Purpose PRogram

Empowering Our Community Through Free Training

The Purpose PRogram empowers small D.C.-area nonprofit organizations to reach their goals through effective communication plans aimed at their target audiences.

During a free six-month engagement, Scott Circle Communications (SCC) staff lead monthly training sessions with selected Purpose PRogram participants. Each training focuses on a different component of a comprehensive communications plan - defining your purpose, messaging, planning and tactics, digital engagement, and media outreach.

Additionally, a dedicated SCC coach works one-on-one with a participant to apply the session’s best practices and ideas to their organization’s specific needs. By the end of the program, participants walk away with a communications strategy they can immediately implement to amplify their impact and achieve their missions.

We encourage applicants who may need to promote an upcoming event, create a thought leadership strategy for an executive director or board member, or learn how to keep their organization top of mind with potential volunteers, donors, and the media.

Eligibility & Application

Who can apply

  • Purpose PRogram applicants must be employees with a nonprofit organization in the D.C. area that serves the local community. 

  • Applicant’s organization must be at least two years old and have proof of a 501c3 status.

  • Applicants do not need public relations or communications experience but should understand the organization’s communications needs. 

  • We encourage entry-level or early-career applicants.

Important Dates

  • Applications open: Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023

  • Application deadline: 9 p.m. EST, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024

  • 2024 Purpose PRogram Participants Announced: Friday, Feb. 16, 2024

  • Monthly sessions start: Thursday, March 21, 2024

Program Requirements

Each Purpose PRogram session focuses on a different part of building a successful communications plan. 

To set up our participants for success and make the most of SCC’s one-on-one mentorship, we require the same individual to commit to all six in-person trainings and monthly coaching sessions.

In-person sessions take place from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. ET the third Thursday of the month at the SCC office located at:
The Herald Building
1307 New York Ave., NW
Suite 702
Washington, D.C. 20005

We are within walking distance from Metro Center or McPherson Square METRO stations.

Before applying, applicants should confirm their availability for the following dates:

  • Thursday, March 21, 2024

  • Thursday, April 18, 2024

  • Thursday, May 16, 2024

  • Thursday, June 20, 2024

  • Thursday, July 18, 2024

  • (No August session)

  • Thursday, September 19, 2024

The SCC mentors and participants will schedule one-on-one mentoring calls after the program starts.

Program Features

During the six-month course, each Purpose PRogram session will focus on a different component of a comprehensive communications plan:

PRogram 1: Define Your Purpose

  • Find out more about the building blocks of a communications plan and how to communicate your organization’s purpose through storytelling. 

PRogram 2: Messaging

  • Communication starts with understanding your audience and how to talk to them. 

PRogram 3: Planning

  • Once you understand your audience and their media habits, devise a plan to reach them using different communication tactics. 

PRogram 4: Digital Engagement

  • Learn how to manage your message using different digital media strategies and tools.

PRogram 5: Media Outreach

  • Cultivating media relationships is crucial to spread your message as broadly as possible. 

PRogram 6: Present Your Purpose

  • Each Purpose PRogram participant will present their final communications plan to the SCC and fellow participants to wrap up the program.