Here’s a question that came in last week . . . Hello Kivi, Do you have any resources that will help me to measure our communications effectiveness? Our numbers are increasing: clients served, sales at our thrift stores, donations, etc., since I was hired as the organization’s first Communications Coordinator a year ago. But…
Has your nonprofit communications plan come together in an ad hoc, on the fly, piece-by-piece kind of way? If so, you aren’t alone. Most nonprofits have added new communications channels one by one. Maybe you added an email newsletter to your print newsletter, and started paying more attention to your website. Then you started experimenting…
Miss me last week? Kivi and I were having a work retreat in beautiful Asheville, NC. Let’s catch up over some Mixed Links… We are hosting this month’s Nonprofit Blog Carnival and are taking submissions on how you share progress or communicate accomplishments. Sprout Social has released A Strategic Guide to Social Media for Nonprofits. Yes, it’s only…
Does your nonprofit deal with an issue that is not exactly easy to talk about? Try simplifying things for potential supporters with a few good metaphors. Here’s an example of a great metaphor from our free e-book, 25 Metaphors Nonprofits Can Use to Get Their Messages Across – and the Decrepit Dozen to Avoid, that shows how…
All this week, we are taking a look at what it means to be a CALM Communications Director (Collaborative, Agile, Logical, and Methodical). Today, let’s talk about being Methodical. You will always be short on time. You will always be surrounded by distractions. That’s why it is so important to be grounded in proven methods…
All this week, we are taking a look at what it means to be a CALM Communications Director (Collaborative, Agile, Logical, and Methodical). Today, let’s talk about being Logical. Many people mistakenly believe that good marketing is all about the creative. The right words, the perfect images. And those are important, without a doubt. But…
All this week, we are taking a look at what it means to be a CALM Communications Director (Collaborative, Agile, Logical, and Methodical). Today, let’s talk about being Agile. If you work in nonprofits, things are always in a state of flux. Same for marketing. To be successful, it pays to be good on your…
All this week, we are taking a look at what it means to be a CALM Communications Director (Collaborative, Agile, Logical, and Methodical). Today, let’s talk about being Collaborative. Communications directors are the translators and bridges between the people doing the work (inside the nonprofit) and the people supporting and benefitting from that work (outside…
Someone asked me the other day what the outcome of our Communications Director Mentoring Program and other coaching programs really was . . . what was the ultimate result of communications coaching? The word that instantly popped into my mind and off of my tongue was CALM. Communications directors are usually very busy, often frazzled, people. They…
At the start of each month, we send at least 10 writing prompts (usually more) to the subscribers of our Monthly Nonprofit Writing Prompts E-Newsletter. These prompts help you come up with ideas for articles, stories, press releases, blog posts, Facebook updates, letters, and other content. We send them a month ahead so you’ll have time to think…
Every single nonprofit org—across size, budget, location and cause—shares a priceless opportunity to position its organizations, programs, fundraising campaigns and special events. And yes, that means your organization. Start to rock relevant messages and you’ll join a growing cadre of healthy organizations whose messages help to build awareness of their impact and value. That’ll place your…
Even if you like to write like I do, it can still feel like it takes forever to produce something good. And let’s face it, time is not something you have a whole lot of. Below are five online writing tools we like and that were also recommended by friends. They’ll help you…
