Inspiring change is the lifeblood of nonprofit organizations. They thrive on driving impact in their communities—and that requires effectively engaging supporters, donors, and other parties to believe in and take up their cause. So when communications to these groups are anything less than clear and impactful, it takes away from the ability to generate support for their missions and the critical work they’re doing.
This is one of the needs that led the Washington Literacy Center (WLC), a Washington, DC-based nonprofit focused on helping adults learn to read and write, to begin using Grammarly’s free offering tailored for nonprofits and NGOs.
According to Jimmie Williams, president and CEO of Washington Literacy Center, the organization relies on written communications, outreach, and reports to showcase progress and garner support for its programs and constituents. Specifically, caseworkers create detailed reports that become legal documents viewed by other parties, so they need to be clear and concise to keep their message focused. By using the advanced writing assistance capabilities of Grammarly Business, the center can ensure the focus remains on the content, not the composition.
How Grammarly helps
With Grammarly, the WLC’s employees receive AI-powered writing suggestions around multiple dimensions, including correctness, clarity, engagement (word choice), and delivery (tone), all backed by administrative controls and enterprise-grade security and privacy standards. Grammarly also delivers feedback around consistency in writing style, acronym usage, and general conventions, helping employees stay on-brand and in sync when engaging with stakeholders.
The results were immediate: fewer mistakes, clear and compelling communications, and the ability for employees to focus on the work at hand with confidence. With higher-quality, more consistent outreach and materials, the WLC can better showcase the impact of its work and present a united front to increase trust with donors, partners, and supporters.
Williams adds that building this type of impactful writing is especially essential for an organization focused on promoting literacy. Because the center teaches literacy, it needs to ensure all of its own content and communications are mistake-free, grammatically correct, and free of confusing language and jargon to exemplify its own mission.
“We’re committed to increasing digital, financial, and occupational literacy, so we have to lead by example,” Williams says. “With Grammarly, we’ve been able to achieve more effective written communication to put our best foot forward, model our mission, and ensure our messages land with our stakeholders.”
Using time wisely
Beyond enhancing writing quality, having an AI-powered writing assistant on hand also helps the WLC manage a greater volume of communications. Grammarly delivers hundreds of real-time suggestions daily for WLC employees across dozens of materials and communications. This frees up manual time spent editing and writing, so the WLC can produce even more materials and focus on more vital projects.
As for the center’s employees, they also benefit by becoming more effective communicators the more they use the technology. Williams explains that Grammarly serves as a helpful writing “coach,” helping employees not only be more productive day-to-day but also improve their writing skills to drive continuous improvement over time.
“As a teaching institution, it’s imperative that our employees be effective, efficient communicators,” Williams says. “Grammarly helps ensure that all of our communications are not only grammatically correct but also compelling and efficient to produce. This means more time we can devote to higher-impact work to meet the needs of more students and other participants in specific programs.”
Increasing quality communication
Most importantly, Williams says that achieving clearer, more concise, and consistent communication has increased confidence among donors, partners, and other stakeholders—so much so that a few even commented on the enhanced quality of reports. This ultimately contributes to greater support and funding for the center to deliver on its mission.
It all comes back to the focus on inspiring change. The WLC sees how its work directly impacts the lives of its students—steering them out of poverty and into education and employment, which in turn creates change in their communities. The challenges never end, but the better the WLC can convey the impact of its efforts in driving this change, the more lives it can transform. And with the help of Grammarly, that commitment always remains front and center.
Learn more about the Washington Literacy Center or contribute to its efforts by visiting washlit.org.
Grammarly for Nonprofits and NGOs is helping more than 4,600 organizations worldwide—and is available for free through 2021. To learn more or download Grammarly for your organization, visit grammarly.com/nonprofits-ngos.
