If you’ve been notified that your federal grant/s have been canceled or paused, or if the future for your awarded grants is uncertain, it is important to have a communications plan.
Develop a media kit with press releases, handouts, and talking points for your designated representative/s. Include examples of how your grant-funded services have helped your community. Be sure to balance statistics with the human face, just as you do in grant proposals.
Federal Elected Officials: Your U.S. Senators and representatives should know how grant cancellations or uncertainty affects their constituents. Educate them about how this grant or contract was designed to benefit people in your community. Discuss specific reasons your grant was awarded originally and the results that have been achieved or are expected. Discuss the results of cancellation: their constituents who will not receive services and the impact on the community.
Commercial and Public Media: Contact local journalists who are interested in human interest stories and your service area. Both commercial media and public media can help make your community aware of sudden loss of funding and help mobilize alternative sources of support.
Your Own Media Channels: Your organization’s social media, website, text and email lists can be used to present the situation and any actions that you encourage, such as donations to your organization, volunteerism, and more. Be sure your press releases are available on your website and that your social media identifies who to contact for more information. Offer to present a program for civic groups in your community.
Additional Resources: The impact of federal grants on the nonprofit sector in general, in your state, and in your community, is also an important perspective. The Urban Institute has developed excellent information about the financial impact of the nonprofit sector and the value that government grants brings to each state and county in the United States. An interactive tool is available online at the Urban Institute to look at nonprofit data by state and county, as well as their risk if government grants were ended.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy has compiled an initial list of private funding sources that have initiated emergency funds. Find that list here.
Winston Churchill once said: “Kites rise highest against the wind, not with it.” Be the kite.
Patty Wolfe, Vice President for Development, The Grantsmanship Center
