Effective community relations programs embrace two major goals: contributing to the civic life of the community in which an organization is located, and advancing the reputation and image of the organization. Additionally, community relations can help guard against future problems or crises. To this end, Tunheim Partners has created programs on behalf of our clients that include strategic philanthropy, cause marketing, community involvement and public opinion campaigns.

STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS

We create programs that support organization's strategic considerations, including:

• Positioning the organization as a good neighbor, civic participant and leader in its communities
• Expressing values through visible practices internally and externally
• Enhancing its reputation as a leader in its industry and/or community
• Strengthening its brand strategy and marketing objective(s)
• Contributing to its attractiveness as an employer and to employee recruitment, development and retention
• Building equity among interest groups

We design and execute community relations strategies that are designed to:

Build relationships - We develop programs designed to build, nurture and maintain relationships with key constituencies, elected officials and decision makers.

Create a positive climate - We help influence public policy or create a positive climate for doing business. We work with clients to monitor social, political, activist and community-building trends as we anticipate and design strategies to minimize negative impact and build positive outcomes where they might exist.

Establish community partnerships - We design community partnerships to further an organization's objectives as well as adding value to the communities in which the organization is located, reinforcing the link between an organization's performance and its community partnerships, volunteerism and philanthropy.

Sustain giving programs - Integrating strategies such as new venture philanthropy for giving programs that focus on social investment as well as returns on social investments (ROSI) are also areas we specialize in and understand.