MediaWise was recently called in to help a small charity manage a traumatic situation.
The charity had never planned for a crisis – it had never had one before. Its processes were informal and it was facing a disaster on a number of fronts including: funding, its staff and donors.
So we rolled up our sleeves and, in the space of three hours, brought the organisation a break. What did we do?
- We worked with the team to understand what the crisis was about, how it had happened and what the main disaster areas were.
- We pulled together three clear-cut messages that explained what and how the organisation was doing about the crisis as well as the why, where, what and when it had happened.
- We drew up a list in priority order of the people that the CEO had to ring to explain – using the messages. This was followed by an email that gave more information but stuck to the messages.
- We agreed upon a spokesperson. The person was given training in how to answer difficult questions. The emphasis, as always, was on openness and honesty.
- We also agreed upon a person to handle media calls – which were beginning to come through during the meeting. The person had had experience with the media.
- We prepared a statement for the website and social media, as well as donors. This was uploaded and distributed within the day.
It took a candid three-hour session to sort out a crisis before it galloped out of control. We congratulate the organisation for recognising it had a problem and calling for help. The potential loss of funding has been averted and, in fact, donations have come in as a result of honest communications.
A job well done by the MediaWise team.