Telling Your Story in Your Community
Whether you're interacting with the media or marketing to members of your local community, these tools and resources can help shape your messages and demonstrate your value.
- Community Foundation Week- Every year the Council creates a toolkit for community foundations to use in promoting their value through a national effort, known as CF Week (held from November 12-18 annually). For years, the effort has raised awareness about the increasingly important role of these philanthropic organizations in fostering local collaboration and innovation to address persistent civic and economic challenges.
- Working with the Media - Access to the media means access to the public. Mass media can convey your message to a large number of people very quickly. Working with the media—that is, public relations—establishes a strong public presence and image for your foundation. This helps the public understand your foundation and its value in the community. You also shape public opinion and, ideally, influence the actions of donors, grantees, and community leaders.
- Giving Days - Giving Days are an opportunity to engage residents, donors, and nonprofits in your community. Because of the value Giving Days can provide, the Council created this resource page for Council members that will allow them to connect directly with each other and utilize many Giving Day resources. We encourage you to consider hosting a Giving Day after careful consideration to determine if this is the right path for your foundation and your community. The Council also promotes the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s Giving Day Playbook. It supports all community foundations interested in planning a Giving Day. The playbook includes best practices, examples, and templates from Giving Day organizers across the country in one easy-to-use guide.
- Community Foundations Series from the James Irvine Foundation - Features practical information, examples, and tools that community foundations can use to help plan for growth and maximum impact in their communities. This collection forms a significant body of knowledge that can benefit community foundations everywhere and holds particular relevance for the youngest and smallest members of the field.
