How do you reach and engage your stakeholders?

Stakeholders are the people who have an interest or influence in your nonprofit's mission, vision, and activities. They can be donors, volunteers, staff, board members, beneficiaries, partners, or the public. Reaching and engaging them is crucial for building trust, credibility, and support for your nonprofit. But how do you do it effectively? Here are some tips to help you communicate and connect with your stakeholders.

1 Identify your stakeholders

The first step is to identify who your stakeholders are and what they care about. You can use tools like stakeholder mapping or analysis to categorize them by their level of interest and power. This will help you prioritize and tailor your communication strategies to their needs and expectations. You should also segment your stakeholders by their demographics, preferences, and behaviors, so you can use the right channels, messages, and formats to reach them.

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Puneet Singh Singhal

Co-founder Billion Strong | Empowering Young Innovators with Disabilities | Curator, "Green Disability" | Exploring Conscious AI for Social Change | Advaita Vedanta | SDGs 10 & 17 |
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Steps for Identifying Stakeholders: Listing: Start by listing all possible stakeholders. This could include employees, management, clients, community members, suppliers, and more. Stakeholder Mapping: Use tools like a stakeholder map to categorize these entities based on their level of power and interest. Segmentation: Break down your stakeholder list further by demographics, professional role, or influence. This will help in tailoring your communication strategy. Analysis Tools: Utilize frameworks like SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) or PESTLE (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental) to understand the contextual factors affecting stakeholders.

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Ann C.

Kindness Ambassador | Storyteller | Corporate Social Responsibility | Philanthropy Expert | Advocate for Empowered.Giving | MBA | Views My Own
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Before you start building lists, put a simple framework together that outlines your priority audiences and what you want them to feel, see and do. I find this to be super valuable both for creative approaches, but also tone, platform and prioritizing your workflow.

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2 Clarify your goals

The second step is to clarify what you want to achieve by reaching and engaging your stakeholders. Do you want to inform them about your programs and impact? Do you want to inspire them to take action or donate? Do you want to involve them in your decision-making or feedback processes? Do you want to improve your relationships or reputation with them? Having clear and specific goals will help you measure and evaluate your communication efforts and outcomes.

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Ann C.

Kindness Ambassador | Storyteller | Corporate Social Responsibility | Philanthropy Expert | Advocate for Empowered.Giving | MBA | Views My Own
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I think the two steps should be swapped! Not sure how you would start identifying stakeholders if you don’t know your goals!

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3 Choose your methods

The third step is to choose the best methods to reach and engage your stakeholders. There are many options available, such as newsletters, social media, websites, blogs, podcasts, webinars, events, surveys, focus groups, or personal calls. You should consider the advantages and disadvantages of each method, as well as the resources and skills required to implement them. You should also test and adapt your methods based on the feedback and response from your stakeholders.

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4 Craft your messages

The fourth step is to craft your messages that resonate with your stakeholders. You should use clear, concise, and compelling language that reflects your nonprofit's values, vision, and voice. You should also use stories, data, and visuals to illustrate your impact and appeal to your stakeholders' emotions and logic. You should avoid jargon, acronyms, or technical terms that may confuse or alienate your stakeholders. You should also be honest, transparent, and respectful in your communication.

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Ann C.

Kindness Ambassador | Storyteller | Corporate Social Responsibility | Philanthropy Expert | Advocate for Empowered.Giving | MBA | Views My Own
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How I craft messaging is to straddle a very fine line between inspirational, thankful and authentic. One piece of advice, remember where you left your stakeholders. Sometimes more context is better because they have not been in the day to day and I have to remind myself this!

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5 Listen and respond

The fifth step is to listen and respond to your stakeholders. Communication is a two-way process that requires active listening and feedback. You should acknowledge and appreciate your stakeholders' input, questions, concerns, or complaints. You should also address them promptly, professionally, and politely. You should also use the feedback to improve your communication and performance. Listening and responding will help you build trust, loyalty, and satisfaction among your stakeholders.

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6 Evaluate and improve

The sixth step is to evaluate and improve your communication and engagement strategies. You should use indicators and tools to measure the effectiveness and impact of your communication efforts. You should also collect and analyze data and feedback from your stakeholders and other sources. You should then use the results to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your communication and engagement strategies. You should also make adjustments and improvements based on the findings and best practices.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Imtiaz Hussain

Portfolio Management/ Multi-sectoral Expert/Trainer/Analyst and social researcher
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Its excellent but some time some external stakeholders dont need to be involved more especially political or govt official in under developed societies . their unnecessary engagement may create hurdles like delays , corruption and politicizing . As discussed above : mapping should be done with clarification the degree of involvement . priority should be given to primary stakeholders ( community)

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How do you reach and engage your stakeholders?

1

2

3

4

5

6

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1 Identify your stakeholders

2 Clarify your goals

3 Choose your methods

4 Craft your messages

5 Listen and respond

6 Evaluate and improve

7 Here’s what else to consider

Non-profit Leadership

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How do you reach and engage your stakeholders?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Identify your stakeholders

2 Clarify your goals

3 Choose your methods

4 Craft your messages

5 Listen and respond

6 Evaluate and improve

7 Here’s what else to consider

Non-profit Leadership

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