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Do CBOs have an image problem?
I give lots of thought to what makes community-based organizations the lowest common denominator in development aid. Readers of how-matters.org may already be familiar with previous arguments I’ve...
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Don’t change the message. Change the messenger.
A guest post by Weh Yeoh. Everything that we do in development is about selling a message. Whether it’s conveying an organisation’s work to a corporate donor, convincing the public that foreign aid...
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Don’t change the message. Change the messenger.
After reading Atul Gawande’s article in The New Yorker earlier this week, “How do good ideas spread?“, I thought of sharing again this guest post by WehYeoh. Gawande (on Colbert below) argues that the...
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How to reframe the #globaldev message: Local organizations telling their own...
A guest post by Judith Madigan, co-founder and director of BrandOutLoud. The development sector in The Netherlands has been captivated by ‘Reframing the Message’, an EU-funded cross-sectoral program...
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How NOT to respond to bad press: Thoughts for my fellow aid workers (and...
A related version also appears on IDEX’s blog. During my stint at the American Red Cross, I met many hard-working, smart, committed, and kind people – people whom I have now seen malign the...
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Are the jobs of communicators changing in the development sector?
Global Communities’ David Humphries and I sat down to talk about our upcoming InterAction Forum panel, “Respect, Reality & Responsibility: How to Communicate Global Development with a Double Bottom...
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How TO respond to bad press: Thoughts from a former colleague
A guest post by Vanessa Deering* On “How NOT to respond to bad press” I think you make many valid points and I wholeheartedly agree that as an industry we should avail ourselves to a more authentic...
View Article#DevPix: The dos and don’ts of #globaldev photography
Can photos provoke people to donate to charity AND ensure people’s dignity? A recap from ODI’s great online dialogue on development photography . You can join the dialogue on Twitter at #DevPix. Below...
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Is “poverty porn” making a comeback?
Or rather, did “poverty porn” ever go away? Malaka Gharib in NPR’s Goats & Soda blog yesterday, asks “At What Point Does A Fundraising Ad Go Too Far?” Are exploitative photos of the poor creeping...
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10 “big picture” communications questions for the social good sector
What was the last time you read a poem? Those who know me well know why I love poetry. It’s because it holds paradox, that tricky line between intention and ambiguity. It requires patience, because a...
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A big week
It’s been one of those weeks that I want to capture for posterity. So that once I have a chance for some sleep, distance, reflection, and clarity, I can return and say, “Wow, that was the culmination...
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11 (still!) useless approaches to communicating about global development
It’s fundraising season again, and with it each year, a new allotment of poverty porn arrives. I was recently asked to comment on the Radi-Aid awards in The Guardian UK: “It is not surprising,” said...
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No, I don’t feel bad for Ed Sheeran
This post originally appeared on Thousand Currents’ blog. Tariro Mzezewa, a New York Times Opinions editor, made an argument this week that I want to refute about Comic Relief’s fundraising video...
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Loving the questions
Following are more reflections from teaching “Storytelling and Communicating for Change” this fall in the University of Vermont Masters of Leadership for Sustainability program. See my previous post on...
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How we show up
For almost eight years now, I’ve been writing about how the “trick” of helping is that it is actually about you. How we “show up” for and with other people – in our partnerships and in our practices –...
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Two ideas to retire
Any words or phrases like “empower” or “capacity building” that can contain, assume, uphold, or cover up a giver/receiver dynamic and what have been severe and damaging power differentials in the...
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The bare minimum: 5 practices to start right away in #globaldev communications
(Or how to prevent people from saying,”Ooooh this stuff irritates the sh#% out of me,” about your publications and materials.) A guest post by Sierra Ramírez Ok people who work in international...
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6 ways to create more ethical fundraising stories
This post by Melissa Pack originally appeared on the Ethical Storytelling blog. Whether you’re a professional trying to raise millions for a large nonprofit or a concerned citizen raising a few...
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#GivingTuesday is over: Now what to do about those objectionable fundraising...
The #GivingTuesday hubbub has died down. Our organization made its declaration why we don’t get over-involved, and now my fellow do-gooders I have a question to ask you: Are you proud of how your...
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Reimagining Nonprofit Communications in a Hyper-Connected World
The Internet was once a place where people with similar interests, across geographic divides, could connect. The promise of instantaneous, more reliable communication around the world was exciting and...
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