We’re so used to chasing perfect. Perfection in our work, presenting the perfect image online.
But the thing is, people are tired of perfect. And that needs to impact the way we do our work and the way we advocate. Here’s what’s going on – and what to do about it.
Read MoreI’m the first to admit it: I’m a nerd for data.
If something is going wrong – I want to know why, so I can fix it.
If something is going well – I want to know why, so I can keep doing it.
That’s why I love a good communications audit. Here’s why you should join me in my nerd-dom and hop on the communications audit train.
Read MoreAn organization (yours, in fact) needs a succinct and centralized set of messages that say what the organization does and how you do it.
When done well, core messages are data-backed ways to describe your work that everyone uses when they talk about your organization.
They typically tell a cohesive story about your organization. You’ll want them to include why you exist (what needs are you fulfilling?), what your mission and vision are, and how you accomplish them.
We’re sharing more about core messaging and how to get it right here.
Read MoreA couple of weeks ago, I put on my voting shirt (yes, I have one) and headed to vote in Virginia’s special election.
Leading up to the vote, I got So. Many. Campaign. Messages.
The problem? Most of them were unconvincing. It made me think about just how important special elections and bond campaigns are.
That’s why today, I’m sharing best practices about what’s working right now for special elections and bond campaigns.
Read MoreIt’s 2026 and I’m wearing a party hat – because today, Forthright officially turns eight years old.
When we learned that the traditional present for an eighth anniversary is pottery, it felt perfect – and it got me thinking about all the connections between my work as a leader and my work as a potter.
I’m sharing more (and celebrating our team and anniversary) here.
Read MoreA couple of weeks ago, Zoe and I presented at the Pennsylvania Family Leadership conference. They invited us to speak about the power of storytelling. We walked through how storytelling can make a difference, best practices for setting up (or expanding!) a storytelling program and how to create smart storytelling practices.
We focused on how to ensure family leaders have what they need to succeed in storytelling. One family leader mentioned that while she has shared her story dozens of times, only one nonprofit ever truly prepared her.
That’s why I’m sharing some of our tips below!
Read MoreA lack of onboarding doesn’t just affect the new hire. It slows down our colleagues who rely on new teammates, and it has an impact on the people we serve, too. It sets a sink-or-swim tone that leads to high turnover and burnout that we all want to avoid.
The data tells us all that we need to know about why onboarding matters so much. Here, we’re sharing the data and tips you can use to create a smart onboarding plan.
Read MoreYour team is working really hard. You know what? I’ll say it. Too hard. They’re surrounded by uncertainty, harm and crises. You’re facing staffing changes. (And we’re seeing an unprecedented spike in leadership turnover, too.) The landscape you’re working in is constantly evolving. It’s so easy for your team morale to take a hit when just one of these things occur.
But when all of them are happening all at once? It’s time to focus on improving your team morale.
You want your team to feel energized and hopeful, knowing their vital role contributes to the bigger picture.
How? Well, here are a few morale-boosters workshops we have hosted for various teams (including our own):
Read MoreToday, it isn’t good enough to just throw your information up on the web and make sure it has the keywords you know your audience searches for.
Instead, you need to intentionally lay out information so that it appears in AI search summaries (like Google's AI overviews) and comes up in the right AI search answers. Recent research from UPCEA shows generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Google's AI Overviews shape how people gather information, verify details and form opinions.
You pour massive energy into creating beautiful, data-rich resources for your campaigns. It’s heartbreaking when those tools do not reach the families and policymakers who need them most.
So… let’s fix that, shall we?
Read MoreThinking about speaking at a conference? It’s one of the best ways to build your organization’s brand and share your expertise.
But getting your session idea accepted can feel like a total mystery.
That’s what we’re here for.
This is your simple, four-step guide to help you find the right conference and write a proposal that gets a big, enthusiastic YES.
Read MoreAs part of our client partnerships, we conduct research. This looks like stakeholder interviews, surveys, full communications audits… you name it, we’ve likely done it.
