In mid-February, President Obama revealed a budget proposal that didn’t sit well with public health advocates. According to Kaiser Family Foundation’s Policy Tracker, the ultimate result will be an overall decrease in the Global Health Initiative’s budget.

No matter how you slice and dice the various increases and decreases announced by Obama, one thing is clear: As federal funding for life sciences research continues to decrease, the importance of donors becomes more and more critical to solving some of the world’s most pressing global health challenges. And, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual list of the 50 most charitable Americans, we’ve got the top guy right here in our backyard. Hint: It’s probably not who you’d think.

The Chronicle named Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen as the most charitable living person in the U.S. in 2011 (third overall). In 2011, Allen channeled $372.6 million into charitable ventures, including the Seattle-based Allen Institute for Brain Science. Although not included on the 2011 list, Seattle’s other global health funding powerhouse – the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – recently pledged $750 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

From a public relations perspective, donors are a key audience for all communications efforts – it’s not just about media! From messaging and positioning to media placements and events, PR can help global health companies reach potential donors via any number of channels.

[Photo via Flickr user Elmira College]

With the Euro crisis in full swing, a comprehensive overview of the European Union was a timely education topic. Discussions on internationalism and international trade in Seattle tend to focus on Asia, so it was great to hear insight on European policy from Mr. Bensky, who is an expert on both Asia and Europe. As the director of South Asia – US Business Services at Pacific Northwest Advisors, Mr. Bensky has 30 years of international trade and business diplomacy experience.

After his presentation, Mr. Bensky elaborated on his point that European countries often envy the U.S. for our ability and drive to innovate. Many of Nyhus’ clients are innovators themselves, so this topic really resonated with us. We are innovating on a daily basis and work with clients across sectors such as high technology, alternative energy, sustainable real estate and life sciences to increase awareness of their creativity and ambition.

I previously blogged about our senior counselor Bill Stafford’s Breakfast Brainfood session in the post Bill Stafford on Global Competition and Seattle.

According to Ragan’s Health Care Communication News, only 149 of the 5,700 registered hospitals in the United States blog. So why do so many hospitals shy away from blogging? And should they really be blogging anyway? The short answer is that hospitals can benefit from blogging as much as any other company. However, because they tend to be highly risk-adverse organizations, hospitals can also be a little more reticent to blog than others. For more information, check out Ragan’s Healthcare Communications News article, 3 reasons why blogging scares hospital communicators or read Nyhus’ thoughts on hospitals and blogging below.

Why any company should blog:

• Blogging is one of the best ways to drive traffic to a website and increase its chances of showing up in a search engine.
• Blogging allows companies to share information that interests their target audiences and fans but not necessarily reporters.
• Blogging gives companies original content to share on their social media channels instead of relying entirely on curating what other people have written.

Why a hospital should blog:

• Hospitals, as major players in the healthcare industry, can be highly competitive. Blogging can provide a way for hospitals to set themselves apart from competitors.
• Many hospitals are looking for national communications exposure beyond their local geographic communities. A blog is an effective way to get that kind of national reach.

Why any company, including a hospital, shouldn’t blog:

• If a company isn’t able or willing to invest in the infrastructure and staff required to blog regularly, it doesn’t make sense to start one. Blogs can be a lot more time and technology intensive than maintaining a Facebook page, Twitter profile, or LinkedIn company page so companies should plan their resources accordingly.
• If executives are so risk adverse that they want to control every post, it may be tough to come up with good content. Company blogs don’t have to be written by the CEO.  In fact many of the most successful company blogs have a unique personality while also providing useful, interesting content for readers.

Do you know any great hospital bloggers? In the Seattle area, Swedish Medical Center’s blog is a great example of a hospital blog that shares helpful information for patients from a variety of experts within the organization. Seattle Children’s Hospital’s Seattle Mama Doc blog gives parenting advice in a fun, personal way.

[Image courtesy of Flickr user HikingArtist.com]

Nyhus and Monument Policy Group officially announced a new strategic partnership that will provide each of our respective clients with an expanded suite of complementary services.  Word of the partnership got out last week and made industry news on both coasts. POLITICO Influence, NationalJournal, the Puget Sound Business Journal and the Washington Clean Tech Alliance all covered the announcement.

Round-up of news stories:

POLITICO Influence:
Fox News PAC likes Dems, too – Davis, SNR Denton part ways – Lobbyist league strikes back at STOCK Act provisions – Congressional super PACs not so super

NationalJournal:
Monument Policy Group, Nyhus Communications Team Up

Puget Sound Business Journal:
Nyhus Communications partnering with D.C. firm

Washington Clean Tech Alliance:
Nyhus Forms Strategic Alliance with Monument Policy Group

Washington state has not only made national and international news over the last two weeks – it’s made history as well. Legislation to make Washington the seventh state in the Union to legalize civil marriage for gay and lesbian couples has advanced through the Senate. It will be voted on by the House and is expected to be signed in to law by Governor Chris Gregoire as early as next week.

