BLOGS

Insights, inspiration and ideas from
the CIPR Not-for-Profit Group

Spotlight on faith-based communications

28 February 2024

Faith practice and belief play a key driver of content and stakeholder relations in faith-based communications.

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Comms Advent Calendar 2023 round-up

16 January 2024

When I informed my university lecturer that I am using my leadership and management degree to go into PR; they informed me that amongst all the things I should do whilst embarking upon Public Relations as a profession is to “think outside of the box”.

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Cpd and public relations

15th November 2023

When I informed my university lecturer that I am using my leadership and management degree to go into PR; they informed me that amongst all the things I should do whilst embarking upon Public Relations as a profession is to “think outside of the box”.

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Workplace and mental health

11th September 2023

The World Health Organisation estimates a quarter of us will experience some form of mental ill-health in our lifetime. However, working in the PR profession means you are more than twice as likely to experience poor mental health in the past year than other professions.

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Comms on a dime; how to create powerful campaigns on diddley squat

4th June 2023

Putting together an eye-catching communications campaign with a miniscule budget is a tough ask. But that’s the reality for many people who work with charities, public sector organisations and other not-for-profits. For many of us a budget of £15,000 sounds hugely generous, whilst some are expected to run campaigns on goodwill alone.

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Get chartered 2023: a guide for not-for-profit comms pros

24th April 2023

One of the CIPR Not for Profit Group’s goals is to champion our members and part of that is encouraging more not-for-profit communicators to get Chartered.

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Ethics, the media, and social justice

10th March 2023

John Clegg, Chair of the Not for Profit Group reflects on what the recent media coverage of the Church of England motion on same-sex marriage tells us about the role of media in social justice narratives, and where PR professionals and our ethics come into the mix. As both a member of the Church of England, and an openly gay man, this is something John has a particularly vested interest in.

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Confused when it comes to strategic planning? we’re here to help

10th February 2023

Working with tight budgets and limited resources, many communications professionals in the not-for-profit sector find little time to step back from daily tasks and do any ‘big picture’ strategic planning.

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The Not-for-Profit Comms Advent Calendar 2022

9th January 2023

The CIPR Not-for-Profit group’s comms advent calendar returned to Twitter for a third year in December, offering daily links to free and low-cost comms resources.

Communicating across the digital divide

4th November 2022

The pandemic changed the way we engage with our audiences. As face to face communication was severely curtailed, instead we inhabited a strange hinterland where meetings took place on Zoom, conversations happened in WhatsApp groups and digital communication took over.

VOLUNTEER CONFERENCE - A REVIEW FROM THE CIPR NFP GROUP

15th June 2022

The CIPR’s first ever Volunteer Conference took place in Leeds in May. Actually it was originally scheduled to take place in Manchester way back in March 2020 but, like so much else in our lives, it fell victim to the pandemic. Seventy CIPR volunteers made it to Leeds, including NFP Group Chair John Clegg and myself to represent the Not for Profit sector.

Combatting ‘professional loneliness’

11th May 2022

The internet is currently flooded with statistics about loneliness due, in part, to its being the theme for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week. One of the most striking stats comes from the Mental Health Foundation which reports one in four adults feel lonely some or all of the time. This is worrying and I certainly don’t want to diminish the mental and physical health impact of being isolated, but I find it reassuring to know that feelings of loneliness are quite common.

TWO YEARS OF WORKING DIFFERENTLY

30th April 2022

It's been over two years since the Covid pandemic took effect, how have things changed for not-for-profit communicators? We asked our committee for their highs and lows over the last two years and look ahead to the changes that’ll be staying - those Covid-keepers.

Getting results on a tight budget

3rd November 2021

During lockdown the Not for Profit committee had some serious discussions about some of the issues facing communications professionals working in our sector. Among the challenges which we identified was the problem of working with a very tight budget. There can be few comms professionals in the not-for-profit world who are not familiar with a work environment where the pressure is to do more with less.

FACT OR FAKE? - THE DIGITAL INFORMATION MINEFIELD

13th July 2021

If there is one thing that the pandemic has taught us as communicators, the challenge of misinformation is very real. And where does this assault on the truth manifest itself most prominently? Yes, that’s right. Online. stakeholders?

being a cipr volunteer

December 18, 2020

As they say goodbye, outgoing Not-for-Profit Committee members Alona De Havilland and Charlotte Dimond share their experiences as CIPR Volunteers and top reasons for why you should too.

Recycle, reuse and reshare your content

December 16, 2020

Creating content is an investment. Aside from your time (which is valuable), you may subscribe to paid apps and tools which give the assets you have created a polished look and feel. It stands to reason you would want the video...

Looking for a new job – where do you start?

December 11, 2020

In the first article of our series on recruitment and employability, Tristan Shirley from Prospectus helps you get back to basics and shares tips that could help you find your next role.

Writing and talking about disability

December 4, 2020

Across the UK new accessibility regulations mean public sector organisations have a legal duty to make sure their websites and digital apps meet accessibility requirements. The regulations required all public sector websites...

What can we learn from the behavioural sciences?

September 23, 2020

Getting people to change their behaviour can be a tough challenge. Take obesity. There is evidence that people who are obese are more likely to die from Covid-19 or have a bad reaction to the virus. Our PM should know.

Fundraising and Communication

September 9, 2020

Fundraising may seem like an unusual topic for a panel discussion for comms pros, but those of us who work alongside fundraisers - or have income generation as part of our role - will know how intricately linked the disciplines are...

Helping not Helping: A charity campaign to drive a difficult conversatioN

July 29, 2020

A finalist in the CIPR 2020 Excellence Awards, the Helping Not Helping Campaign is an example of a focused campaign that drives an uncomfortable and often complex discussion around voluntourism and western privilege.

engaging your people about priority issues

July 22, 2020

In organisations of every size, internal communicators support senior leaders to engage and emotionally connect with their teams. No matter how geographically or physically dispersed our people are, we have a duty to inform and engage people on our values, strategic priorities and developments.

Learn how to pitch to the press from the pros

July 29, 2019

Despite the changing media landscape, pitching stories to journalists is still a core skill for many PR professionals...