How To Create A Charity Crisis Comms Plan

Does your charity have a crisis comms plan?

For charities, reputation is everything. Supporters donate because they trust you. Volunteers give their time because they believe in your mission. Partners work with you because they see you as credible and reliable.

That’s why having a strong crisis comms plan is no longer optional.

Whether it’s a safeguarding issue, a negative news story, a social media backlash, a data breach, or criticism around spending, the way your organisation communicates during a crisis can protect — or seriously damage — public trust.

The good news? Effective crisis comms doesn’t have to mean lengthy, complicated document no one ever reads. A good crisis communications plan should be practical, usable, and clear enough to guide your team during stressful situations.

Here’s The Marketing Den’s guide on how to build one.

What is Crisis Comms?

Crisis comms (short for crisis communications) is the process of managing communication during an unexpected event that could damage your organisation’s reputation, operations, or stakeholder trust.

For charities, crisis comms often involves communicating with:

Supporters and donors

Service users

Volunteers

Staff and trustees

Journalists and media outlets

Regulators

Partners and stakeholders

Social media audiences.

Good crisis comms helps you:

Protect relationships with supporters and stakeholders

Respond quickly and accurately

Maintain trust and credibility

Reduce misinformation

Show accountability and transparency.

Why charities need a crisis comms plan

Many charities assume crises only happen to large organisations. In reality, smaller charities are often more vulnerable because they have fewer resources and less internal communications support.

A crisis can escalate incredibly quickly online. A single social media post, journalist enquiry, or supporter complaint can gain traction within hours.

Without a crisis comms plan, teams often:

React emotionally

Contradict each other

Delay responses

Miss key stakeholders

Share inaccurate information

Create unnecessary reputational damage.

A crisis comms plan gives your organisation structure and confidence when pressure is high.

What should a charity crisis comms plan include?

A practical crisis comms plan should answer one key question:

“What do we do if something goes wrong?”

Here are the essential sections to include.

1. Define what counts as a crisis

Not every complaint is a crisis.

Start by outlining the types of situations that could seriously affect your charity’s reputation, finances, operations, or public trust.

Examples might include:

Safeguarding incidents

Data breaches

Financial mismanagement allegations

Service failures

Social media backlash

Staff misconduct

Fundraising complaints

Negative press coverage

Campaign criticism

Legal or regulatory investigations

You can also categorise crises by severity, for example:

Low-level issue

Minor complaint or negative comment with limited visibility.

Medium-level issue

Growing public criticism, local media interest, or significant supporter concern.

Major crisis

National media attention, legal implications, safeguarding concerns, or serious reputational risk. This helps teams understand when to escalate issues and who needs to be involved.

2. Create a crisis response team

One of the biggest mistakes in crisis comms is having too many people involved too late.

Your crisis comms plan should clearly identify:

Who makes decisions

Who approves statements

Who speaks to media

Who manages social media

Who updates staff and trustees

For many charities, the crisis response team may include:

CEO or senior leadership

Communications lead

Safeguarding lead

HR representative

Digital/social media manager

Trustee representative

Legal advisor (if required)

Include contact details and backup contacts in your plan. Because crises rarely happen between 9am and 5pm.

3. Prepare holding statements

During a crisis, speed matters.

But accuracy matters more.

That’s why holding statements are essential in crisis comms. These are pre-prepared responses that acknowledge the situation while you gather facts.

A simple holding statement might include:

Acknowledgement of the issue

Reassurance the matter is being investigated

Commitment to updates

Appropriate empathy or concern

For example:

“We are aware of the concerns raised and are currently investigating the matter urgently. We take these issues extremely seriously and will provide further updates as soon as possible.”

Having templates ready can save valuable time and reduce panic.

4. Plan your internal communications

One of the fastest ways for a crisis to spiral is when staff and volunteers hear information from social media before hearing it internally.

Your crisis comms plan should outline:

How staff will be informed

Who sends updates

What channels will be used

How volunteers and trustees are briefed

Internal audiences should never feel like an afterthought.

Clear internal communication helps reduce confusion, rumours, and accidental misinformation.

5. Decide who speaks publicly

Not everyone should comment during a crisis.

Your crisis comms plan should identify official spokespersons and define approval processes for:

Media interviews

Social media posts

Public statements

Website updates

Consistency is critical.

Mixed messaging can damage trust faster than the original issue itself. Media training is also worth considering for senior leaders, particularly if your charity operates in high-risk areas such as safeguarding, healthcare, international development, or animal welfare.

6. Include a social media crisis process

Social media can turn a small issue into a reputational crisis in hours.

Your crisis comms plan should cover:

Who monitors social media

Escalation procedures

Response times

Comment moderation guidelines

When to pause scheduled content

How to respond to misinformation.

One important rule: avoid defensive or emotional responses. Even if criticism feels unfair. In crisis comms, tone matters just as much as content.

7. Monitor media and public sentiment

You can’t manage a crisis effectively if you don’t know what people are saying.

Your crisis comms process should include monitoring for:

News coverage

Social media conversations

Supporter feedback

Influencer commentary

Emerging misinformation.

This helps you:

Spot issues early

Correct inaccuracies

Adapt messaging

Understand stakeholder concerns.

For charities, supporter sentiment is especially important because trust directly affects fundraising and long-term loyalty.

8. Create a clear approval process

Crises create pressure. Pressure creates bottlenecks.

One common crisis comms problem is statements getting stuck in endless approval loops.

Your plan should clarify:

Who signs off communications

What requires legal review

What can be approved quickly

Out-of-hours processes.

Aim for a system that balances speed with accuracy.

Because silence can sometimes create more damage than the original issue.

9. Run crisis comms training and scenarios

A crisis comms plan is only useful if people know how to use it.

Tabletop exercises and scenario training help teams practise responding before a real issue happens.

You could simulate:

A safeguarding allegation

Viral social media criticism

A hostile journalist enquiry

A data breach

Campaign backlash.

This helps identify:

Gaps in your process

Delays in decision-making

Unclear responsibilities

Messaging weaknesses.

It also builds confidence across leadership and communications teams.

10. Review and update your plan regularly

Your charity will evolve over time. So should your crisis comms plan.

Review it at least annually and after any major incident.

Update:

Contact details

Team responsibilities

Escalation procedures

Media lists

Stakeholder information

Holding statements.

(A crisis comms plan hidden in an outdated PDF from 2019 won’t help much when something goes wrong).

Common crisis comms mistakes charities should avoid

Here are some of the biggest pitfalls organisations face during crisis communications:

Responding too slowly

Delays can create speculation and mistrust.

Saying “no comment”

This often appears evasive or uncaring.

Being overly defensive

People want accountability and reassurance, not arguments.

Ignoring internal audiences

Staff and volunteers are key stakeholders.

Continuing scheduled social posts

Promotional content during a crisis can appear tone-deaf.

Overcomplicating messages

Clear, human communication works best.

View From The Den

No charity wants to deal with a crisis. But every organisation should prepare for one.

A strong crisis comms plan won’t prevent problems from happening. What it will do is help your charity respond quickly, calmly, and credibly when they do.

And in a sector built on public trust, that matters enormously.

The best crisis comms plans are practical, realistic, and regularly tested. They give teams confidence under pressure and help organisations protect the relationships they’ve spent years building.

Get in touch if you need help creating a crisis comms plan for your charity.