Is your organization prepared to handle a communications crisis?

In a world where outrage travels fast, and the list of brands and individuals facing a 'cancel culture' backlash grows longer, a crisis is likely no longer a matter of if - but when. By being prepared, you can move your organization from a place of reaction towards a mindset of accountability, avoiding missteps, mitigating damage, and rebuilding trust more quickly.

In this workshop, we will lead you through common crisis or 'cancellation' scenarios your organization could face and help you build a plan and sharpen the tools you need to navigate a crisis confidently and authentically.

In this workshop, you’ll learn how to:

• Craft holding statements and key messages

• Control the narrative

• Designate roles and responsibilities

• Succeed in crisis and ‘cancellation’ scenarios

If getting cancelled isn't part of your crisis planning, it needs to be. In a world where outrage travels fast and missteps lead to mob mentality, the list of organizations and individuals facing 'cancel culture' backlash grows longer by the day. Clients are demanding more transparency and social purpose from organizations and leaders than ever before but getting it wrong (or doing nothing) can have serious consequences. And while managing a nonprofit, municipality, business, post-secondary or other organization in the age of cancel culture is uncharted territory, addressing calls for accountability has become mission-critical for any public relations strategy to succeed.

In this workshop, you will learn:

• The rise of cancel culture – online and in the real world

• The dangers of 'woke-washing' and tone-deaf activism

• How nonprofits can protect themselves from being cancelled

• Reputation management strategies in the age of cancel culture

• The way forward: shifting from a cancel culture to an accountable culture

• Further resources and next steps

Traditionally, marketing has been most often associated as a private-sector tool, with a primary objective of driving sales and business growth. 

But for municipalities navigating the challenges of diverse priorities, projects, and communities, the public sector is increasingly recognizing the need for effective marketing strategies to help communities achieve their most important goals. 

Crafting and executing compelling marketing strategies offers municipalities a range of tools, and municipal governments can no longer afford to ignore the role their communications plans play in effective change management, citizen engagement, or even dealing with an emergency.

In this workshop, you’ll learn about:

• Managing change

• Community engagement & public participation

• Crisis communications

• Creating community champions

Unfortunately, as with any business in the private sector, it's becoming increasingly difficult for municipalities to anticipate when or where they might face a crisis. 

Whether it be a dangerous natural disaster, a political scandal or a contentious development project, every municipality needs to be prepared to conduct urgent and effective communications to rise to the challenges a crisis will inevitably bring.

When you factor in our increasingly interconnected world, it's become clear that traditional approaches to crisis communications will no longer be enough to protect people and property and keep communities united in the midst of growing societal polarization.

In this workshop, you’ll learn how to:

• Keep your lines of communication open

• Acquire the tools and resources needed

• Not speak – just listen

• Be prepared to speak to the media

• Craft key messages

“Media is no longer passively consumed – it’s created, shared, liked, commented on, attacked and defended by millions of people. And the algorithms used by the most powerful tech companies are brilliantly designed to personalize and tailor these services to each user’s profile.”

– Hugh Linehan

In this workshop, you’ll learn:

The state of media in 2022

Why fake news spreads so rapidly

What to do when fake news strikes

Building meaningful and long-term relationships with sponsors is critical for any sustainable nonprofit fund development strategy.

Sponsors are your champions and partners, and when you build a strong sponsorship portfolio, you’ll be well-positioned to connect your organization with resources (both financial and in-kind), enthusiastic volunteers, and vital visibility and credibility within the community.

Let’s take an in-depth look at building your nonprofit’s sponsorship toolkit.

Is your organization prepared to handle a communications crisis?

In a world where outrage travels fast, and the list of brands and individuals facing a 'cancel culture' backlash grows longer, a crisis is likely no longer a matter of if - but when. By being prepared, you can move your organization from a place of reaction towards a mindset of accountability, avoiding missteps, mitigating damage, and rebuilding trust more quickly.

In this workshop, Alchemy Communications CEO Kathryn Kolaczek will lead you through common crisis or 'cancellation' scenarios your organization could face and help you build a plan and sharpen the tools you need to navigate a crisis confidently and authentically.

Whether you’re dealing with a climate emergency, a social media scandal or a contentious project, chances are it’s only a matter of time before your municipality faces a crisis. However, how much the crisis impacts your residents, your community, and your staff is largely a function of how well you communicate through crisis.
While you may not avoid a crisis from hitting, good communication will keep your community safe, allow your staff to stay focused on solutions and keep your municipality functioning well. Let’s look at some of the key ways your municipality can strategically manage a crisis and how good communication is the key to leading with confidence.

