U.S. in the World | Recommended Supplementary Resources

Recommended Supplementary Resources

The print edition of U.S. in the World focuses on communications challenges involved in choosing words. A short list of supplementary resources may help you with other important communications and outreach challenges, from how to write a press release to what to wear for on-camera interviews to publicizing a local debate.

GENERAL COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA GUIDANCE FOR NONPROFITS

The Benton Foundation seeks to articulate a public interest vision for the digital age and to demonstrate the value of communications for solving social problems. Its website features many free resources, including Strategic Communications in the Digital Age: A Best Practices Toolkit.
Communications Consortium Media Center is a public interest media center dedicated to helping nonprofit organizations use media and new telecommunications technologies for public education and policy change. CCMC’s founders are authors of the Jossey-Bass Guide to Strategic Communications for Nonprofits, a distillation of over 50 years of collective media experience and step-by step guide for nonprofits that want to work with the media in order to generate publicity, build membership, advocate for issues, advance an agenda, raise money, respond effectively to a crisis or attacks, and more. CCMC also offers as set of quick tips for placing op-eds and letters to the editor.
Fenton Communications specializes in public interest communications for nonprofit organizations. Its website offers several free publications including Now Hear This, featuring advice for advocacy communication campaigns; and Media Training 101, a short primer with practical dos and don’ts—including what to wear on camera.
News for a Change: An Advocate’s Guide to Working with the Mediais a guidebook with step-by-step instructions for working with the media to promote social change. Its approach combines key elements of social change--research, community organizing, policy development, advocacy, and politics.
SPIN (Strategic Press Information Network) Projectprovides media assistance to nonprofit organizations. Its website offers a number of tools and resources to support social change work, including an Internet PR Tutorial that helps nonprofits determine why and how to target the Internet throughout their media campaigns.
Spitfire Strategies provides communications solutions to promote positive social change, and offers a monthly newsletter. The Spitfire Strategies Smart Chart 2.0: A New and Improved Tool to Help Nonprofits Make Smart Communications Choicesand Breaking Through to Great: Smart Strategies for Developing Winning Communications Campaigns.

LEGAL GUIDELINES FOR LOBBYING AND ADVOCACY

Alliance for Justice provides information and technical assistance for nonprofits (including foundations) about the legal guidelines around lobbying and advocacy. Its website offers a variety of free toolkits and resources. The Alliance also hosts a number of Worry Free Advocacy Workshops around the country.

CAUSE MARKETING

The Art of Cause Marketing by Richard Earle (paperback, 2002) examines how to effectively strategize and develop a public-service advertising campaign that seeks to change strongly ingrained behavior or firmly held beliefs. It presents several case studies and 75 storyboards from actual cause advertising and print ads. Examples include memorable ads such as "The Crying Indian," "This is your brain on drugs" and "A mind is a terrible thing to waste."

INTERNET OUTREACH AND ADVOCACY

NetAction offers a self-guided training course to Internet outreach and advocacy [http://www.netaction.org/training/index.html] and provides lists of resources for cyber activism.
The SPIN Project offers an online Internet PR Tutorial to helps nonprofits determine why and how to target the Internet throughout their media campaigns.

EDUCATING ELECTED OFFICIALS

Policy Matters: Educating Congress on Peace and Security is a primer from The Stimson Center for talking with elected officials on peace and security issues in a post-9/11 environment.

ORGANIZING LOCAL DISCUSSION FORUMS AND DEBATES

The People Speak: America’s Role in the World sponsors thousands of local forums on foreign policy issues and provides materials to help organizers set up and publicize successful events. Its mission is to engage doctors and lawyers, mothers and fathers, friends and neighbors in a discussion of the hard questions about America's role in the world.
By the People is an initiative of MacNeil/Lehrer Productions that aims to energize and enhance the national conversation on America's role in the world through a series of national and local broadcasts and events that demonstrate the relevance of foreign policy issues to local concerns.

U.S. in the World has developed a core curriculum for communications trainings to sharpen skills on talking about foreign policy and global issues, along with a set of recommendations for shaping constructive dialogues for groups exploring consensus on mutually reinforcing messages and communications. Flexible in design, the materials are meant to be adapted for a variety of settings and participants' needs. U.S. in the World will also sponsor a series of "train the trainer" events in 2004-2005.

		Click here to receive more information about training and peer-to-peer dialogue.

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