Blogs are websites that are formatted like journals: authors post regularly and the content is organized in reverse chronological order. The most recent post is the most prominent. Originally, blogs were used mostly for daily journals of the authors but have evolved into a powerful communication tool for businesses and nonprofits alike. Here are five ways a blog can help you communicate more effectively from the grants office.
1. Frequently Update Donors on Program Successes
Maybe you have good news coming from your grant funded programs - local press coverage, a compelling case study, or a participant’s personal triumph – that seems too insignificant to be the sole reason to contact your busy program officer. Post regular success stories (no matter how small) on your blog and eventually you will build a compelling website that is a testament to positive impact of your program.
2. Connect Partners
If you are writing, or managing, a grant with several partners, you may struggle to bring everyone together. A blog is an ideal virtual meeting place. Your blog can have several authors so that a representative from each partner could post when they have something relevant to share with the group. In addition, following each post is a section for comments where partners can dialogue with one another by sharing their thoughts.
3. Organize Information
Perhaps you have a growing folder titled ““Good bits of information that I don’t need right now but want to keep because if I throw them away I will certainly regret throwing away the perfect solution to a problem I can’t yet imagine but Murphy’s Law says will come.” Put each of these tidbits into a blog post and assign them a category (that you create). This way, when you are looking for all the information regarding “evaluation” you can simply search that category in your blog.
4. Widen Your Sphere of Influence
Wouldn’t it be a shame if donors in your area googled project to fund and didn’t find you? Maybe there are nonprofits in your town with high budgets ready to hire a consultant, but they do not know you exist. No matter who you need to improve your work, putting yourself online is one more way to help them find you.
5. Build Credibility
If you are a consultant, having a blog will show potential clients that you are committed to your work and knowledgeable in the field. If you are a nonprofit, funders will be happy to find all the information about your program in one place. Frequent updates will show that your work is ongoing, dynamic, and worthy of repeat funding.
You can start your own blog today in a matter of minutes. I recommend starting at www.wordpress.com.
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