Is Your Work Your Best Kept Secret?

Who wants to know about your strategic funding priorities, your application process, your evaluation practices, and the results of your investments? EVERYONE!

Don’t let all the hard work you do be a footnote in your organization’s story. There is no doubt, you must get all that important information out! Why? Because informed stakeholders are engaged stakeholders. Communicating with your stakeholders, even those inside your organization, keeps everyone invested and plugged in to your efforts and results.

Who should you be talking to and what should you be talking to them about?

Your Team

Collaborate with your team to ensure the information needed by everyone in the organization is considered and incorporated in your processes.
•    Discuss your strategic plan to determine what is needed in your application and report to ensure you have the information you need to make funding decisions that will contribute to your goals.
•    Review important organizational dates to confirm that dates and deadlines in your process will fit in with the team’s workflow.
•    Examine what information is needed by others in your organization. Does the marketing team need impact stories to share with donors? Better to find out before the reporting process opens to make things easier for you and your partners.

Your Partners

Eliminate surprises and set your partners up for success by keeping them up-to-date on every front. By providing clear expectations, you can reduce confusion and, with any luck, those last-minute, panicked phone calls.
•    Provide training before the application opens including process timelines, funding priorities, and evaluation criteria.
•    Offer feedback on applications and reports. By sharing opportunities for improvement and facilitating technical support, you increase community partners’ capacity for impact.
•    Request feedback from your partners so you may improve your process, let them know you value their input, and foster a positive relationship.

Your Volunteers

Volunteers are committed to helping their neighbors through your evaluation process. When you keep them in the loop you show them you are equally committed and appreciative of their efforts.
•    Share your goals and how volunteers play a role in making a difference to recruit community members who are invested in your work.
•    Educate volunteers about the work of your organization, how partners contribute to that work, and what criteria they will use to identify activities that will make the greatest impact.
•    Reveal the results! Share the final funding decisions, the impact funding has, and thank them for making it possible.

Your Community

The work of your organization makes a difference! Keep your neighbors and donors informed of your aspirations and the positive changes taking place as a result of your endeavors.
•    Share your vision. Publicize your goals, the actions you are taking to achieve them, and invite others to join you.
•    Give updates and celebrate progress by reporting the impact the organization and its partners are having in the community.

The Final Piece of the Puzzle…

A system that allows you to manage and share your work with stakeholders efficiently and effectively! Here are a few ways e-CImpact can help you:
•    Flexible form building to get the information your team needs.
•    Post invitations and collect RSVPs for agency and volunteer trainings.
•    Share custom announcements on your agency and volunteer sites.
•    Schedule and send trackable emails to volunteers and agencies.
•    Provide feedback to agencies.
•    Equip your volunteers with a comprehensive set of evaluation tools.
•    Use powerful report templates to aggregate performance data and share impact.
•    SO much more!

The Bottom Line: Informed stakeholders are engaged stakeholders. Empower them with knowledge of the incredible things you are working for (and accomplishing!) to keep everyone in the loop and invested in success.

Are you ready for a first-rate grant and impact management system backed by top-notch support? Learn how having e-CImpact in your community investment toolbox can help your organization by reaching out to the Seabrooks team at sales@seabrooks.com.