Every now and again, we see a trend emerging. And this is one of those times. Over the past couple of years, we’ve heard more and more about the power of personal relationships.
Here’s what we’ve learned – and what to do about it.
Read MoreWe all want to do our best work. But our brains have a literal limit on how much fuel they have for deep thinking. When we’re always on, constantly distracted or simply switching tasks, we slow ourselves down and drain our energy... fast. For example, research from the University of Chicago found that just having a smartphone nearby reduces our “available cognitive capacity.”
That’s precious brain space we’re wasting. As child and family advocates, we don’t have that kind of energy to spare right now.
Let’s protect our headspace instead.
Here’s how.
Read MoreNews breaks.
Funding is cancelled.
New legislation is enacted.
How do communicators like you find steady ground while everything feels like an earthquake?
We get it. It’s a lot.
Yet charting a stable course on unsteady ground is something we’re pretty darn good at here at Forthright. (In fact, we have data to prove it. We heard from our clients in our 2025 client happiness survey that we’re a shelter in the storm.)
So how do we do it? Let’s break it down.
Read MoreYou have a meeting with your board in an hour. You’re presenting at a conference in a month. Your executive director has a local news interview tomorrow.
And you’re staring at a blank page, trying to figure out how to condense years of work into a three-minute segment.
Talking points help you bridge that big-picture vision (the deep work! the passion!) with the specific moment you’re in, the audience you’re talking to and your goals.
Here’s how we do it.
Read MoreWe send a client survey every year, but this time, after a tough 2025 for all of us, the results hit differently.
What we found was that, in a year marked by twists, turns and uncertainty, you valued our steadiness and trusted our strategies. Our results showed we were the steady hand our partners could rely on.
I’m also incredibly proud to share that our Net Promoter Score jumped 11 points this year. We remain way (way) above the industry standard. But, as always, I want to show our work and dive deep. So here’s a closer look at what we learned from you in our survey this year.
Read MoreToo often, we overlook the people who already know us, love us, and can help us accomplish our goals.
It takes an intentional plan to mobilize these champions. As always, we’ve got you.
We’ve included your step-by-step guide for activating your champions at every phase of your campaign below!
Your team is (understandably) dragging.
You can feel them losing sight of your “why” amidst the chaos and changing priorities.
Team meetings are downbeat and everything feels… hard.
You’re not alone. We’re hearing it from organizations just like yours across the country.
That’s why we designed a special menu of 2026 trainings that naturally foster team connection and positivity.
The ultimate success metric is that your team walks away feeling energized, hopeful, and clear on their priorities and vital role in the organization’s future.
Here are a few options for a morale-boosting team training. (Psst – don’t worry, if these don’t feel quite right for your particular team, we can design a custom training just for you.)
Read MoreYou know those conversations you find yourself having over and over again?
Here’s a key question that’s spinning on repeat (across various clients) here at Forthright:
“Where should we focus our efforts to influence child-and-family focused policies? Should we concentrate on the federal, state or local level?”
It’s a great question, especially in the Year of Our Lord 2026.
Let’s dive in.
You’ve heard me say it a million times: at Forthright, data is queen .
Now in an ideal world, you’d have thousands to invest in focus groups, interviews and robust surveys to help you answer our question. But for most child and family focused nonprofits, that’s simply not possible.
The good news? You don’t need a five-figure budget to get high-quality feedback. You can move away from guesswork by using the experts you already know: your community.
Here are three ideas that won’t break the bank!
We’ve all been there. You’re in an interview with a candidate who has a stellar resume. They have the skills. They have the experience. They say all the right things.
But you walk away wondering: Do they actually get it?
Will they understand the nuance of your advocacy work? Do they have the empathy to tell stories that honor your partners?
At Forthright, we believe that mission alignment is just as important as technical skill. But you can't just hope for it. You have to interview for it. Here’s our guide for how to do it.
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