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fws communications style guide

Welcome to the humble beginnings of the fws communications style guide webpage.

The fws Communications Team is creating this fws communications style guide to assist anyone writing, speaking and communicating about fws and the work we do.

By referring to this fws communications style guide when preparing to communicate about fws in any way, you will be able to do so in a cohesive and consistent manner, in a tone and language that is aligned with fws values and philosophy.

fws reckons this guide will help achieve a consistent image across the variety of written communication materials that represent fws, including our website, e-newsletters, grant applications and reports, fundraising invites, funding initiatives, all promotional and marketing material, and all external communication, electronic or otherwise.

All communications materials created by fws will adhere to this guide. If you are preparing material on behalf of fws, please ensure your material also adheres to this guide before submitting it to the fws Communications Manager for approval.

Any material with the fws logo or name on it, must be approved by the fws Communications Manager before being dispersed to the general public.

Meantime, the fws Communications Team will update this fws communications style guide once a month.

The fws Communications Team welcomes requests for additions and amendments to the guide, via emailing fws subeditor Andrew Moshos at   style.guide@foodwatershelter.org.au

This guide is organised alphabetically. Click on any of the links below to see each entry (unlinked terms don’t have attached explanations). Entry names in bold type indicate lowercase or capitalisation as appropriate.

a

accidentally, not accidently

accommodation, not acomodation, not accomodation, not acommodation

acknowledgment, not acknowledgement

acres vs hectares

acronyms and abbreviations

active vs passive voice

adapter vs adaptor

addresses

affect vs effect

ages

AIDS

album titles

all right, not alright, not allright

a lot, not alot

altogether vs all together

amid, not amidst

among, not amongst

ampersand (&)

am, pm

and

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

Annual Report

another vs additional

anticipate vs expect

antonym, synonym

anyhow

any more, not anymore

anyone

anyway

anywhere

anything

apostrophes

Arusha, Tanzania, East Africa

Authority To Fundraise (ATF)

b

bias-free language

bipartisan

biogas, not bio-gas

board vs management committee

book titles

bullet points (or dot points)

burned

business strategic plan

brackets [link will go to parenthesis pg]

c

capitalisation

Catholic

Compact Flourescent Lamps (CFLs)

childcare

colons

commas

compost

composting loos vs compost loos (loos vs toilets too!) - all to be checked.

contribute vs donate

converting meausures and money

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

corporate sponsors

corporates vs corporations

d

Deductible Gift Recipiency (DGR)

dashes

database

dates 

different vs various

disclaimer

DVDs

e

editing

effect vs affect

eg vs for example

ellipses (...)

enquire vs inquire

environmentally friendly vs eco-friendly [ch with RND, Eve & Corks]

email

email communications (policy? tbc)

email signatures

e-words

examples [link to for example vs eg webpage]

exclamation marks

expect vs anticipate

f

fact checking

facilitate

Families For Families Sponsorship Program

farther vs further

fewer

flammable vs inflammable

Final Founding Fifty member

first, not firstly

fish pond, not fishpond

fishing net, not fishnet

fonts

foodwatershelter inc (fws)

fws communications material { beck to create list of all the PROPER names of the various documents we create]

foreign words or phrases

for example vs eg

fractions

free

full stop

full time vs full-time

fundraise, not fund-raise

g

gimme shelter e-newsletter

glossary

Governing Instrument (GI)

grant

grey water, not greywater , not grey-water

h

healthcare, not health-care, not health care

HIV

homepage

html links [pages links to URL page]

humankind, not mankind

hyphens

i

ie,

in-built

in-country

incorporated association

initials

internet vs the web

initiative

-ise , not -ize

j

justification (typography)

k

Kesho Leo children's village

Kesho Leo Community Health Program & Clinic (tbc at next fws meeting)

Kesho Leo house mamas

Kesho kids

Kesho Krew

Kesho Leo Early Learning Community Education Centre (tbc at next fws meeting)

Kesho Leo Sleeping Boma Accommodation (tbc at next fws meeting)

l

letterhead communications (policy? tbc)

logo use

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)

Lutheran

m

magazine titles

measurements

mobile phone, not mobile, not mob

money * need to add info around displaying converted aussie dollars from USD or TZS etc - especially important if we win a grant in USD, we MUST advertise the USD amount first, followed by AUD conversion in brackets.

more than vs over

movie titles

Muslim, not Moslem

n

name of foodwatershelter inc (fws)

names of people

newspaper titles

numbers

not-for-profit organisation, not non-profit organisation, not charitable organisation, not charity

non-governmental organisation (NGO)

o

objects

okay, not ok

online [tbc it's just one word with macq)

onsite [prefer one word - check macq]

organisation, not organization

orphans (typography)

orphans vs orphaned children

Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC) [links to page with vulnerable women and children]

p

parenthesis

part time vs part-time

percent vs %

picture captions

pictures

possessives [link goes to apostrophes pg]

Position Description (PD)

practice vs practise

principle vs principal

prefixes

probono, not pro-bono, not pro bono

program, not programme

program proposals

program briefs

proofreading symbols

q

quotation marks

quoting

r

rainwater, not rain-water, not rain water

regarding, not in regards to

run-off

RSVP

s

seasons

set-up

Sinon village, Arusha, Tanzania, East Africa

song titles

spacing {kerning, tracking, leading + after one space after stop]

spelling

SMS message

state

states

stationery vs stationary

submitting material to the fws communications team for approval

suffixes

sustainable practice

synonyms

t

tax-deductible donation

tax-deductible receipt

Tanzania, East Africa

Tanzanian counterpart

tautology

telephone numbers

television vs TV

television program titles

temperature

tense

text message {esp with regard to texted]

thank you

that vs which

The Macquarie Dictionary

tilapia, not Tillarpia

times of the day

titles of positions

titles of media

toward, not towards

T-shirt

trademarks

u

unique

university, not uni, not college

until, not 'til, not till

upcoming vs up-and-coming

up to date vs up-to-date

URLs

use, not utilise

v

vegies, not veggies

vitamins (not Vitamins but this: vitamin A)

volunteers, not vols, not vollies

fws volunteer village vs fws vollage

vice versa, not visa versa

vulnerable women and children [link to ovc]

w

waste water, not wastewater, not waste-water

wishlist, not wish-list, not wish list

website

website style points [may delete this tbc]

webpage

wellbeing [sp]

wholistic vs holistic

who vs whom

who's vs whose

while, not whilst

whiz vs wiz

widows (typography)

word breaks [possibly links to page on hyphens]

wordiness

workplace giving [sp]

wrack vs rack

wrap vs rap

x


y

your vs you're

youth

YouTube

z

Zanzibar, Tanzania, East Africa