Kivi Leroux Miller

Want to Learn How to Be a Great Nonprofit Communicator? I’ll Coach You!

Learning nonprofit marketing and communications on the job can be a little scary and very frustrating. You have a ton of work to do, often with few resources and even less training. You strongly believe in the mission of your organization and want to do everything you can to help your nonprofit succeed. But the job can feel overwhelming, and you don’t want to let anyone down or burn yourself out.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone who can be a sounding board for your ideas and who will also help you review your options and make smart decisions?

Someone who will help you find ways to tell your nonprofit’s story in a more inspiring and effective way, without wasting lots of time or money?

Someone who will help you learn how to do nonprofit marketing yourself, rather than wring dollars out of your tight budget for lavish consulting contracts?

When you become one of my coaching clients, you can take advantage of everything I’ve learned after more than a decade of designing and implementing nonprofit communications and marketing programs for clients of all sizes. I’ll help you become a better nonprofit marketer and communications professional.

What I Know, I’ve Learned As a . . .

• Do-It-Yourself Nonprofit Marketer. As a staff member, volunteer, board member, and consultant, I’ve helped dozens of nonprofits large and small, community-based and nationwide, to get the word out about their work; recruit new members, donors, and volunteers; and develop creative strategies that worked, all on limited financial and staffing resources. I wouldn’t know what to do with a million dollar budget. I’m used to working in the four and five-figure ranges.
• Writer and Trainer. I’m really good at taking loads of information and boiling it down into the essentials, whether it’s creating a two-page white paper out of mountains of research or writing a short, inspirational donor profile based on a rambling hour-long interview. I’ve used these same skills to create highly rated webinars, in-person workshops, and e-books that nonprofits in all 50 states and more than two dozen countries have used to improve their own communications.
• Grantmaker and Grantseeker. In positions as a federal agency grant manager and foundation project director, I oversaw the distribution of millions of dollars in grants to nonprofits. As a nonprofit project director, volunteer board member, and consultant, I’ve also written scores of successful grant applications. I understand what it’s like to be on both sides of the proposal.
• Board Member. I’ve served as board president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, and regular ol’ board member for several different nonprofit organizations. I appreciate the big picture and the minutiae of running successful nonprofit organizations.
• Entrepreneur. I started my own business in 1998 and have managed all aspects of it — I not only deliver services to my clients, but I’m my own IT director, bookkeeper, advertising director, and HR manager. Running a small business is a lot like running a small nonprofit. You learn how to do lots of new things, discover what you can do yourself and what you really need to hire out, and, hopefully, love showing up for work everyday.

How Coaching Works

The first step is contacting me so we can have a quick conversation either via email or over the phone to determine if we’d be a good fit for each other.

I generally start out with new clients in one of two ways:

One-Hour Coaching Session

I’ll spend an hour with you, either on the phone or through on online meeting with a phone/web connection, working through whatever you’d like to discuss.The coaching must take place all at one time (rather than 15 minutes here, 30 minutes there). This is a great way to get some fast, solid advice and also test-drive me as a coach for you and your organization. The fee is $90, which must be paid up front. Your satisfaction is money-back guaranteed.

Coaching Retainer

I’ll be on call when you need me and will be available via email, phone, web meeting, and possibly in-person, depending on travel arrangements. My minimum retainer is five hours at $100/hour. You pay the $500 up front, we work down the hours (I’ll track in 15-minute increments), and go from there. Your satisfaction is money-back guaranteed.

What Exactly Will I Do as Your Coach?

It really depends on your needs. Here are just a few examples of how I can help:

• Figuring out ways to get the word out about a new program
• Spotting best practices you may be overlooking
• Identifying better ways to tell your story
• Sketching out an editorial calendar
• Suggesting interesting hooks for a press release
• Nailing down your accomplishments for your annual report

Please note that while I’m willing to get into the nitty-gritty details with you, I won’t actually do the work for you under a coaching arrangment. I’m not going to write a strategy for you or design a template for your e-mail newsletter. I will help you learn how to do it yourself, and do it well.

Will I Do the Work for You as a Consultant?

I’m devoting nearly all of my time to training and coaching. I’m taking on only a handful of consulting clients each year and only considering new clients with minimum contracts of $5,000. If you have an interesting project in that range, I’m happy to discuss it with you.

To learn more or to discuss a project, contact me.