MANP Nonprofit Resource Library

The Spitfire SmartScan features four modules. An organization can take them all at once to get an overarching assessment of its communication assets and needs or focus on one area at a time.

• Identity An organization with a strong brand understands and lives its identity—who it is and what it stands for—and knows how to communicate that brand to others and embed it in everything it does.
   
• Planning Too often, nonprofits focus on bright and shiny tactics—press outreach, events, social media, etc.—before putting a strategy in place. Here, nonprofits find out if they have a strong plan, clear audiences and compelling messages—all the basics needed for strong communication efforts.
   
• Best Practices To be a truly communicating organization, a nonprofit must integrate effective communication into its daily operations. The SmartScan assesses how an organization is doing when it comes to implementing best practices in critical communication areas (i.e. media relations, storytelling, digital strategy and delivering an engaging elevator speech). It also notes whether the nonprofit is a learning organization and how well it stays up on new communication best practices.
   
• Results Above all, nonprofit communication activities must lead to progress. The tool offers a way to know whether an organization has the right systems in place for tracking results and the discipline to act on what they discover.