Did you sit in on Tuesday’s Bush Foundation webcast — “Courageous Leaders – Vibrant Communities” — about the organization’s new strategic direction? Everybody’s been writing and commenting on the content of the online session (see the In the Media post for links), but I want to applaud the organization for its top-notch use of new media to reach out to and interact with nonprofit partners and the larger community.
Not only did the webcast technology work well (view the archived event here), but the event was well-publicized in advance, the written and oral presentation was clear and concise, and questions were handled smoothly. Of course, it sure helped for Bush to have two dream spokespeople for the webinar gig: board president Kathy Tunheim is one of the premier p.r. people in the Cities and, as a former gubernatorial candidate, foundation president Peter Hutchinson knows how to handle himself in front of a camera.
The foundation also has plenty of information on its website, from a letter from the president describing what’s happening, to a deeper explanation about each of the three new funding areas, to how the foundation’s current programs are changing, and more.
I’ll be intrigued to see how Bush handles the next phase of its electronic communications strategy. During the webcast Hutchinson and Tunheim invited viewers to use a new e-mail address — newdirection@bushfoundation.org — to send in their ideas and examples of how Bush can flesh out the details of its new strategy. The promise was made to respond to every e-mail within 24 hours. Will they be able to live up to their promise and the public’s expectations?
Let’s hope so. And, in the meantime, congratulations to Bush for successfully using technology to build relationships and communicate transparently with its constituents.
Join the conversation: How are you fostering two-way communication with your constituents? What are you policies for responding quickly to clients, customers and the public?
- Wendy Wehr, MCF VP of communications and information services