In November, Nyhus served as the strategic communications and advocacy partner for the launch of Washington United for Marriage, the political coalition leading our state’s freedom to marry effort. Following the launch of Washington United for Marriage, 28 state Senators, Governor Chris Gregoire, and companies including Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Concur, and Vulcan showed their support for the freedom to marry for all. We are honored to have worked with legislators such as Representative Jamie Pedersen as well as leaders of the coalition, from organizations including American Civil Liberty Union of Washington, Equal Rights Washington, Human Rights Campaign, Legal Voice, and Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest to bring marriage equality to Washington state.

You can read more about our work on the Washington United for Marriage’s launch on the Nyhus website http://www.nyhus.com/our-work/case-studies/washington-united. For more information, view our earlier blog post by Joseph Vandenorth, account executive for the launch, Washington United for Marriage Brings Together Diverse Groups to Win Freedom to Marry. The Bainbridge Graduate Institute, one of our clients, also published a great blog post yesterday on business support for civil marriage for gay and lesbian couples: Why Marriage Equality Matters to Sustainable Business.

Our messaging for the coalition focused on love, commitment, family and mutual recognition. For an example of how captivating these messages can be, check out the below KING 5 segment that Nyhus secured with testimonials from a Mercer Island couple who wished their lesbian daughter could marry the person she loves, the same as their straight children had.

Roger Nyhus, Nyhus Communications, roger@nyhus.com, +1 206 323 3733

Tim Punke, Monument Policy Group, tim@monumentpolicy.com, +1 202 719 9999

Seattle and Washington, D.C., Firms Deliver Comprehensive Bicoastal Government Relations and Communications Capacities

WASHINGTON, D.C. and SEATTLE – Jan. 31, 2012 – Monument Policy Group, a leading bipartisan government relations and lobbying firm, and Nyhus Communications, an award-winning strategic communications and advocacy firm, today announced a new partnership that will provide their respective clients with an expanded suite of complementary services.

“In today’s 24/7 business and media world, companies need to integrate traditional and new media along with policy and lobbying efforts to be successful,” said Tim Punke, partner at Monument Policy Group. “Our partnership with Nyhus allows Monument to increase the capabilities we offer our clients to include a full array of innovative, 2.0 communications, including comprehensive public relations, public affairs, marketing and social media services, which are critical to success in today’s marketplace.”

A nimble, creative agency, Nyhus Communications provides full-service public relations, public affairs, marketing and social media services to clients around the world. Monument Policy Group is a full-service government affairs and lobbying firm with deep relationships on both sides of the political aisle in Congress, the White House and the Executive Branch. Both firms provide counsel to an array of premier brands in the United States and globally.

In addition to offering complementary skills and services, both firms share an expertise in corporate responsibility as well as strong international capabilities, especially relating to China and Australia, putting them in a unique position to help clients with reputation and international issues.

“Monument Policy Group is one of the leading government affairs and lobbying firms in Washington, D.C., and, together, we offer smart, integrated solutions to our clients,” said Roger Nyhus, president and CEO of Nyhus. “The Monument team is an elite bipartisan team with the experience and relationships necessary to address the toughest policy and legislative challenges. By joining forces, Nyhus and Monument offer clients a robust combination of government relations, lobbying, strategic communications and advocacy expertise tailored to meet each client’s needs.”

The partnership also solidifies both firms’ bicoastal operations.

Monument Policy Group was founded in 2006 on the belief that teamwork and creativity are critical to advocacy and policymaking. Whether it is a high‐profile legislative fight; a need for timely and useful information about policy developments; a search for federal funding to explore a promising technology; or a response to regulatory activity; Monument can effectively deliver a client’s message to key influencers.

Founded in 1994, Nyhus Communications is an award-winning agency providing strategic communications and advocacy services for clients around the world. The well-connected Nyhus team includes specialists in public relations, public affairs, marketing and socialmedia, allowing them to deploy the precise combination of resources needed to best serve each client’s unique needs. The agency specializes in integrated campaigns, thought leadership and corporate responsibility, and is known for its candid, strategic and creative approach. Nyhus focuses on personalized customer service, developing true partnerships, and consistently delivering exceptional results.

The firms share offices in Washington, D.C., and Seattle:

Washington, D.C., Office

1333 H St. N.W., Suite 300 W.

For more information, visit www.monumentpolicy.com and www.nyhus.com.

