Strength-Based CommunicationTM
Learn how to transform your nonprofit’s communications to be strength-based, because words matter.
This is a time of reckoning when it comes to the inequality that plagues our country.
The nonprofit sector has long led the way when it comes to social and racial justice, and your nonprofit is likely already doing important work to advance equity. But does your approach to communications and fundraising align with your commitment to the cause?
What you say and how you say it matters more than you might think. Many organizations unintentionally do more harm than good for the people and communities they aim to serve by using needs-based language and sanitizing the way they talk about difficult issues like racism, ability and the realities of the communities they work with.
If you want to avoid falling into this trap, it’s time to make an intentional shift toward strength-based communicationTM for your nonprofit. If you’re wondering how to get started, you’ve come to the right place. Here on our site’s strength-based communicationTM hub, we’ll share everything you need to know now: what strength-based communicationTM is, why it matters and how to get started.
Learn how you can create a guide to strength-based communicationTM like this one we built for Self-Help Credit Union, and then train your nonprofit team on how to use it.
What is strength-based communicationTM?
Strength-Based CommunicationTM (definition)
Strength-based communicationTM emphasizes the strengths, opportunities and power of an individual, group or community. It represents people positively, in a way that feels true and empowering to them.
Evolving toward strength-based communicationTM should be a priority for any organization that cares about equity and inclusion (which should be every organization!)
While the concept of strength-based approaches has been around a long time (it got its start in social work), Prosper Strategies was one of the first to apply the concept of communication, in collaboration with our many nonprofit clients who have been champions for this work. Strength-based communicationTM is closely related to asset-based framing and other similar disciplines, which you can learn more about here.
All communication exists on a spectrum, with stereotype-based communication on the left, and strength-based communicationTM on the right.
Ready to get started with Strength-Based CommunicationTM?
Prosper Strategies has supported organizations like these as they move toward strength-based, equity-centric communication and we can help your organization, too.
Our approach to strength-based communicationTM involves:
Reviewing your existing communications and fundraising (what's your starting point?)
Engaging the people you work with and centering voices that often get marginalized (how do THEY want to be represented in communications)?
Engaging your donors and other stakeholders (what will they be receptive to)?
Developing Messaging Dos and Don'ts (what language should you use and what should you avoid?)
Crafting Key Messages (how can you communicate key points about your organization in a strength-based equity-centric manner?
Training Teams (how can you make sure your whole team is on the same page as you transition to this new approach?)
Note: we often use framing devices from FrameWorks Institute, guidance from the Sum of Us Progressive’s Style Guide, and other scholarly and practical research to shape this work.