Greetings Friend,
A 2023 Lilly Family School of Philanthropy study found that only 5% of Americans believed they received services from a nonprofit within the previous year. Yet many of us can point to weekly, if not daily, interactions with nonprofits - from visiting a place of worship to viewing a local arts exhibit. Where’s the disconnect?
Philanthropy’s New Voice, our new yearlong, multimethod study, revealed that a big part of the reason people don’t understand philanthropy, or its impact on their lives, is our own messaging. A “narrative vacuum” in philanthropy has left 86.3% of Americans with limited or no knowledge about how foundations work, even as they think positively about foundations generally.
Sometimes organizational asset growth, reception of large gifts, or announcements of new grants are more frequently highlighted in community foundations communications. However, our report shows that we can more effectively shape understanding and perception of philanthropy’s work if we include perspectives of staff and grantees, share more about how we do our work, and carefully choose our language. We recommend you also consider:
- Employing metaphors that reflect an abundance mindset and ditch technical “philanthro-speak.”
- Fostering authenticity and transparency by including mundane details that show that change isn’t magic.
- Skipping top-down, one-sided “savior stories.” Tell stories about coalitions in action where collaboration is necessary.
Despite a lack of understanding of what foundations do, our research found that the public and lawmakers want to collaborate with foundations like yours. Download our report and join our webinar tomorrow, Friday, April 19, to learn more about how you can better tell your story to community members and your partners.
Best,
Natalie Ross
Vice President of Membership, Development, and Finance
natalie.ross@cof.org
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