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A social change agency can be a visionary and creative planning powerhouse. It can help nonprofits in realizing how to get out of where they currently are to where they need to go. Agency can be developed and executed, fundraising capital obtained, and strategies developed and refined to bring about dramatic change. In essence, the work and expertise of a social change agency can help to make certain that change happens as desired. However, if the agency is not careful and thoughtful, then change can have the reverse impact and so can its negative effects.

When it comes to nonprofits, the relationship between a nonprofit organization and a social change agency can sometimes be one fraught with problems. Although the two organizations may initially work well together, this sometimes cannot endure. The tension between the two often results in a situation whereby both organizations suffer. One example of this might be when nonprofit organizations that engage in large-scale social action turn to a PR firm for help. If the public relations company does not adequately inform and counsel the nonprofits on their public relations strategy, the nonprofits might take the wrong turns in their strategic planning and eventually might find themselves in a very bad position indeed.

However, the relationship between public relations and a social change agency can work well if such an agency truly has the following qualities: strategic planning, thought leadership training, and an advocate for its clients. Strategic planning allows the organization to develop a comprehensive marketing and public relations plan that targets a number of different issues or areas of focus. Thought leadership training helps the PR agency to learn how to effectively build influence within the key influencers. And advocate: ensuring that the advocacy of the client’s cause is made part of the strategic planning, training, and marketing strategy.

There are a few ways that the strategic planning can inform the advocacy activities of the nonprofit. First, the strategic planning might point the nonprofit to identify potential advocates within the target audience that might be willing to join their cause. This “trusted advisor” concept is an important one that was discussed at length in the “Building Influence with Social Change” course that was organized by the George Warren Center for Public Service at the University of San Francisco School of Law.

What does Agency ? If the nonprofit’s strategic planning identifies potential advocates within the target audience, then it gives the social change agency the responsibility to ensure that those advocates are informed about the organization and its work. This ensures that they will feel more compelled to get involved and help, rather than feeling like they have “opted in” to something they don’t understand. With a “trusted advisor” role, the nonprofit can use the advice offered by the trusted advisor to help build influence and get as much impact as possible for their efforts.

Another important way that strategic planning for social change can inform advocacy activities is through education. In the nonprofit world, a lot of good things happen when people are educated about the issues and problems that exist. This doesn’t just apply to the nonprofit itself, but to the broader public as well. A nonprofit must work to ensure that it reaches out to as many people as possible and gets them to take action. One way that this can be done is through educating those who are not directly affected on the ground, but who may be able to make a difference-by sharing information about the organization.

This education can come in the form of constituent feedback or other strategic planning initiatives. Through Agency , a social change agency can learn about the different attitudes, beliefs, values and other backgrounds that people have towards a given organization. Through that information, the nonprofit is able to tailor its messaging to better appeal to these various groups and ensure that the advocacy efforts speak to all audiences.

There is one thing that all nonprofits need to do in order to truly excel in their endeavors: they have to be prepared to put in the work. They have to understand what the mission is and the purpose of their endeavors before they can even begin to design their campaigns and strategy to make sure that they get results. Being prepared and committed is Agency of being successful, and that’s why there is no shortage of career opportunities for women and people of color in the nonprofit world. If you’re ready to make a difference, get your start in the nonprofit world today!