On Friday, we hosted the Seattle University Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) Chapter as part of its agency tour program. We got to show off our beautiful office, share insights as public relations, marketing and public affairs professionals, and describe some of the great benefits of working at Nyhus. Approximately 9 students attended the event, which included an informal mixer in our common space after the formal program.

The whole Nyhus team contributed to this being a great experience for the Seattle University students, continuing our support for students and early career professionals through PRSSA and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). Some other blog posts related to our support are:

• Nyhus blog: Nyhus Public Relations Career Advice for Students
• Nyhus blog: Nyhus Public Affairs Career Advice for Students
• Nyhus blog: Nyhus Team Helps Form Community for Young PR Professionals; First PRSA YoPro Event this Wednesday
• PRSSA National blog: Small vs. Large Agencies: What Is The Difference? 

In today’s 24/7 business and media world, companies need to integrate traditional and social media along with policy and lobbying efforts to be successful. By joining forces, Nyhus and Monument offer clients a robust combination of government relations, lobbying, strategic communications and advocacy expertise tailored to meet each client’s needs. The firms share offices in Washington, D.C. and Seattle.

After a 2010 public relations crisis over worker suicides, Foxconn has again made news this month about employee dissatisfaction. Foxconn is most known in the United States as an Apple and Microsoft supplier; its workers in China assemble parts for products such as Xbox and iPhone. In 2010, 18 China-based Foxconn factory workers attempted suicide, mostly by jumping off of factory buildings. This created not only a scandal for Foxconn itself, prompting an investigation by 20 Chinese universities into its labor practices, but public relations problems for its clients as well. This serves as a grim reminder that public relations issues are often embedded in broader geopolitical issues and add a layer of complexity to strategic communications for global brands.

In the past few weeks, Foxconn workers have threatened suicide as a labor negotiation tactic, literally while standing on company rooftops. As I’ve watched this news cycle unfold, I am reminded of the obligation Foxconn, its business partners and ultimately consumers who create demand for the products Foxconn workers assemble have to make themselves aware of Foxconn’s labor conditions and consider their respective roles and responsibilities. Based on my experience working in China and observing the job market and lives of working-class Chinese, I believe it’s possible the Foxconn suicide threats are as much connected to China-wide economic and labor conditions as company-specific mistreatment. Most of Foxconn’s workers who committed suicide in 2010 were migrant workers, who in China have comparable socioeconomic status to illegal immigrants in the United States, though higher legal standing.

A Mashable post by Kate Freeman asserted a similar perspective on this issue. Her story, Sanyo Protest in Shenzhen: Sign of Things to Come for Workers in China?, framed Foxconn suicide threats within the larger context of labor unrest in the city of Shenzhen, the city that manufactures most of the United States’ technology products. Many China-U.S. observers agree that the two countries have a strained and complex diplomatic relationship based on economic interdependence, a geopolitical issue affecting public relations practitioners for companies that do business in China. The Chinese economy is heavily dependent on U.S. consumer demand for product manufacturing, so the decrease in U.S. consumer spending over the past few years has contributed to slower economic growth in China.

As Foxconnn’s labor practices in China have drawn criticism among U.S. consumers over the past couple of years, this has impacted the reputation of not only Foxconn but its clients. In an era where news and information sharing travels in real time with few geographic boundaries, strategic communications practitioners need to be sensitive to how dramatically geopolitical issues can impact global brands’ reputations – not to mention the lives of the people in the communities where they operate.

[Image courtesy of TIME]

I’ve split the post into a two-part series: Last Friday’s focused on public relations, and this one on public affairs. Here’s what account executives who specialize in public affairs had to say:

Todd Burley

“Get involved in your community! Public affairs is a lot about who you know and who knows you. Step away from your desk and volunteer for a local organization, join a community association, or attend events relevant to your areas of personal and professional interest. As your network grows, so too will your career.”

Jennifer Sandberg

“The terms PR and public affairs are broad—but you need a specific strength within the industry. Make sure you spend time identifying a niche or specific sector or company you really like and see what the communications opportunities are—this way you contribute your skills and enjoy what you do. Take it further by doing informational interviews and using your professors and alumni for connections. This business is all about networking. Grow that connection between the people you know and the work you love and you’ll find your place in public affairs.”

Andrew Wells

“Public affairs is about advocating on behalf of clients regarding public policy that affects them. Find a policy issue that personally interests you and learn all you can about it. Whether it’s energy, the environment, healthcare, urban planning, international trade, education, national security or another topic, read news, blogs and books on that policy and talk with smart people about it.

Get so informed about your policy that you can speak about it with confidence and cogency. That way, you will not only have a working knowledge of one important issue, but you’ll know how to achieve a comparable level of knowledge on any issue. That demonstrated ability to learn is what employers and clients want to have working for them.”