Your giving circle, no matter how big or small, should tell its story. By telling your story, your group’s collective voices will connect and inspire others. The key to sharing your giving circle’s work effectively is to create purposeful messaging. You can utilize social platforms and various outlets to get your voice out there.
Looking for a way to start? Here are some ideas and inspiration to showcase your giving circle’s work:
Define your purpose.
Before you begin telling your story, you need to have a clear understanding of why. Do you want to educate your community about the work being done? Do you want to highlight a need in your community to garner more support for your grantees? Are you looking to recruit more members to your giving circle? Your purpose will inform what you say and what channels you use.
-
-
- The Awesome Foundation’s work is driven in elevating the story of micro-grant recipients, and all their channels — but especially their website and blog — revolve around this mission.
-
Develop your giving circle’s unique, singular voice.
You want to ensure all your members agree to one organizational narrative as your giving circle shares their work with their network. This will help to amplify your giving circle’s mission, vision, and values in all the outreach that you do. Keep that consistent in all your messaging!
-
-
- Black Benefactors of Washington, D.C. does a great job of keeping their messaging and branding clean and consistent. Keep in mind the personable and succinct voice they use!
-
Define your key audience.
Who would be most interested in the work that you’re doing? If your work is centered in your own community, reach out to neighbors, local businesses, and homeowner’s associations to let them know what you’re working on. If your work revolves around supporting an affinity group, think about blogs and magazines that reach individuals in these communities.
-
-
- Native Americans in Philanthropy centers all outreach on their key demographic, sharing research stats and news articles on giving trends in Native communities. Take a look at their Twitter and Instagram accounts for some inspiration!
-
Take a look around.
Audit the giving circle field, review the latest research on giving trends of your target demographic, as well as general giving circle news. Look at what is being talked about, written about and Tweeted about, and figure out how you can model your work after some of your favorite blogs and social accounts.
-
-
- Some of our favorite places to browse include: The Women’s Philanthropy Institute, Giving Compass, GivingTuesday, Inside Philanthropy, and Chronicle of Philanthropy.
- Also, check out Philanthropy Together News for the latest news articles from the field.
-
Engage, engage, engage!
While social media plays an integral role in spreading your giving circle’s mission, it is important to not only post, but also interact with followers!
-
-
- One idea to jumpstart your social media presence: host a virtual event! You can utilize Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to go live and directly interact with followers. For example, here’s a Q&A event our Philanthropy Together team hosted on Facebook Live with Launchpad graduate Alayah Glenn, where our Facebook community had the opportunity to submit questions and tune in to learn more about Launchpad. Your giving circle can schedule events like Q&A sessions with grantees, or open up your giving circle meetings virtually so others can gain some insight into the grant-making process.
-
Show (don’t tell) off your work!
Take photos and videos of your giving circle in action to promote on social media or your website. Your followers will gain an inside look at every step of your giving circle’s process.
-
-
- Many Hands DC’s Instagram account does a great job of blending together testimonials, live action photos, infographics and professional photography.
- Another awesome example is Central Valley Latino Giving Circle’s Facebook page.
-
Give a voice to your grantees.
A testimonial from a grantee organization is an impactful way to demonstrate the power of your giving. Success stories help bring your giving circle’s mission to life, especially for those who are new to this model.
-
-
- WellMet Philanthropy spotlights grantees on their website each year and links the grantee organization’s website so visitors can hear directly from those who are organizing for change.
-
Join the Movement
Ilyasah N Shabazz
For more than a decade, Ilyasah has worked with nonprofits to help them grow their audience by telling impactful stories, implementing strategic plans, and streamlining digital communications. A proud New Yorker, Ilyasah now lives in Greensboro, NC.
