Skip to content

From Messaging to Movement: The Evolving Role of Communications in Social Impact Organizations

Nonprofits, advocacy organizations, and philanthropic institutions are being targeted by Executive Orders and subjected to funding disruptions that strike at the heart of our missions. Our communities are under attack, and we’re scrambling to respond.

For decades, we’ve talked about silos in the social sector, including departments that work in parallel, not in partnership. The current landscape heightens the damage that silos can do, as crisis mode operations push us further inward, focused on organizational survival rather than innovation, or new ways of working. Burnout and turnover leave less capacity for cross-functional work, increasing isolation across departments. As a field, we are at risk of disintegration of mission and momentum.

Integrated communications isn’t a silver bullet, but it may be one of the most overlooked strategies for nonprofit organizations. Now more than ever, clear communications about the value, urgency, and outcomes of social impact work is an essential ingredient in how organizations will go forward in their brave support of non-profits and communities. In times of chaos and isolation, it can be a vehicle for coherence and reconnection, ultimately leading to deeper and sustainable social change.

“Notoriously in philanthropy, communication follows programs. We are moving towards program working in concert with philanthropy comms, being a strategic partner, not a promotional megaphone.”
-Interviewee

This paper explores what integrated communications can really mean for the social impact sector beyond buzzwords and branding.

Stay Updated

Join our email list to stay updated with TCC Group’s practices, tools, and resources.