The charitable sector needs to communicate well with clients, colleagues, volunteers, trustees, stakeholders and funding bodies. Additionally, you have an overriding need to get your message across to the public. Clear, effective writing is crucial in this process. Your communication skills need to be outstanding, especially in times of economic uncertainty when it is vital that you both secure value for money and compete successfully with myriad other good causes.
Writing Project will design a bespoke workshop for you, focused on your specific requirements. It may be that your employees need help with emails or social media; your trustees might have requested more concise reports; does your team struggle to engage with target audiences? Whatever your needs, our tutors will deliver practical, relevant content that will boost workplace writing technique.
Make your message stand out. Invest in your writing skills and see the difference it makes to your organisation.
Writing Project workshop content for the charitable sector and community groups includes:
- Powerful Paragraphs
- Press Releases
- Proofreading
- Report Writing
- Responding to Complaints
- Social Media
- Website Content
- Women and the Language of Power
- Writing for Different Audiences
- Writing for Low Reading Ages
- Blogging
- Business / Corporate Language
- Clarity, Concision and Effectiveness
- Editing
- Emails
- Engaging an Audience
- Establishing a House Style
- Funding / Application Bid
- Local Press Articles
- Minutes
Visit our In-House Workshops page for more detail on workshop content.
More information on In-House Workshops.
If there is anything that is specific to your organisation, we can help you with that too. And if it’s difficult for your team to all be absent at the same time for three hours, why not send them individually to one of our Open Workshops?
More information on Open Workshops
Or maybe a Writing Audit would be the solution? Writing Audits highlight what’s working well in your written material, what’s working less well, and why. And then they tell you how to improve it.
More information on Writing Audits
Case Study: LifeCycle UK
LifeCycle UK is a Bristol-based national charity devoted to getting as many people as possible cycling. Its range of activities is extensive, from family groups taking nature rides to tandem rides for the blind and visually impaired, and a scheme called ‘Bike Minded’ which aims to help people with mental health issues. It also offers cycling training, maintenance courses, a swap shop, and many other initiatives.
LifeCycle wanted to find out how to get its message across in a clearer, more concise, and better targeted way through its website and newsletter.
Writing Project delivered a workshop that focused on the charity’s audiences, helping its staff look at the heart of what they write, and for whom. The trainers concentrated on getting participants thinking about simple, practical, everyday things they could do to improve the way they wrote.
The workshop opened the eyes of the staff to the difference their writing style could have in a commercial environment. One staff member commented afterwards, “The workshop will be particularly useful when I’m working on areas such as website content, press releases, anything where fewer words and greater impact are the focus. The benefits from even a short session are real and lasting.”
Poppy Brett, LifeCycle’s Director, said, “The workshop wasn’t what any of us expected — it was far more enjoyable. It was also incredibly useful, and helped focus our minds on how to get key messages across succinctly.”
We all really enjoyed the whole morning, especially the exercises around how to convey something in just a few words. [It] forced us to take another look at all the writing we do, and looking at everything afresh has helped us to refine all of our letters and charity literature. — Yeovil Hospital Charity
Feedback from attendees was really positive. We already have an improved newsletter circulated and some letters have been drafted for me that are a step above what I think might have been done before. — Reaching People
The Writing Project ran a fantastic workshop for us, exploring our use of writing in social media and blog posts. [It] gave us a great insight into the world of words, helping us to understand the best way to communicate with our audience. The tutor highlighted the importance of approaching our writing from the perspective of those who benefit from our opportunities, so that we could tap into what they would respond to. — Paper