Telling authentic stories with intention
Krista Jahnke, Kaniqua Welch
Senior Communications Officer, & Communications Officer & Equity Task Force Co-Chair
Kresge Foundation
Key Takeaways
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Storytelling is the best way to tap into emotions when communicating about an issue or topic. That means as a communications team, we will often use storytelling as a mode of sharing. When doing so, we must take responsibility to do so in a way that does not inadvertently uphold the status quo, white supremacy, dominant culture, or that centers only the needs of white communities.
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Be intentional about centering the people closest to the action in the story and ensuring they have ownership in how a story comes together and is shared. Use asset framing and co-creation. Co-creation can add time to a storytelling process, but the end result is a story that will be engaging, offer accurate narratives, and deepen relationships.
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Avoid blanket terms, like ‘diverse voices.’ Be explicit in saying precisely who and what we are working to uplift through our storytelling efforts.
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Get comfortable having uncomfortable conversations. We need to make sure we’re very clear about the work we’re doing and why we’re doing it.
Overview
Over the course of the last two years, communications practices within organizations around the topic of racial equity have shifted. Many organizations are integrating practices that support racial equity to transform the way they approach storytelling and shifting narratives.
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In 2021, The Kresge Foundation’s Office of External Affairs and Communications took a deep dive into the Communications Network’s DEI Toolkit to examine where they stand and how best to move the work forward to truly operationalize diversity, equity, inclusion and justice into the team’s communications planning.
The Kresge Foundation is a private, national foundation that works to expand opportunities in America’s cities through grantmaking and social investing in arts and culture, education, environment, health, human services, and place-based work in Detroit, New Orleans and Memphis.
“The work has become centered on communities experiencing the greatest disparities and being very clear that systemic racism […] has got us here and has to be addressed,” said Krista Jahnke, Senior Communications Officer at the Kresge Foundation. “This has become central to how Kresge thinks, works and funds. If we don't use communications tools and strategies with diversity, equity, inclusion and justice baked in, and we're not intentional, it could be easy to inadvertently uphold the status quo of white supremacy and to center white experiences.”
In 2019, Kresge officially added equity as its sixth pillar to its organizational values, and in 2021, it adopted an organizational-wide Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) framework that can be broken down into five pillars: Kresge as a (1) funder, (2) employer, (3) economic entity, (4) community citizen, and (5) community.
In January of 2022, Kresge launched the Equity Task Force to steward the Foundation’s DEIJ work. This team of 13 cross-departmental members was created to support overall organizational learning, skill development and help shape institutional policies, directives, and practices to align with the Foundation’s Equity values and commitment. The team meets regularly to advocate for and assess how equity is showcased in Kresge’s grantmaking and operational work.
“We know through research that stories are really where that happens and where we make emotional connections with people. But it is essential that storytelling is done in a way where it’s not extractive and that people closest to the centre of the story, especially people of color, are on control of their story.”
Kaniqua Welch, Communications Officer and Co-Chair of the Equity Task Force at Kresge, shared a recent example of how the Communications team and Equity Task Force collaborated through a panel discussion and staff commentary. Kresge’s Immigration Learning Group and Equity Task Force partnered to host an internal panel discussion titled “Reframing Immigrant Heritage Month.”
The panel included staff who are immigrants, children of immigrants, or those who work on issues related to immigration. They discussed the ways in which immigrant experiences have impacted them, and how race, place and privilege play a role in the way they navigate the world.
“Not only did panelists share the current state of immigration policies and national immigration narratives, they also shared their personal journeys and how this shows up in their professional work,” Welch said.
Following the event, all panelists were invited to write a commentary on their immigration journey to be published on Kresge’s website.
“Our team has been working on a DEIJ communications strategy to help determine how we can better utilize communications content to break down the traditional, patriarchal white supremacist systems that are prevalent in philanthropy,” Welch said. “One focus area is to intentionally lift up more grantee voices. They are closest to the challenges; therefore, they are best suited to identify solutions for their communities. We also want to elevate our colleagues throughout the Foundation that we don’t usually hear from to help affirm how much stronger our collective Kresge work is, thanks to the rich diversity of our staff – diversity of thought, diversity of lived experience, race, ethnicity, gender and more.”
Joselin Cisneros, an Education Program fellow, developed a commentary following the Immigration panel. Just as Joselin stated, “sharing our stories helps us and others to realize the collective power we have. This is the power of storytelling,” Welch added.
“How we do storytelling is so important to really advancing and changing people's hearts and minds,” Jahnke added. “We know through research that stories are really where that happens and where we make emotional connections with people. But it is essential that storytelling is done in a way where it's not extractive and that people closest to the center of the story, especially people of color, are in control of their story.”
