CharityComms has published a new guide to help improve the relationship between charity communications professionals and the board.
The representative group for charity communications professionals published its latest best practice guide, How to talk to your trustees about comms, today to help comms professionals understand how to speak to the board and urges trustees to be more involved.
Vicky Browning, director of CharityComms, said: “In the new context for charities, with an increased emphasis on risk management and protecting reputations, trustees need to understand the value of communications to their organisations.
“Many trustee duties relate closely to core comms responsibilities around, for example, impact reporting, awareness-raising, accuracy of information, reputation management and transparency. Ultimately, a strategic approach to communications can help trustees deliver on virtually every organisational aim.
“But comms professionals aren’t always the best at speaking the language of the board.”
Ten questions for trustees
The guide also highlights ten questions for trustees to ask their comms teams, these are:
- What can you bring to the development of our organisational strategy?
- How do your comms strategy and activities progress the strategic aims and objectives of the charity?
- What can you do to protect our reputation and mitigate risks?
- Can you provide us with a daily/weekly/monthly briefing about internal and external issues and how these could impact on the organisation?
- Will you coach us as needed – in social media, press interviews, crisis communications etc?
- What oversight can you offer to other departments to help us ensure quality control of information flowing within the organisation and to outside audiences?
- How can comms help us ensure transparency and integrity in the dealings of the organisation?
- How can comms help us ensure the charity acts out its stated values?
- How is comms working together with fundraising to ensure donor communications meet changes in the fundraising environment?
- How can comms help us to demonstrate our impact, service quality and value for money?
