You may also want to post your giving guidelines on your website. This can save staff time that would otherwise be spent mailing guidelines to interested organizations.

Develop a communications plan that makes sense for your company. Your plan should include target audiences, key messages, and ways to deliver those messages. Be sure it includes a handout explaining the program and its guidelines-something you can give or mail to people. Your plan should also be comprehensive, including both your kickoff activities and ongoing events.

In addition to your employees, the groups you want to reach are the significant community and business leaders, government officials, the community-at-large (including your customers), and potential recipients. You might distribute a press release or have a news conference announcing your giving program or its first grant, or you might get employees together in a publicized volunteer effort at the outset.

Remember, there will be ongoing opportunities to remind both internal and external audiences about your program-when you make grants, when your employees are involved in the community, and when a recipient does something warranting attention.

Also determine how to respond to applicants you decide not to support. While a company need not explain its decisions in any detail, it is common to respond in writing to any personalized letter of request.

Alliance members have access to sample documents (e.g., letters, guidelines) in the Members Only section of our Web site.

Text reprinted with permission from the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers

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