THE HEART OF THE MATTER:
A how-to guide on NGO writing and communications

Coming soon — write me about partnerships
By Paul VanDeCarr, paulvdc@gmail.com

Coming soon, a comprehensive guidebook on communications for non-governmental organizations (NGOs). For use by comms staff and anybody who writes reports, strategies, stories, speeches, funding proposals, policy papers, and so on.

The guide starts with an introduction on the vital role of communications not just to publicize, but to engage. The introduction is followed by four main sections, each with examples, concrete suggestions, and special features. Sections include:

1)    STRATEGY: Covers larger topics in communications, including Vision, Strategy, Evaluation, Editorial mission, Role of the editor, Media relations, Ethics and standards, and Systems and structures.

2)    PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE WRITING: This section includes chapters on Purpose, People, Clarity, Structure, Concision, and Style.

3)    FORMS OF WRITING: This section has chapters on how to write: Emails and newsletters, Press releases, Op-eds and blogs, Speeches, Messages, Funding proposals, Q&As and testimonials, Listicles, Video and audio scripts, Presentations and webinars, Reports, Toolkits, Policy papers, Photo captions, Social media, Crisis communications, and Communicating through the arts and culture.

4)    STORYTELLING: A separate section on one of the most important forms of writing—stories. Chapters include How and why to tell stories, Interesting stories, Structure, People and context, and Research and interviews.

OTHER RESOURCES: In addition to the guide, I plan to develop a suite of online resources that will support year-round learning, such as:
curricula for workshops; “office hours” to discuss works in progress; and a library of templates and writing samples.