Q&A: KRISTA JAHNKE, SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER AND KANIQUA WELCH, COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER AND EQUITY TASK FORCE CO-CHAIR
Ask Questions, Get Answers.
What DEI problem/s is/are most pervasive in communications practices across the field?
The biggest challenge is using language and communications tools to ensure that when we talk about the work of our grantee partners, they have the agency to tell their own stories. That when we craft their story, we lift up their voices instead of reverting to a savior narrative. This becomes even more challenging as language is constantly evolving. While we try to be really thoughtful and careful and use language that we feel is accurate and reflective, inevitably there are differing opinions, even among the people whom that language is intended to describe. As professionals in this field, we have to be ready to listen, adjust, and keep learning.
How did you use the Communications Network’s DEI tools in your process of making changes to address and implement DEI practices in your comms/team? What was your process for identifying items for change within your communications team?
Over a period of months, the communications team completed a methodical review of the Communication Network’s recommendations to audit our practices using the ComNet DEI toolkit. All 11 members of the communications team took part in this effort. The full team divided into groups, analyzed the assigned recommendations, and developed and presented a list of action items. Once every team had presented their plan, we combined it into a single list, prioritized each action item as immediate or longer-term, and assigned an owner. The process is iterative. As we continue to meet to assess progress, we have been intentional in revisiting the toolkit consistently to ensure we’re addressing all of the recommendations.
What opportunities for change did you identify in your DEI communications practices?
Our review of the toolkit confirmed many places where we are already taking recommended actions, as well as places for us to focus on in the future. We gathered those action items into a document and identified more than a dozen to start on in 2022. Here are several examples:
We worked with our intranet ambassadors to conduct a review of DEIJ sensitivities in photo and graphic use, and we are working with our internal disability inclusion fellow to review the site’s accessibility features.
We’re assessing how much of our external website News & Views content centers grantees’ voices, as well as how often we elevate – and directly reference – issues of race, gender and economic disparities.
Based on toolkit recommendations to feature voices beyond the C-suite, we launched an executive visibility and thought leadership strategy for several of our managing directors whose portfolios of work have an explicit focus on advancing racial and economic equity. We connected our strategy to key media moments, such as the focus on racial justice, climate change, and health equity. Based on the 2021/2022 media landscape, we elevated the managing directors of our Environment and Health programs. We were also mindful not to put the onus fully on BIPOC leadership to tackle issues of race; to also ensure white colleagues use their voices and platforms to shift perspectives on racism.
Our 2021 team retreat focused on power building and shifting narratives.
We conducted a BIPOC media scan to assess our media partnerships and pitching; to move beyond traditional philanthropic media outlets and national top-tier publications to explore more publications and writers of color to reach key audiences.
What obstacles did you face in implementing the Communication Network’s DEI’s tools, if any?
This space can be challenging because there is so much that can be done. Finding time to do it all and doing it well can be difficult. For example, our 2021 Kresge Annual Report Regeneration focused on the equitable ways cities and communities can bounce back as federal COVID recovery and infrastructure dollars are rolled out. To ensure these nonprofit and community-based organizations were at the center of these stories as recommended by the toolkit, we invited them to co-create their stories with us. As we edited the process, scripted revisions, and planned who would sit for interviews, our partners were involved in every step.
This takes a little bit longer and requires more coordination, because more people are weighing in and there are sometimes differing opinions to wade through. Ultimately, we ended up with eight really well-received video stories that not only are we proud of but the partners themselves are enthusiastic about. It took time and intentional listening, but the end product was powerful.
Where do you want to go from here?
In 2023 we will continue to build and execute our DEIJ communications strategy by identifying more storytelling vehicles, lifting up more grantee partners, and centering more voices across the foundation into our communication projects and content. Our goal is to highlight different perspectives and reach our key audiences through a variety of storytelling avenues. There are also tactical opportunities that we’ll continue to advance, such as ensuring that our media outreach lists include diverse journalists and outlets, and that RFPs are accessible to a broader, more diverse vendor base.
What advice can you give other communications teams who are just getting started in addressing DEI in their communications processes?
First, focus on how the communications team can build strong relationships across an organization – emphasizing that communications plays a critical function through storytelling. Then the team needs to take ownership and accountability for doing the work. It’s not a ‘nice thing to do’. It’s a must that we talk and implement these strategies in our communications function.
On a more tactical level, once teams look through the Communications Network DEI toolkit, no matter where they are in the process, there are larger-scale strategies that can be implemented, but also look for low-hanging fruit for your work. There are things that are fully in the communications’ team purview that could immediately be implemented. For example, get aligned on language use for consistency. Start a conversation about something tangible, like the use of Latinx versus Latine, Latina, Latino or Hispanic.
We find our colleagues look to the communications team to help them understand these issues and give them guidance – so lead the way and do so!
