PUT THE POWER IN HER HANDSA Communications Toolkit on Reproductive Health, Rights,

and Justice with Examples from Africa

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Crafting a Message • Your Message Matters • How to Use Messages • Why These Messages

Share Your Story • Crafting Your Narrative • Message vs. Narrative • Problems and Barriers • Shared Values • The Language • The Solution • The Impact • The Ask

This ToolkitWomen’s funds and nonprofit organizations are doing important work in reproductive health, rights and justice (RH/ RR/RJ). To fulfill their missions, they need to make an effective case to funders and donors. With so many issues competing for every dollar your message matters. With that in mind, we have created this toolkit designed to help your organization determine your key messages and craft your narrative. In 2010, the Women’s Funding Network (WFN) with support from Campbell & Company and consultants in Europe and Africa sought to determine what would persuade more major donors to give to organizations working on RH/RR/RJ. This toolkit is grounded in research from the target audience of 90 current and potential donors in the U.S., Africa and Europe.

TIPS & TRICKS

Throughout this toolkit, look to this right hand bar for important Tips & Tricks, examples and guidance that you can use to implement this messaging toolkit.

This toolkit was created in response to the overwhelming, unmet need of women’s funds and nonprofit organizations for a guide to communications based on examples from Africa. This toolkit is a communications guide meant to help you drive donations, increase donor base, and engage more community members in the work of reproductive health, rights, and justice. While the landscape of reproductive health, rights, and justice work in Africa is unique to each region, two case studies are highlighted for their relevance to the continent.

This Toolkit

YOUR GUIDE

• The toolkit is intended to help cultivate funding from major donors if you are a:

• Women’s fund; • Donor interested in advancing women; • An NGO working in the field of

reproductive health, rights and justice.

FRAME THE CONTEXTAfrica is the continent with the least use of contraception in the world, with less than three out of every ten women using modern methods of birth control. High rates of fertility together with the expressed desire on the part of women to have fewer children indicate a problem of access to family planning services in Africa. An estimated 40 percent of all pregnancies are unintended.

In addition to the challenges women face relating to reproductive health, rights, and justice, women’s foundations and nonprofits in Africa face unique funding challenges due to the fact that there is not a strong culture of individual giving.

Talking about reproductive health, rights and justice can be a struggle for women’s funds and nonprofit organizations. Since the issue can be divisive, it is important to frame it in the large context of social change. These two case studies from the Women’s Hope, Education, and Training Trust (WHEAT) and the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) present effective solutions.

CRAFTING A MESSAGEWhat is a message and how do we use it?

YOUR MESSAGE MATTERS

Messages are a way for you to:

• Frame your work through values • Engage hearts and minds • Tell people a story • Share both challenges and solutions

Compelling messages follow Head, Heart, Ask:

• Head: use common sense supported by data.

• Heart: tell stories with emotional content. • Ask: for funding, for leadership, for support.

TIPS & TRICKS

To tailor your organization’smessages, interview yourstakeholders, staff and donors to incorporate their vision.

Asking their opinion will help strengthen your case and increase the likelihood they will agree with and share your messages.

HOW TO USE MESSAGESTap into shared cultural values. Some values can vary culture to culture. What may be a key cultural value in Europe such as individual expression, may not resonate with an audience in Asia. However, there are many values shared across cultures, such as education and caring for family. Use shared values to anchor your messages and connect with listeners’ emotional core.

• Examples: respect, self-determination, empowerment, etc.

Consistently repeat your messages and pepper them into all your communications. • Messages used on your website should parallel

messages used in your elevator pitch and social media and so on.

Always remember to include your call to action.

• Tell donors what you need them to do. For example: Visit our website, donate, support our mission.

DO’S & DON’TS

Messages Do • Inspire interest • Invite people in • Make a connection • Gear up for more

information later

Messages Don’t • Explain a process • Take the place of an

accurate description • Convey complicated

ideas • Use jargon

WHY USE THESE MESSAGES?

The current framework is limiting. Taken as a whole, reproductive health, rights and justice (RH/RR/RJ) can be very broad, overwhelming and politically divisive. While these phrases conjure up many things for many people, most people’s first reaction is to think of “choice,” which can be unhelpful.

