{"id":140630,"date":"2022-09-08T14:51:39","date_gmt":"2022-09-08T13:51:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/?p=140630"},"modified":"2022-09-08T14:51:39","modified_gmt":"2022-09-08T13:51:39","slug":"how-charities-are-communicating-the-cost-of-living-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/blog\/how-charities-are-communicating-the-cost-of-living-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"How charities are communicating the cost-of-living crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Charities have had to rethink media strategies, budgets<\/a>, workflow and lobbying as priorities change throughout the cost-of-living<\/a> crisis in the UK. <\/strong><\/p>\n

For our latest webinar \u2018Communicating the cost-of-living for charities\u2019, FareShare<\/a> public affairs, comms and PR consultant Ali Gourley, NSPCC<\/a> national media manager Harry Watkinson and Refuge<\/a> head of media and campaigns Kim Manning-Cooper shared how their communications and approaches have had to change and how their teams are keeping campaigns high on the news agenda and in front of key decision makers.<\/p>\n

Watch the webinar here<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Comms plans need to evolve with the changing needs of the public<\/h3>\n

Each charity represented on our webinar panel has seen how the current economic climate is directly impacting their community. As a result, their workloads and focus have had to change.<\/p>\n

\u2018A big concern for us has been how domestic abuse survivors will be impacted by the current crisis,\u2019 shared Refuge\u2019s Kim Manning-Cooper.<\/p>\n

\u2018Economic abuse is significant. Money being withheld, people being unable to access work and education. We know that many survivors will be recipients of Universal Credit, and that when they flee, they will have to renew it – the cost-of-living crisis could be a barrier to them leaving.<\/p>\n

\u2018We surveyed<\/a> frontline staff across emergency refuges and services \u2013 92% said that the cost-of-living crisis is already pushing survivors further into debt. Survivors are faced with an impossible choice between staying and poverty.<\/p>\n

\u2018We expect to see an increase in demand for our services\u2019.<\/p>\n

Campaign timelines have had to change alongside changing priorities<\/h3>\n

\u2018From a policy perspective, poverty wasn\u2019t traditionally a core priority for NSPCC campaigning,\u2019 said the charity\u2019s national media manager Harry Watkinson. \u2018Now there is growing evidence that poverty, abuse and neglect are related.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018The crisis is influencing how our policy team are working. From a media perspective, journalists are thinking about today, or at a push, next week. We\u2019re still pushing out stories that have been in the planner, but it is like a tsunami; the earthquake has hit, and we\u2019re waiting for the next wave \u2013 October, when energy bills start rolling in.<\/p>\n

Journalists need more from comms teams now<\/h3>\n

The lessons the NSPCC team learned during the pandemic about what journalists need from organisations providing support are proving useful during the current crisis \u2013 the media needs hard evidence of its impacts.<\/p>\n

\u2018Journalists want evidence on how the financial crisis is impacting the work that we do,\u2019 said Watkinson. \u2018In a normal situation, we would give six-month or annual updates on data from our helpline. Now, we\u2019re doing quarterly and monthly updates on physical, domestic and emotional abuse. I\u2019d say, be prepared for the fact they will keep coming back for updates \u2013 it is no longer just an annual thing.\u2019<\/p>\n

While the media will be saturated with cost-of-living-related stories over the next few months, there will be room for other stories from charities, says Watkinson:<\/p>\n

\u2018There will still be scope to put more \u2018normal\u2019 stories, unrelated to the cost-of-living crisis. Moments when journalists are looking for something more uplifting. Having the evidence ready so you can play a relevant part in the media debate and being able to provide alternative narratives from time to time \u2013 that is important for charities and supporters\u2019.<\/p>\n

Bigger asks of politicians<\/h3>\n

FareShare\u2019s network of charitable food redistributors are feeling the increased financial pressures – a pivot in its public affairs strategy was needed.<\/p>\n

\u2018We are changing our ask from the Government,\u2019 said Ali Gourley. \u2018It costs us more to get food out now and there are more people in food insecurity. We are going out to our industry partners, we have more people at our doors – we need more food.<\/p>\n

\u2018The current situation had changed how we\u2019re positioning ourselves and how we talk to people.\u2019<\/p>\n

Working together to make an impact<\/h3>\n

With messaging from a myriad of charities hitting the media, public and politicians so regularly right now, making an impact among all the noise is a challenge. To achieve common goals, team ups with other organisations can get campaigns more attention.<\/p>\n

\u2018Can be done with open letters,\u2019 advises Ali, using FareShare\u2019s collaboration with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation as an example.<\/p>\n

\u2018All charities have their own agenda, but if common ground can be found, it is doable. Presenting a united front, from a political and campaigning perspective \u2013 it definitely works.\u2019<\/p>\n

Watch the full Communicating the cost-of-living for charities webinar here<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Find the politicians who can make a difference to the communities you support with the Vuelio Political Database<\/a> and pitch to the journalists writing about it with the Vuelio Media Database<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Charities have had to rethink media strategies, budgets, workflow and lobbying as priorities change throughout the cost-of-living crisis in the UK. For our latest webinar \u2018Communicating the cost-of-living for charities\u2019, FareShare public affairs, comms and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":423,"featured_media":140633,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7365,7272,3705,3725,3729,7271],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140630"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/423"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140630"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140630\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":140641,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140630\/revisions\/140641"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}