All of us consciously or unconsciously follow the examples of behavior offered by society. Some of them are quite open and clear calls, while others are restrained or even native and invisible to the naked eye. Since the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine, hundreds of civil society organizations and charitable foundations have intensified their activities. They are all united by an important mission: to help. But for help to be effective, it must be visible, and this requires a proper communication strategy.

And if there is still a belief that good deeds should be done quietly, it’s time to say goodbye to it. After all, assistance that few people know about is likely to be ineffective and not reach its goal. In addition, where there is an information void, there is a large field for speculation and hostile propaganda.

It’s quite another thing when influential people and representatives of well-known companies speak about supporting social projects in Ukraine on the world stage. For example, if J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter saga, had not publicized the donation of 1 million pounds for humanitarian aid to Ukrainian children affected by Russian aggression, she would not have drawn additional attention to their problems.

If English footballer David Beckham had not temporarily given his Instagram page to Ukrainian doctor Iryna Kondratova from Kharkiv, the problems of newborns in need of resuscitation in Ukraine during shelling would not have been so widely publicized.

If the band Imagine Dragons had not told the story of 15-year-old Sashko from the Mykolaiv region in their music video, the boy’s house might still be unreconstructed. But we know that this story is not only about Sashko. So we need to speak loudly and clearly, leaving the enemy no chance to sow discouragement.

The main tasks of a communication strategy for a social project:

Unite people who care about the problem. Highlighting the problem, sharing your example of how to solve it, and calling for action encourages others to join in and look for ways to overcome obstacles at different levels.

Become an advocate for Ukraine in the world. The right communication strategy allows not only to attract the necessary assistance but also to form a positive image of Ukraine as a country that fights for its rights, human rights, and democratic values.

Gain trust. Becoming recognizable and building a good reputation is crucial. The more people know about you, the more they trust you.

Target aid where it is needed most. Donors need to clearly understand where the assistance is needed, and the final beneficiaries need to know how and where to get it.

Ensure transparency. Understanding who is implementing the initiative, where the resources come from, who they are intended for, and how they are used is very important for everyone involved in the project. Therefore, to leave no room for imagination, it is necessary to give clear answers to all the questions that concern society.

How to communicate a social project: personal experience

It’s important to understand how to communicate a social project at all levels and build a strategy to deliver the right messages to the right people who need help.

So I’ll try to tell you what to consider at what stages of communication using an example.

Thus, we have tasks and goals: to inform about the possibility of receiving assistance, social services, and temporary housing in centers for internally displaced persons (IDPs), as well as to increase the level of trust in local government in the region.

Having clearly defined the goals, we move on to developing a strategy. We analyze the target audience (TA) and the communication channels with which this audience interacts most often. At this stage, we take into account the socio-demographic indicators and interests of the audience. For example, in our case, not everyone was a social media user or had the opportunity to watch television. Therefore, in addition to social networks and regional media, we had to disseminate information through outdoor advertising.

Next, we are working on the tone of voice. Most of the target audience of social projects are representatives of vulnerable groups in need of help. It is important to express support and empathy, not pity. That’s why we don’t limit ourselves to simple instructions, but tell stories of people like them. By the way, the format of the videos suits this task perfectly. Even from the comments, it was immediately clear that these are stories by people for people who recognize their teachers, neighbors, or other acquaintances in the video.

It is also important for a social project to identify stakeholders right away. After all, for each vulnerable group and problem, there is a representative office in government agencies that takes care of such people, has access to databases, and can formulate their needs. So we communicate with the customer and select the partners we plan to involve in the project.

When developing a communication campaign, we are constantly in touch with project stakeholders. It is important to organize proper communication at all stages. After all, further interaction and assistance depend on the synergy between the participants. To go beyond the numbers in the reports, we add videos with people’s stories, which are often more eloquent than any statistics.

So at every stage, we communicate clear messages, maintain our reputation, and encourage others to join social projects.

As a result, we have a well-communicated social project that can be scaled up to other regions of Ukraine and ensure the sustainability of further donor support.

Reputation and trust as components of a communication campaign

Since the start of the full-scale invasion in Ukraine, trust in civil society organizations and charitable foundations has increased, as evidenced by the Civil Society Sustainability Index.

And if we analyze the example of the leaders in terms of the number of mentions in the media space – the charity foundation Come Back Alive, the official fundraising platform United24, and the NGO Sprava Hromadas – we can see certain patterns.

For example, civil society organizations (CSOs) that have a long experience and have gained the greatest trust of people try to constantly report on the receipt and use of charitable contributions. Newly established organizations, on the other hand, do not always realize the need for accountability and transparency, which is not to their advantage.

According to a survey conducted by the Zagoriy Foundation in May 2022, the main motivations for public reporting were to build and maintain the organization’s reputation.

That is why it is crucial for everyone working on social projects to develop strategies aimed at building trust and gaining public support to address pressing issues. This is the only way we can help increase aid where it is needed.