Bring the issue to life. Donors want statistics and real-life stories and to make the issue more tangible.

Less “sky is falling,” more solutions. Donors want solutions and positive language. They do not want to be overwhelmed by seemingly insurmountable challenges.

Make the connections explicit, not implied. Donors want to see how RH/RR/RJ affect women throughout their lives. Connecting to issues such as health, family and education is motivating. Doing so also broadens the conversation beyond limiting and polarizing topics like abortion.

SHARE YOUR STORYBuilding and sharing a narrative that will resonate with your audience

CRAFTING YOUR NARRATIVE

What is a narrative...

Your narrative is your story. It is the foundation for your content, whether that content is an fundraising appeal or an elevator pitch to a stranger at a conference. You should adjust your narrative based on your focus, the audience you are speaking with and the appeal you are making.

A narrative should:

• Demonstrate your challenges or barriers• Speak to your audiences’ shared values• Include proven and effective language• Connect your cause to a solution• Highlight the of the impact of your work• End with a call-to-action

MESSAGE vs. NARRATIVE

Before crafting your narrative, it’s important to understandthe difference between a message and a narrative.

A message…

Is a short, simple idea that helps to communicate yourpoint and, when combined with other messages, forms anarrative.

A narrative…

Is your story. A combination of several key messages,tailored for the person you are speaking to, a narrative isthe story that drives your organization’s mission.

DEMONSTRATE CHALLENGES AND BARRIERS

There are multiple challenges facing women in the space of RH/RR/RJ and many barriers to raising money to fight those problems.

Every organization will have their own specific challenges and barriers, and sharing those with potential supporters is important. However, remember not to dwell on the negative, rather pivot the conversation towards the positive work your organization is doing.

EXAMPLE:

Barrier: “Every six days, a woman in South Africa is murdered by her intimate partner.”

Reframe: “Together, we can empower women, our communities, and ultimately, our country, making hope a reality.”

SHARED VALUES

Values are the foundation of our beliefs.

• Values connect the heart to the head, bringing emotionalcontent to decision making.• Facts and arguments that support our values can persuadeus to take action.

While some cultural values vary depending on the region,shared values across all cultures include:

• The importance of health• Caring for family• The value of education

EXAMPLES:

Below are a few examplesof shared values yourorganization can use to beeffective in framing support:

• “I am part of a community that supports women.”- WHEAT Trust

• “AWDF continues to champion reproductive health and rights. Help and work with AWDF to promote the welfare of women in Africa.”

• “Gift giving, especially to the less privileged, is encouraged in every religion. AWDF affords you the opportunity to show love and care to women in our society, especially vulnerable women.”

ADVANCE & AVOID

Advance

• Short, relatable language• Optimism• Solution-based language• Empowerment & agency• Being part of a community• Culture is fluid• Immediate action• Demonstrate impact andoutcomes

Avoid• Jargon• Fear-based language• Assigning any blame• Women as victims• Women in isolation• Culture is fixed• Change in the future• All inputs without outcomes

TIPS & TRICKS

It’s very important toexplain challengeswithout overwhelmingyour audience. We need tobalance the urgency with constructive arguments.Use this sheet for quicktips on what to “Advance”and what to “Avoid.”

HIGHLIGHT YOUR WORK AS THE SOLUTION

An effective overarching mantra for your narrative is:

“Put the power in her hands”

RATIONALE

• RH/RR/RJ work generates many positive results, but theunifying outcome is women and girls’ empowerment.• Your work is about ensuring women’s self-determination.It involves creating an environment that makes it possiblefor her to flex her power and make decisions for herself,her family and her community.• “Put the power in her hands” also has a double-meaning;it’s about empowering donors to become leaders and activistsin the areas they support and invest in.

CORE MESSAGES

We believe every woman and girl should have:

• Power of Mind• Power in Hand• Power to Make Her Path• Power to Change Her World

FRAME THE SOLUTION

EXAMPLES

Education, and particularly health education, can empower a woman to ask the questions that they need answered and make decisions about her and her family’s health. The more information women have about their health, the more informed decisions they can make.

