Tailored Trainings

Spitfire Strategies Tailored Trainings

“Phenomenally useful - such an eye opener, both in terms of new ideas and in readjusting existing practices,” comment from a participant in a Spitfire Tailored Training for Hewlett grantees.

“Many of us who are part of the California Children’s Health Initiative attended the Spitfire training sponsored by the Packard Foundation and I wanted to thank the Packard Foundation for funding such an important class. This was a life changing class and I plan to focus my attention on making sure it makes a difference to how our Children Health Initiative communicates.”

By investing in building the capacity of their grantees to conduct strong communications programs, grantmakers can ensure their grant dollars yield on-going returns. The strategies and skills participants gain from a Spitfire Tailored Training help them deliver big wins on their programs again and again. Whether a foundation needs its grantees to get together around a common message – or has a group of grantees that are struggling with similar communications challenges – a Spitfire Tailored Training delivers.

Have it your way

Every Spitfire Tailored Training is just that – tailored to the specific interests and needs of the participants. We start by interviewing foundation staff to learn about their goals for the training. We also audit selected participants – reviewing their Web sites and materials, conducting interviews, and scanning recent media coverage – to better understand their communications opportunities and challenges. Spitfire then develops an agenda and curriculum to address the needs of the participants and meet the goals of the supporting foundation. This includes a mix of strategy sessions – Smart Chart™ planning, audience targeting, messaging – as well as specific skills, such as media training, storytelling, PowerPoint development, presentation skills, online marketing, social networking and more.

The training sessions typically run between one and three days and feature a combination of lead Spitfire trainers and outside experts. On-site coaches ensure participants get one-on-one assistance as they work to apply lessons learned to their current programs. Often agendas are designed to include coaching clinics – to ensure more on-site time with a communications counselor – and break-out sessions to encourage participants to work together on common projects. To further customize the training, Spitfire can also add on follow-up support for participants including a bank of consulting hours participants can access as they work to apply lessons learned or Webinars that offer participants a refresher on specific segments of the training and allow them to share the experience with their colleagues.

Results are the common denominator

Participants in a Spitfire Tailored Training learn to:

• Design, execute and evaluate a comprehensive communications strategy that integrates program and communications goals and is tailored to the specific needs of their organizations;
• Craft effective messaging for their issues;
• Use tools and strategies to strengthening their organizations’ positioning;
• Make informed choices about how best to use limited communications resources; and
• Deliver their messages in a variety of formats – from media, to stories to presentations.

Call us and start planning your Spitfire Tailored Training today!

Contact: Dennis Poplin – 202.293.6200 x.226 – This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.