FFAR’s Communications Process
Once all parties sign the FFAR Grant Agreement, a member of the FFAR Communications Team will reach out to the grantee, communications point of contact and any other contacts listed in the Grant Agreement to coordinate communications efforts. If you have a government affairs team, please connect them to us in our initial email introduction, so we can coordinate to educate and inform legislators about FFAR-funded research.
Generally, the FFAR Communications Team publicizes new grants by distributing a press release, building a grant page on the Foundation’s website and promoting awards on social media. We are open to additional promotional activities and welcome your ideas.
We do not want you to miss an opportunity to promote your FFAR-funded research. Please let us know if you are participating in a speaking engagement, conference or other event where you want to promote your FFAR grant, especially if these opportunities occur before we announce your grant publicly.
Referencing FFAR
In any communications materials about the grant, the first mention of our organization should spell out our full name and include the abbreviation in parenthesis: Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR). Our abbreviated name, FFAR (pronounced “far”), should be used in subsequent mentions. Please mention FFAR in this way in all materials pertaining to your grant, including releases, PowerPoints, presentations, your organization’s website, publications, upcoming events, etc.
Drafting Press Releases & Other Written Communications
The FFAR Communications Team generally takes the lead in drafting press releases, which we send to the grantee and matching funders for review. While we prefer to distribute joint press releases, it is not mandatory.
If you or your organization choose to send your own press release or any other news related to the grant, please coordinate directly with the FFAR Communications Team. Per the terms of your Grant Agreement, FFAR must be mentioned as a funder in any written materials about your grant and a member of the FFAR Communications Team must approve these materials in advance of publication.
We post finalized press releases on the News section of the FFAR website. We also send releases to our stakeholder distribution list, a targeted media list and select Members of Congress. We welcome you or your organization to share the press release with your network as well.
FFAR Grant Pages
The FFAR Communications Team will also share a draft of the grant page we create for each award. We welcome your edits on this language as well. The grant page acts as a landing page to house all information related to your grant. Initially, it will include the press release. As your research progresses, we ask that you share additional content about your work, including photos and videos of your research, updates about any initial findings, upcoming articles before they are published, awards and additional grants you receive, etc. The “Engaging with FFAR” section below includes more information about ways to promote your award.
Credit FFAR in publications and any news pertaining to this award including and beyond the initial announcement:
Any public communications should reflect FFAR’s role as a funder of this project; however, there should be no explicit or implicit reference that FFAR is promoting or endorsing any specific product or technology for profit or otherwise.
As outlined in most FFAR Grant Agreements, the grantee agrees to email the FFAR Communications Team in advance of publication of any news pertaining this award, including but not limited to: publications, press releases, web pages, videos, etc. Likewise, FFAR will reach out to the Grantee’s press contact to obtain written permission before sending out any public announcements.