Foundations and media: is mutual understanding possible?

Room: 204

Foundations and journalists are worlds apart, or so it seems, when it comes to conveying messages about philanthropy. Often journalists are viewed by foundations as lacking understanding about their resources and giving unrealistic deadlines for interviews. When a foundation does take the time to respond to journalists’ questions, they are find the story simplified and at times sensationalist. Other times, editors may decide to drop the story at the last minute. For their part, journalists remark on the badly written, generic press releases they received from foundations, which have little relevance to their publication or programme. And when they call up for an interview, the foundation says it will take days to arrange. This session will invite a number of journalists to speak about their needs and interests and to provide guidance to foundations on how to pitch stories, deal with interview requests and generate positive media coverage. Foundations will also be invited to provide their perspective of dealing with the media and provide insights and lessons learnt.

Moderator: Norine MacDonald, Global Media Centre

Speakers:

Josse Abrahams, King Baudouin Foundation

Robert Holloway, AFP Foundation

Mandy Pursey, Charities Aid Foundation

Social media: A fad or the future?

Room: 213

A number of foundations are embracing new media channels and online environments such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. For some, the goal is to use these media to get on the radar of groups that foundations would otherwise be unable to reach. For others, these media offer an opportunity to raise further funds for their activities. In some cases, foundations may wish to simply illustrate that they are moving with the times. No matter what the reason, the real question for those organisations that have yet to incorporate such media into their communications strategy, is whether these media have an impact and are worthwhile investing resources? The aim of the session is to explore the pros and cons of such media and provide guidance to those foundations (whatever their size) that wish to make use of them. Panellists include foundation representatives and communications experts who have first-hand experience of implementing social media technologies.

Moderator: James Ketchell, Charities Aid Foundation

Speakers:

Daniel Ben-Horin, TechSoup Global

Filiz Bikmen Bugay, Sabanci Foundation

Maribel Königer, ERSTE Stiftung 

What is not counted, doesn't count- why researching foundations matters

Room: 204

Can Francis Bacon’s aphorism that ‘knowledge is power’ be applied to the European foundation sector?  What is the value of having in-depth quantitative and qualitative research about foundations and their practices? Can such knowledge help to strengthen the sector and improve the effectiveness of individual foundations? How can research about the sector contribute to foundations’ advocacy objectives? What is the current research agenda and who drives it? These and many more questions will be at the heart of what is expected to be a lively and interactive debate between those stakeholders involved in researching the sector and concerned by the findings.

Moderator: Anthony Tomei, The Nuffield Foundation

Speakers:

Wioletta Gradkowska, Research Directorate-General, European Commission

John Healy, Centre for Nonprofit Management, Trinity College Dublin

Marta Rey, Universidade da Coruña and Institute for Strategic Analysis of Foundations (INAEF)