The Urgent Need for Communicating Together
June 5, 2025
By: Peter Panepento
The sense of fear is palpable among foundations and nonprofits these days.
And it’s easy to see why.
Many are facing budget cuts or declines in fundraising revenue. Some are the explicit targets of government actions. Most are worried about how changes to our social safety net will impact lives in the communities they serve.
In the face of these threats, many organizations have turned inward.
They’ve strategized. They’ve retained lawyers and crisis communications firms. They’ve reviewed and updated their policies and messaging to adapt to the moment.
All of these steps are both understandable and necessary.
But they are not enough.
It’s time to find strength and power in numbers.
Social good organizations must begin to actively communicate together to face the urgent challenges facing our sector.
If your organization has been flying solo, here are some ways you can start coordinating your communications with your peers:
Join a network
We witness the power of collective communications every day through our work with the Community Foundation Awareness Initiative — a network of more than 160 U.S. community foundations.
Five years ago — during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic — we began hosting regular Zoom meetings with the communications teams at these community foundations to help them navigate challenges, share examples, and provide tools that can help them communicate clearly and effectively during fast moving events.
We also actively communicate nationally on behalf of the network, issuing statements and working with the national media on behalf of the field.
This networked approach helps each of the organizations with their individual communications — and it also provides strength in numbers when they need to come together around an important issue.
You don’t need to be a community foundation to find a network. Groups like the Communications Network, Nonprofit Marketing Guide, and state and regional associations also create venues for communicators to learn and work together.
Partner on a timely project
While the challenges facing our field are big, sometimes the best way to begin partnering is to start with something small.
To get a gauge on how funding cuts are impacting nonprofits in North Texas, three community foundations in the region have joined forces to launch and promote a survey.
The effort will allow them to collect tangible data about how nonprofits are being affected — and sets the stage for other collective communications efforts around the issue.
Join a sign-on campaign
Many national and state organizations offer opportunities for nonprofits and foundations to stand together on issues of shared interest.
A recent example is a sign-on letter organized by the Council on Foundations, Independent Sector, the National Council of Nonprofits, and United Philanthropy Forum about the current tax bill.
Before jumping in on such efforts, it’s important to ensure you have a clear roadmap for deciding which issues are appropriate for your organization to get associated with.
Co-invest
If you need additional support for messaging, crisis communications, or PR, consider partnering with like-minded organizations to co-invest in a consultant or facilitator who provide these critical services.
This will allow you to achieve economies of scale and can help develop coordinating messaging and strategy.
Individually, foundations and nonprofits face an uphill climb to meet the moment.
Together, we have the power to take back control of the narrative while vastly expanding our reach and influence.
We have incredible stories to tell about the work we do to make our communities and country a better place.
Let’s unite to make sure they are heard.
