allaboutadvocacy.com

Advocating for Foundations

 I  came across a survey conducted among Americans who have a leadership role in their communities. You might call them engaged advocates. The survey was about philantrophic organizations which we all know something about but obviously not much as you will soon read. The survey by the Packard Foundation with Harris Interactive found that foundations are largely invisible, even among those who should know better. Only 43% of these engaged Americans were able to name a foundation on their first try.  Whereas 13% consider themselves to be very or extremely informed about foundations, 60% feel somewhat or not at all informed about them. The results are just plain scary — only 15% can cite an example of how a foundation has impacted their community.  The survey results add up to one plain fact which is that foundations need to communicate better to their best customers, community advocates, because they are the ones who are most likely to spread the word and keep their good work front and center in the public domain.  Greater communications are clearly in order here.