the webinar focused on findings from a Hewlett commissioned study conducted by the Williams Group about the effectiveness of training programs the foundation has been offering to its grantees over the past several years.

Child Advocacy 360 participated, and came away with The Good News that--YES! Communications Training for Grantees -- Including Child/Youth Programs -- Can Make a Big Difference

In this issue of CA 360 we simply want to share highlights from the Williams Group Report, as covered by Senior Editor Ray Schultz, plus directing you to the 20-Page Summary now available at whatnonprofitssay.org., and a full replay of the webinar at http://www.comnetwork.org.

What good is communications training when you don't even have a proper communications strategy?

By Ray Schultz

The question may sound rude, but it's a reasonable one for children's advocates to ask. Small groups in this field tend to lack a communications culture, and they don't get much help from grantmakers.

But they should, judging by new research on nonprofits in general by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. It found that grantees and grantors alike can gain enormous benefit from communications training.

"Fundraising and communications are not always in alignment," said Eric Brown, communications director for Hewlett during a Webinar last week. With training, though, groups can sharpen up their message, and foundations can "attach value to the work of grantees."

Backing this belief with resources, Hewlett has sent over 300 grantees from 200 organizations to training. "They're terrific," Brown said of the sessions. "But every so often, a colleague would ask, 'Do they work?'"

The foundation decided to find out. It surveyed 181 professionals who had attended training. And out of those, it identified 40 for "deeper-dive interviews," said Mary Command, principal of the Williams Group, the firm that conducted the research.

The research uncovered three major findings:

Finding No.1-The training experience was of excellent quality. Participants rated the following goals on a scale of 1 to 7:

• Building my communications skills-5.73
• Achieving goals that are important to my organization's mission-5.49
• Making sure communications is a primary component of my organization's overall strategic plan-5.27
• Developing my organization's communications capacity-5.24%

Respondents were also asked to list the most valuable topics. They cited:

• Crafting clear compelling messages-53.8%
• Strategic communications planning-43.3%
• Developing effective presentations-40.4%

Finding No. 2-Training alone isn't enough to transform a communication culture, or allow them to go from average to excellent capability. Here are the factors deemed most important to success:

• Capable leadership-6.79
• Sustainable operations-6.71
• Effective programs-6.69
• Effective communications strategy & funding-6.48

Finding No. 3-Training can be strengthened through strategic participant selection and comprehensive reinforcement.

The Williams Group extracted three takeaways from this. Grantees should:

1. Ensure readiness for training-"We have developed tools for that," Command said. "We can identify who was ready or not ready and may not be worth the investment."
2. Invite participation of teams (only)-"It's about building a culture, so it's important to bring a team to training," Command explained..
3. Conduct robust follow-up-Does the group have a communications plan? "Of the 40 individuals we asked to look at their plan, only 50% were able to find any kind of plan," Command added.

Questions

The Webinar speakers also answered these questions:

• How do you know what's right for your group? "We do a pre-training assessment--of strengths, weaknesses, issues they're working on and skills they want to develop, said Gwyn Hicks, COO of Spitfire Strategies, a firm that conducts communications training. "Every participant has a different approach and need. "
• Do small groups need to send people for three days? No. "We do anything from an hour to half-day sessions," Hicks answered.
• Is training strictly theoretical? "Hardly. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation insists on specific deliverables, and sessions are hands-on. I don't think I've seen even one session where participants were just being talked at, " said moderator Andy Goodman, head of the Goodman Center.

The Webinar attendees didn't need convincing: Most have sponsored or participated in training. Only a few said they wouldn't even consider it.