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I work for an international nonprofit with a very small central office. I've been there about a year and a half. I was initially hired as primarily a grant and report writer and all-around editor, but gradually, as the staff changed and I got more experience, I began taking on more communications duties. Currently, in addition to writing and editing several reports and proposals per month, I am almost solely responsible for our web/facebook/twitter presence and for all InDesign layout work and graphics (because I'm the only one with Adobe experience). Our three satellite offices recently hired local communications people, and once they get more situated I will be expected to collect information from them systematically and edit their work, as they are not native speakers. I am currently in the process of trying to build up a contact list from scratch, for both development and communications purposes, and once that's on track I will be largely in charge of press releases and mailings as well (currently we don't do these much, if at all). I've realized two things: I prefer the communications side of my work to the development side, and I don't really feel like I know what I'm doing. Yeah, imposter syndrome, blah blah blah, but I have never had any training at all in communications, not even from a supervisor. My previous job was 100% development, not communications. My direct supervisor now is the executive director. I want to do a good job with the communications here, because I have a chance to seriously change the way my whole organization does things, and, on a personal level, to really make this an actual career I could enjoy (unlike development). I know we could be doing so much more, in much more sensible ways... but the task of figuring out exactly what to do and how to do it seems overwhelming to me. I truly wouldn't know where to begin. I'm in my 20s and have only worked in an office job for like three years total, and like I say, I have no training in this, and of course I have so much to do most days that a lot of things just wind up falling by the wayside. So, what to do? My boss is very open to paying for training, but I wouldn't know what kind of training to even look into. I'd love it if there were some book titled "How to go from zero to communications director" or something. And of course, I would love any personal anecdotes or advice.
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Jul 30, 2014 00:18
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I hope someone provides you some useful information as I have gone through a similar transition as well (including the non-profit part). I've largely taught myself ways to do things, for better or worse. It sounds pretty lame, but I have learned a lot just by paying attention to what businesses in other industries do. I will read things and think "they really do a good job at..." and then figure out a way of using similar techniques. For email communication I've really enjoyed reading the MailChimp blog. They even have a section for non-profits specifically. Also don't be afraid to ask for non-profit discounts on services you need. I always check for a discount before signing up for services. Most importantly, spell check everything. I'm not sure why this needs to be said but it apparently does because I still find content on our website with typos.
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Jul 30, 2014 15:56
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What do you specifically want to know? You seem like you have a plan for what you're trying to do at your org and the skillet you need to do it. If it's a matter of wanting to know you're on the right track, or finding out if there are other strategies you can use, then I'd say try finding as many online resources as you can. What you're basically doing is marketing, so find as much info as you can on that, as well as nonprofit fundraising. Also try networking and/or finding a mentor that can give you tips. Joining groups (either online or meetups) would be a great way to get info and feedback on what you're currently doing. Also gathering whatever info/metrics you need to measure the effectiveness of your communications would help, if only for you to figure out what's working through trial and error.
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Jul 30, 2014 20:04
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OP, your non profit might be doing this already, but if not then you will look like a god. Checkout Google Grants for Non Profits. They hook you up with bunch of great apps and marketing tools. The best thing however is the $10k per month in advertising to help your NP to raise donations and awareness. http://www.google.com/grants/ The process is super easy and fast. It takes maybe a week if you move quickly and do not have to get approval from some higher up. If you need some advice or get hung up in any stage, shoot me a pm.
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Aug 1, 2014 07:01
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