Nonprofits are not immune to controversy. Just in the past few years, such nonprofits as Livestrong, the Somaly Mam Foundation, Planned Parenthood, and the Red Cross have found themselves in the news. Experts advise organizations to prepare a crisis communication plan well before they find themselves dealing with a difficult situation, whether it is an event speaker’s inappropriate remarks, an investigation of potential fraud, or ties to a major donor with a clouded reputation. Whatever the issue, “in the nonprofit sector, crisis management is really all about reputation management,” says Patti Giglio, a communications consultant who works with large nonprofits.
Ms. Giglio and other experts offer clear guidance below on how to prepare your organization to communicate effectively during a crisis, a key part of a larger crisis management plan.
How to Prepare
1. Identify your vulnerabilities and strengths. Organizations should assess potential risks and sources of crisis, “then think about ways [to] minimize those vulnerabilities and mitigate any risks that they’re open to,” says Beth Kanter, a senior vice president at Spitfire Strategies, a communications firm that serves nonprofit and foundation clients. That kind of brainstorming can provide a framework for developing a crisis communications plan.
On the flip side, Ms. Kanter says, understand your organization’s communication strengths. Whether that’s a strong online presence or good relationships with donors, policy makers, or journalists, “make sure that you understand what your assets are and really maximize those well in advance.”
2. Form a communications response team and assign roles. Building this team is crucial to your crisis planning. Team members may do everything from brainstorming potential crisis scenarios to negotiating the parameters within which the organization will respond.
Everyone should have a specific role. Typically the chief executive or board chair is the crisis manager, or as Ms. Giglio puts it, “the final word and moral authority.” The chief executive should serve as a spokesperson if an organization is genuinely in crisis, she says. The spokesperson must help maintain message consistency and tone — and he or she should have a backup. Depending on the crisis, you may also want legal counsel and human resources involved.
A crisis communications team should be well-rounded enough to tackle the crisis but small enough to make decisions quickly, Ms. Kanter says. Make sure that you have all the personal contact information for your team members so you can reach them quickly if the time comes.
3. Make sure spokespeople are trained. Your spokespeople should have lots of practice communicating with the organization’s core audiences. “You don’t want to put someone in front of the camera who is not comfortable or well-versed in speaking to the press and knowing how to respond, especially when under fire,” Ms. Kanter says.
Consider practicing mock emergency scenarios annually, Ms. Giglio says. Hand your chief executive a sheet of paper with a scenario and say, “We’re going to practice this in 10 minutes. Please be prepared to answer questions.”
Melanie Herman, executive director of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, which provides training, resources, and consulting, says one of her clients did media training for board members during a retreat, using mock interviews on camera. “It made everybody on the board feel better that they’d had some experience,” she says.
4. Identify target audiences and how you’ll communicate with them. Consider the needs of all audiences who may be affected by a crisis facing your organization. Who are these key supporters? Who should communicate with them, by what medium, and how quickly? Messages should be adapted for each audience.
For example, the executive director might notify staff, while the board chair might be responsible for contacting board members. Donors might receive an email. The press should receive a statement or news release, so make sure to have a good media list in place.
5. Develop pre-approved messages. In the middle of a crisis, when emotions are running high and you’re under a lot of stress, it can be challenging to draft a thoughtful, dispassionate statement that talks about the mission of your organization as well as what’s happening, says Ms. Herman.
These kinds of pieces can be written well in advance of a crisis. They should lead with your organization’s core messages, and when the crisis occurs, you can fill in the blanks, Ms. Herman says. As with all messaging, it should be adapted for each audience.
Ms. Giglio suggests identifying four scenarios that might arise for your organization and practicing writing the statements. “When things are really happening, it’s nice to be able to flip to something to remind yourself of how you agreed to communicate in a crisis,” she says.
But these messages must be flexible. “Don’t get too wrapped up in trying to write a scenario,” Ms. Herman says. “It’s very unlikely that it will turn out the way you planned it.”
It’s also smart to pre-approve messages for social media, even if it’s just standard language acknowledging that something has happened and explaining that the organization is looking into it. If the crisis involves death or injury, start by expressing sympathy for the victims and their families.
When the Crisis Hits
6. Make spokespeople available. If your organization’s spokespeople are hiding from key supporters or the media, someone else who may not have the full picture could step in instead.
Only hold a press conference if demand for interviews exceeds your capacity to handle it, Ms. Giglio says.
7. Set a timeline and stick with it. “In this era of social media, you have to do something fast,” Ms. Giglio says. Having a timeline laid out gives your plan structure and helps you stay accountable to your constituencies.
Make sure you have commitment from the team to update audiences at regular intervals. If you tell an audience you’ll provide more information by 4 p.m., stick with it, even if it’s just to say that you’re working to gather more information.
8. Gather the facts. While it’s important to respond to a crisis situation quickly, you first need to have a good handle on the situation. “If you don’t know exactly what’s going on and what the situation is, your reaction might not be appropriate for what the reality is,” Ms. Kanter says. Your pre-approved messages will go a long way here.
Often in the early stages of a crisis, you don’t know who is to blame. Don’t point fingers. “Be factually accurate, because nothing puts you behind the eight ball like having to correct something,” Ms. Giglio says. “You’d be way better off saying ‘I don’t know yet’ than getting it wrong.”
Transparency is the most important aspect of your communications strategy. So tell the truth. This may seem like a given, but organizations often don’t stick with it. “Say what you mean and mean what you say,” Ms. Giglio says.
9. Don’t go overboard. Remember crises come in different levels, Ms. Kanter says. “Make sure that you’re not responding to a major brushfire like it’s a three-alarm fire.”
Show restraint, Ms. Herman says. Before responding to a negative tweet or media story, ask yourself if that might just put more fuel on the fire. “A defensive response can cause more problems than it’s worth,” she says.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of repeating what the opposition is saying, Ms. Kanter says. “Make sure that you are going back to your organization’s core messaging in whatever you say.”
After the Crisis Has Passed
10. Share what you’ll do differently. After weathering a storm, organizations don’t always demonstrate how they plan to operate differently to prevent a recurrence. For example, if your crisis was related to a human resources infraction, talk about how you’re changing your policy.
This kind of reflection also will be helpful in preparing for a future crisis communications response and deciding what to do differently next time, says Ms. Herman.