The Edelman Trust Barometer is an international study conducted in 28 countries among both the general public and informed experts, focusing on measuring public perceptions of trust in business, government, media, and NGOs.

The report can help businesses, non-profits, and government understand what causes trust to be lost or created and how brands can work to build, leverage or repair public trust.

Loving a brand and understanding how it can make your life better has now been surpassed by the importance of trusting a brand and understanding how it makes the world better. That’s a pretty seismic shift in conventional marketing strategy and one that organizations cannot afford to ignore. At Alchemy Communications, we also think that’s a change worth embracing.

Let’s take a look at some of the key findings from the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer and what businesses, government and non-profits can learn from it.

This eBook includes:

• What is the Edelman Trust Barometer?

• Why Trust Matters

• Brands & Trust

• How Brands Can Build Trust

At Alchemy Communications, we have worked with many non-profit partners venturing into the world of podcasting.

As a medium ideal for story-telling, podcasts offer a unique and important opportunity for non-profit organizations looking for remarkable new ways to tell their story and build their audience.

Starting a new podcast can feel intimidating, but the good news is that you don't need to be an experienced sound engineer or own expensive state-of-the-art equipment to start your podcast. In fact, the power of the podcast lies in its accessibility – with some good planning, a few basic items of equipment and a little bit of creativity and hard work, podcasting is within reach for any organization.

This eBook includes:

• Is Podcasting Right for You?

• Choosing Your Format

• Leveraging Your Podcasting Potential

• Gathering Your Resources

At Alchemy Communications, we know that non-profits focus their investment, energy and passion on making the biggest difference possible within the communities they serve.

Too often, nonprofits make the mistake of forgetting to think about user experience in the donation process. But donors aren't different from customers - flexibility, simplicity, and clarity are still important. When you're in the business of selling impact, creating a flawless user experience is a critical component of any successful fundraising strategy.

This eBook includes:

• Understanding the Donor Experience

• Donor Trends and Opportunities

• Leading with Values

• How to Utilize Your Tools

There is no question that in today’s hyper-connected world, information travels at exceptional speed. For municipalities facing an emergency or crisis communications situation, understanding how to effectively use social media in a high-pressure, rapidly evolving or potentially dangerous period is a critical component of a responsible communications strategy. Download our free eBook to learn some of the ways we recommend your municipality leverage the power of social media in a crisis.

This eBook includes:

• Laying the Groundwork for an Emergency

• How to Prepare for a Crisis

• How to React When a Crisis Does Strike

• How to Utilize Your Tools

Does your organization have a policy on equity, diversity and inclusion? While your EDI work will be ongoing and require direct action, it's essential to know how to clearly communicate your commitments with staff, stakeholders, and clients.

This eBook includes:

• What is Equity, Diversity and Inclusion?

• Why Your Organization Needs an EDI Statement

• Things to Consider as You Draft Your Own Statement

• Land Acknowledgements & Pronouns

• Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth is

This free download includes tips that will help employers and employees make the shift to remote work.

• Tools and tips for maintaining communication and connection amongst teams

• Must-have technology for remote work

• Tips for overcoming isolation, loneliness and burnout

• An overview of company collaboration technologies

As COVID-19 impacts the world of work, every organization needs a pandemic contingency plan.

Attendees will leave with the essential steps to manage a Pandemic Communications Strategy and will also be provided with an understanding of how to:

• Define the role of the Communications Coordinator

• Choose a Spokesperson

• Identify communications needs and goals

• Identify materials needed

• Prepare and deliver an announcement

• Monitor the media responses

Distributing a press release to break company news and announcements can help your organization grow, but crafting a release that gets noticed, read and picked up requires specific components. While the media landscape continues to evolve, the press release format remains the same.

To learn how to write a comprehensive, easy-to-follow press release, download our template today. 

This free download includes tips that will help employers and employees make the shift to remote work.

• Tools and tips for maintaining communication and connection amongst teams

• Must-have technology for remote work

• Tips for overcoming isolation, loneliness and burnout

• An overview of company collaboration technologies

Your free Social Media Pressure Points Identification Chart includes:

• A list of the risks that threaten your organization

• A crisis scoring matrix

• An outline of how to respond and resolve those risks

• Tactics for handling different types of commenters

Your free download will cover the basics of starting, launching, and editing your podcast, as well as a few tips and tricks on how to market your podcast once you are ready for release. This will include:

• Planning your podcast

• Planning your episodes

• Recording your podcast

• Editing and producing your podcast

• Publishing your podcast

• Promoting your podcast