Many nonprofits aren’t geared to respond rapidly to breaking news.
They should be.
A crisis that demands a quick response can strike any organization, no matter how small. And current events provide a great reason to remind supporters of a nonprofit’s work — and its need for funding.
The Chronicle spoke with several experts about how organizations can get a game plan ready for breaking news that allows them to speak to current supporters and gain new ones.
Be prepared before the need arises.
First identify who on staff is willing and able to help when news breaks, says Nancy Schwartz, a nonprofit communications consultant.
For large organizations, communications staff will likely be the go-to employees. For smaller ones, program staff, trustees, and active volunteers may be able to help — although large and midsize groups can tap those individuals if they need extra hands, too.
Ms. Schwartz recommends starting with “hallway conversations” about building a rapid-response plan to gauge who might be interested in helping.
To build a strong team, start out by approaching staff who are outgoing or have good social-media skills before pitching the idea more broadly. “You don’t want to get in a situation where you need to be doing a lot of hand holding,” she says.
Many nonprofits have program experts who could be interesting and successful on social media, says Alice Hendricks, chief executive of Jackson River, a firm that helps progressive nonprofits with their technology strategies.
“I find a lot of times I’ll talk to everyone on the team and I’ll find that there’s wisdom already there,” says Ms. Hendricks. It’s assessing people’s skills and organizing them that leads to success.
Provide training tailored to your organization.
After you’ve floated the idea and have some people interested, train them in social media and communications. Especially important: Make sure they understand your organization’s tone and what types of messages are appropriate. “You definitely want to provide do’s and don’ts,” Ms. Schwartz says, adding that the rules should be clear and brief. Training in specific skills can be done online or with an outside group, she notes.
The Nonprofit Technology Network may be a good place to start looking for classes or other resources, for instance.
After being trained, staff members can share their knowledge with others at the organization.
Define people’s roles.
Ensure that people have jobs to do when important news breaks. “There have to be roles,” Ms. Hendricks says. For instance, someone needs to be in charge of writing copy for email and news releases, and others should edit and approve them. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other digital channels should also have a dedicated staff member or volunteer.
It’s good for all organizations to have rapid-response plans, Ms. Hendricks says, even if they are not working on contentious issues that would make the news often. She likened emergency-communications plans to other polices nonprofits regularly adopt, like contingencies for data fraud or natural disasters. “They have ideas for these already; they just aren’t applying them in communications,” she says.
Also make sure that your digital payment systems are simple and up-to-date, including for mobile devices, Ms. Hendricks advises. “Because we live in the digital world now, you don’t know how someone is going to come to you. You have to be prepared for it all.”
Customize your messages for different parts of your audience.
Consider sending different kinds of messages to different types of supporters, Ms. Hendricks says. “What we see commonly happen is people blast the [email] list,” she says. Sending the same message to everybody can result in lower response rates and higher unsubscribe rates, she says.
Of course, groups of supporters must be divided into segments ahead of time. Many large organizations have data scientists who can help determine who gets what message. For smaller groups, software like MailChimp can help you divide supporters into groups to receive specific messages. “Organizations can get good quality tools at a fairly low price,” she adds.
Anticipate the news.
News isn’t always unexpected. When drafts of President Trump’s travel ban and other changes to immigration policy were floating around the internet days before the president signed the order, the Arab American Action Network prepared its response.
Two of the organization’s volunteers and two of its community organizers were given specific duties, including controlling social-media accounts. Once the order was signed, they and other staff members made sure that the group’s phone bank was making calls to supporters to get them out to protests.
Some people working on the response were at the protest themselves and did Facebook Live videos, posted photos, and sent updates about the protests. Hatem Abudayyeh, the group’s executive director, wrote news releases and was the main media contact.
The organization mobilized many people to protests at O’Hare International Airport — where some immigrants were being detained — and elsewhere in the Chicago area throughout the weekend after the travel ban was signed. It also promoted news conferences where the group and its partner organizations denounced the order. It saw a boost in donations that weekend, too, and received national media attention.
Mr. Abudayyeh says the organization had previously trained the volunteers who helped that weekend in community organizing and ensured they understood the group’s mission — so they were ready for the action-packed weekend.
It takes time and money in communications to prepare to respond to news events, he says, But it can pay off in the end.