Power of Mind

Information and knowledge so she canmake the right decisions for her health,

herfamily and her future.

FRAME THE SOLUTION

EXAMPLES

Providing affordable andavailable medical care iscritical to ensuring womenare able to make their owndecisions about theirmedical treatment, withoutintervening factors.Access to medical serviceson a regular basis willprevent small, treatablemedical issues fromgrowing into larger,chronic problems. Providewomen that access andtheir community will see adecrease in the number ofserious preventablemedical issues.

Power in Hand

Access to the services that will keep herand her family healthy and strong.

FRAME THE SOLUTION

EXAMPLES:

Together we can empower women and girls to find their own voice and assert their right to make decisions about their own body. We will not be limited by cultural or social barriers, rather we will encourage women to confront those challenges and embrace their right to make their own decisions.

Power to Make Her Path

Options and the freedom to act on her convictions.

FRAME THE SOLUTION

EXAMPLES:

Through our small loan program, women and girls receive the education and financial support they need to become business leaders in their own community.

Our health center is providing the knowledge and the training for women and girls to not only make informed decisions about their own health, but become advocates and resources for their entire community

Power to Change Her World

The training, tools and resources toempower her to make a broader impact in

her community, for her community.

DESCRIBE THE IMPACT

When donors are considering making a gift, they need to beconvinced that their dollars are going to an organization ornetwork that will create the largest possible impact.

Whenever possibleprovide harddata or infographicsto demonstrateyour impact.In messaging,it’s imperative tocommunicate theReturn on Investment(ROI). A mix of data and anecdotal evidence works.

EXAMPLES:

Tell stories that link donors’ actions to impacts that enable women to improve their wellbeing, care for their families and realize their goals. • In South Africa, the “My

Body, My Rights, My Choice” campaign educates women through sexual and reproductive health workshops. Participants in turn educate their communities.”

• “Given the tremendous impact that your support has made on the lives of women in Africa, we desire to expand the scope of AWDF’s work to cover more women. We have made many inroads into hard to reach communities.”

Sample for demonstration purposes:

IMPACT STATEMENTS

Make the donors or funders an active part of the solution.

Examples:

Your support will ensure…

• giving birth is no longer a common cause of deathworldwide.• women living in rural areas have the resources to make lasting,positive change in their communities.• we can address violence against women as part of theRH equation.

EXAMPLE:

“With your support over the past year, AWDF has supported 100,000 women in ten countries to expand their income-generating activities.”

MAKE THE ASK

Making the call to action is the most important element of yourmessage - but it is often excluded.

• Lead with the conviction that change can happen now.• Position their support as part of the solution by describingthe impact their gift can have.• Speak to transforming individual lives and also broadersocietal change.• Highlight connections to issues such as health, family andeducation, which are motivators and help align RH/RR/RJ to other funding priorities.

EXAMPLE:

• “AWDF has been effectively contributing to protecting the rights of African women. Support Africa’s women and be a part of Africa rising.”

• “AWDF intends to cover women, especially in hard to reach areas. Your support will make this possible and enable you to impact the lives of women in Africa positively.”

• “The support you give to women today in the advancement of their reproductive health and rights secures the next generation and helps the future prospects of your business.”

EXAMPLE: VALUE BASED NARRATIVE

From Accra, Ghana: “Did you know that out of every 100 women giving birth, 30 never live to hear the first cry of their baby?

The result of this is 1/3 of newborns growing up without theirmothers. One death is too many. Thirty is unacceptable, andit has a direct impact on entire families and communities onmany levels.

One mobile clinic would create access that would significantlyreduce the rate of mothers dying by 50%. Your investment in amobile clinic is the solution. It will help save mothers’ lives, andensure that their children will have a healthy start in life, whichincludes an education, improved health, and a strong family.”

REMEMBER: MESSAGESWORK IF YOU USE THEM

Use the messages

• Trust the research• Find the voice to represent your organization• Get and stay on message• Have the patience to repeat yourself• Keep it up!

MOREINFORMATION

Visit:www.womensfundingnet

work.org

Contact:info@womensfundingnet

work.org