About The Communications Network

Community | Learning | Leadership

Our Mission

The Communications Network connects, gathers, and informs leaders from the most influential foundations, nonprofits, and social sector consultancies across the globe. We are a vibrant, diverse, and dedicated community of over 3,000 communicators, storytellers, strategists, designers, researchers, producers, and community builders.

We connect the field

The Network brings together social sector leaders to solve complex problems, while providing them with insights, ideas, innovations, and techniques to help them grow, thrive—and shape the future. We believe folks working in communications for good, and in turn the organizations they serve, will be stronger, smarter and more effective if they have a strong network of colleagues and peers to look to for ideas, advice, collaboration, and honest feedback.

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Learning

We offer learning opportunities and share new ideas, smart strategies, and best practices
We live in an astounding era, where powerful new tools and approaches can foster conversations, spark debates, launch ideas, and deliver change on a global scale. Access and learn from our comprehensive and growing suite of resources and tools, including how-to guides, case studies, and live and on-demand webinars; plus, our latest research, trend reports, and more.

Leadership

We help leaders lead and make the case for strategic communications
as a significant tool for change

Demonstrate and develop your leadership by sharing and exchanging knowledge, advice, and experience with peers around the world. Showcase your expertise by contributing to the field’s best thinking through research, case studies, resource guides, reports, and practical tools curated and developed by The Network.

The Network started with a call for help…

Over 45 years ago, Frank Karel became the new Communications lead at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The first ever.

Frank knew communications. But he was new to the philanthropy and social sector and didn’t know where to begin…

So he picked up the phone and called a colleague at the Rockefeller Foundation who had a similar sounding title, and asked for help. They met for lunch a short time later, and The Communications Network was born.

Fast forward to today, and The Network counts over 3,000 members from across the globe and across the social good spectrum, including leaders from the Ford Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The Pittsburgh Foundation, and World Wildlife Fund, and hundreds more.

You don’t have to go it alone.

Our Board

The Communications Network’s Board of Directors are among the most senior and experienced communications leaders in the social sector.

Our Staff

Meet the dedicated staff behind The Communications Network.

Our Strategic Plan

The Communications Network’s Board, with valuable input from Network members, formulated a new strategic plan to guide the organization through 2028. The strategic plan reflects the Network’s core values—Community, Learning, and Leadership.