Data shows that a little happy goes a long way, from building stronger teams to reducing negative feelings overall. Today, we’re sharing how we share the happy at Forthright, along with research-backed tips for how you can share the happy within your own organization!
Read MoreIn times of mistrust, it’s time to call in the reinforcements and boost your trusted messenger game.
Messengers are the people who influence your target audiences. They can support your work in a variety of ways – from sharing your posts on social media, to posting about your programs on their neighborhood listservs to sponsoring your programs.
Trusted messengers are people, or groups of people, your audiences are most likely to listen to. We’re sharing more strategies to harness their power in this blog.
Read MorePeople are ready to fight back. They are ready to help. They are ready to "make good trouble."
Your audiences are looking for someone to tell them what to do.
If you’re a nonprofit or association leader, the person they are looking to is YOU. 🫵We’re sharing tips for how to do empower them today.
Read MoreA few weeks ago, I wrote about how coalitions can improve advocacy efforts by aligning around core messages and creating easy-to-use resources to better reach your audiences.
Today, I want to talk about the next step in successfully communicating about your coalition: creating a coalition brand.
Read MoreIt’s the last day of your conference. You’ve been pounding the hotel hallways and working from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. You’re exhausted and ready to sleep in your own bed. But there’s just one thing left to do – send the final, perfect email to cap off your perfect conference.
Here are four tips to hit a game-winning home run for your last email to conference attendees.
Read MoreYou worked so hard on that campaign. It’s so, so close to finished…and then someone comes in and blows it all up. 💥
We’ve all been there. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You CAN have smooth processes and easy review rounds. We promise a brighter future exists.
Today, we’re sharing three tips – tactics we use with our own clients – to make sure your projects have a clear process and a clean launch.
How do we do it? Let’s dive into our special sauce.
I’ll say it – things are pretty 🍌 bananapants 👖right now.
That means we have to adjust how we work and what we share to meet the moment.
That’s why today, we’re talking about a new challenge we’re seeing under the current administration – along with your specific next steps to adjust.
Coalitions have the power to create real, lasting change for children and families. And in times of uncertainty (like – you know – right now), coalitions can be particularly powerful.
But to create successful advocacy campaigns, coalitions need thoughtful, data-backed communications that work for all partners involved. On top of that, coalition leaders must ensure your work together is aligned so audiences can understand your vision and know how to take action and support your efforts.
Fortunately, coordinating your coalition’s communications work is as easy as 1, 2, 3.
Read MoreYou’ve heard the news. We all have.
“There are major cuts coming to nonprofit funding.”
“Funding is being stripped from federal grants.”
“School districts face funding cuts.”
That leads you to the following question: What should you do when you need to talk about funding cuts…even while the news is still unfolding?
As a leader, your role as a communicator is really critical right now.
The heaviness is real. Freezing or waffling could create panic or more confusion.
That’s why today, we are offering three tips to help you communicate clearly about funding cuts.
This year, we updated our client survey to make sure we’re getting even more feedback.
That meant seeking out tough love – the good, the bad, the ugly – from our partners.
As always, we wanted to dig in on the places where there’s room for improvement and to celebrate the areas where we’ve made progress or continue to serve our clients exceptionally well.
Here’s what that looked like:
More constructive feedback to use for firm-wide and individual improvement
Refreshed questionnaire
1:1 interviews as follow-ups
All of that was super successful, and here’s a roundup of what we heard:
Read MoreSo you have new data, and you want to share that information with the world!
A report release can be a wonderful way to get eyes on your organization. But, take it from me – as someone who LOVES a good, ole’ fashioned report release – they can be a TON of work.
Before you start putting pen to paper, I want to share a few key questions to ask yourself as you prepare for your own report release.
Read MoreYou’ve used a bad website before.
It takes forever to load. You can’t find what you’re looking for. The text blurs as you try to read it.
You can avoid these mistakes by going back to the basics of web design. Whether you’re revamping your decade-old website or starting from scratch, ask yourself these five questions:
Read MoreMaking your content accessible to people with hearing or visual impairments has never been easier, especially if you think about accessibility at the beginning of a project. Here are four things to start doing today! Bonus: they don’t cost you a penny.
Read MorePolitical transitions can feel like drinking from a firehose. Headlines spark fear, social feeds rile people up, and your team looks to leadership wondering: should we say something about this?
Over the next few months, the noise is only going to get louder and louder.
But here's the thing – you can’t sprint against the wind for months or years at a time.
And you definitely can't let each bill proposal or sound bite throw your communications strategy out of whack and put your team on the defensive line.
Here are three tips to prevent your team from living in reaction mode for the next year (or four).
Read MoreMany of you are gearing up to make a communications hire in 2025. We’re so excited for all the growth to come!
But in the meantime, hiring and onboarding can be tough. Finding the right fit happens on a lot of different levels. Values. Skills. Culture. Approach. We have a ton of tips in our new (free) hiring guide PDF to help you do this right.
Today, let’s break down how to find the right human for your open communications role.
We’re a few days into 2025, and the news…well, it’s already news-ing. And if I had to guess, you need an easy way to keep up with all of it!
That’s why we’re sharing our recommendations for the best media monitoring tools to use, along with a step-by-step guide for getting started.
Read MoreAs child and family advocates, I understand what we’re up against in 2025 (and beyond) and… I’m feeling energized.
The challenges ahead of us are communications challenges, and at Forthright, we’re poised to meet the moment.
Here’s what I see as the work ahead:
Read MoreInformation overload. Unstable social media climate. And if that’s not enough, nonprofit leaders like you have to wade through polarization and disinformation.
Our audiences are dealing with a lot – so it’s more important than ever to clearly describe your work and your vision for the world.
You shouldn't wait until a press release or web redesign to sharpen the language you use everyday to describe your work.
In fact, every day is a great day to make your messaging strategy clearer, and this work starts internally.
Here’s how to build clear communications inside your organization so your message is clear outside your organization.
Read MoreParents and caregivers need our help.
I’ve led work that supports parents and caregivers for two decades.
I’ve also been a parent for nearly 13 years.
And over time, I’ve noticed a growing trend. Parents and caregivers are overworked, overstressed and overwhelmed – and it’s impacting their health.
As communicators and leaders, there are three easy guidelines you can follow to ensure your messages break through the noise to reach this overwhelmed (but critical!) audience.
Read MoreSo you just hired your new communications director (or other communications teammate, we aren’t picky about titles here at Forthright). First, congratulations! I’m so excited you found a great person for your organization.
Now, let’s set them up for success. Onboarding is just as critical as selecting the right human.
Studies show that solid onboarding is worth its weight in gold. Research shows that effective onboarding can improve employee retention and productivity by 52 percent and 60 percent, respectively.
Here are the ingredients of an effective onboarding.
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