Writing and Messaging — Nonprofit Communications & PR Firm | Nonprofit Marketing Agency | Forthright Advising

Information 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.

Storytelling, Writing and Messaging, Nonprofit CommunicationsKatie Test DavisDecember 12, 2024internal communications, building trust in your organization, why trust is important for your organization, internal storytelling, the importance of learning, why internal feedback is important, internal feedback, centering impacted people, narrative clarity, psychological safety

How to help overwhelmed parents

Parents 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.

Keep your momentum

Are you finding yourself more easily distracted since the election? Feeling a tad foggier? Not retaining much information? Perhaps a tad more irritable?

Check, check, check and check on my end.

If you’re distracted, and we’re distracted, then your audiences are ALSO distracted.

Yet, if you’re like a few of our clients, the work can’t stop now. If you have urgent information to release, or outreach to do, there are a few things you need to keep in mind.

Here are three communications best practices from our teammates that are more important than EVER as we communicate during times of upheaval, uncertainty and crisis.

Nonprofit Communications, School District Marketing, Writing and MessagingNiki JuhaszNovember 15, 2024how to write simply, how to advocate after Trump's win, nonprofit advocacy during times of uncertainty, communications during elections

Connect with your community by knowing your history

As communicators, it’s our job to deeply understand what came before us. For example, knowing about child care’s roots in chattel slavery can help you communicate effectively about workforce challenges. Knowing the history of de- (and recent re-) segregation can help public school communicators better connect around school closures and redistricting.

Great communicators are history experts and are constantly absorbing news and context. We're sharing tips about when and how to think about history here.

Nonprofit Communications, Brand/Materials Creation, Writing and Messaging, Media Relations, Communications Campaigns, School District MarketingKatie Test DavisAugust 20, 2024nonprofit communications, education leadership and history, cultural competence in education, inclusive messaging for nonprofits, historical context in advocacy, youth engagement in public spaces, community focused public relations, nonprofit branding and history, youth centered nonprofit partnerships, policy campaign communication tactics

Ensure people understand your work

A logic chain is a tool your team can use to align around:

what you want your audiences to understand about your work;
what you want your audiences to believe as a result of what they understand; and
the specific, concrete action you want your audiences to take.

Starting with a logic chain when creating a strategic communications plan or before conducting a communications audit ensures your messaging and strategies are laser focused on your end goal.

Here’s a full visual (and examples!) for how the logic chain works.

Most Popular, Writing and Messaging, Storytelling, Communications Campaigns, Nonprofit Communications, About ForthrightEmily SwartzlanderAugust 15, 2024logic, logic chain, audiences, messaging, systems, complex issue, build understand, reach audiences, simple messaging

How to have happy district parents

Working parents are burned out.

They are can’t concentrate, take it one day at a time, can barely make butter pasta for dinner kind of tired.

You know the feeling.

That means it’s up to us as communicators to ensure we’re meeting burnt out parents where they are. We’re including three tips for how to do so as you return back to school!

Writing and Messaging, School District MarketingNiki JuhaszJuly 24, 2024write a strong call to action, calls to action for nonprofits, back to school communications, school district communications, reaching school parents, how to communicate with parents

🎧Listen up! 3 podcasts that’ll teach you a comms lesson

Confession: I love podcasts. I’m currently following *34* different podcasts, and I’m always looking for more to add to the list.

To me, the best podcasts take lots of research and data, add thorough reporting and beautifully crafted storytelling, and deliver episodes that make you think long after you’ve stopped listening.

Lately, I’ve come across several episodes that showcase communications best practices “in the wild.” They have me thinking about how we can better do the work we all do to support children and families. Today, I’m highlighting those episodes and the comms best practices they feature.

Nonprofit Communications, Communications Campaigns, Writing and Messaging, StorytellingEmily SwartzlanderJune 27, 2024storytelling, values and barriers, podcasts, communications best practices, Radiolab, Search Engine, A Slight Change of Plans, Zoozve

Fresh polling data for you to use in your work

We know election years are a great time to recalibrate your communications strategy. Why? Because election years mean lots of research and media organizations are gathering extra juicy data about how people are thinking and feeling.

You can use all this fresh polling data to guide your work!

We’ve pulled the latest and greatest data about how Americans are feeling and what they care about, and today, we’re going to share three of our key findings and takeaways with you.

Nonprofit Communications, Communications Campaigns, Writing and MessagingEmily SwartzlanderMay 29, 2024elections, audience analysis, storytelling, voter data, values and barriers, research, communications plans, simplify your writing, paid leave, child care

3 tips to write the perfect graduation speech

Should I throw my cap? I don’t want to lose it, so maybe a gentle toss. Which hand do I accept my diploma with? I wonder where we’re going out to dinner after the ceremony?

These were all questions I had during my high school graduation. And with all of this running through my brain, I couldn’t, for the life of me, tell you who my graduation speaker was or what they said.

So how can you, as a superintendent (or the PIO writing this speech!), use your time at the podium to cut through the noise and make a difference as these graduates embark on the next phase of life? I’m sharing my top 3 tips to help you write a graduation speech that resonates with teens.

Nonprofit Communications, Most Popular, Storytelling, Writing and Messaging, Accessibility, Media Relations, School District MarketingLauren EmpsonApril 11, 2024speech, graduation speech, superintendent speech, speechwriting, audience values, youth, graduation, teens

Comms tips for coalitions

Love them or hate them, we can all agree on one thing – coalitions Get. Things. Done. And all high-impact coalitions have at least one factor in common: they effectively communicate with their audiences at all stages of the coalition lifecycle.

At Forthright, we’ve worked with a number of coalition partners (some that are just starting up, and others that are well established.) We know that bringing the right communications strategy at the right time can help you have even greater impact. That’s why I’m sharing communications tips for every stage of your coalition!

Nonprofit Communications, Communications Campaigns, Most Popular, Storytelling, Writing and Messaging, About ForthrightEmily SwartzlanderApril 5, 2024coalition building, communications tips for coalitions, tips for strong coalitions

How to reach families without internet

Reaching families without internet access isn’t a new challenge for communicators. As of last year, one in five households in America were unable to get online at home.

But in April, millions more families across the country are poised to lose their online access as the Affordable Connectivity Program funding runs out.

This could make reaching kids and families in your district or community more challenging. So today, I want to take a moment and share what we’ve learned about reaching and supporting offline families.

Nonprofit Communications, Brand/Materials Creation, Accessibility, Communications Campaigns, Digital and Social Media, Most Popular, School District Marketing, Storytelling, Writing and MessagingEmily SwartzlanderMarch 28, 2024broadband, internet, no internet, free resource, reaching families, tactics, Reaching families without internet access, Low bandwidth communications tactics

Not your grandma’s style guide: Tips to help your team remember the why

Have you ever read or updated your organization’s style guide and paused to think, “Wait, why do we do it this way?” You’re not alone.

After countless communications audits and years of helping organizations discover what they need to say to reach their people, we’re convinced — good rules require great reasons.

Here are three tips to help you create a style guide that shows your team how to communicate and helps them remember why it matters.

Brand/Materials Creation, Digital and Social Media, Accessibility, Writing and Messaging, Storytelling, Nonprofit CommunicationsForthright AdvisingMarch 15, 2024Nonprofit style guide, Accessibility, how to create a style guide, style guide best practices

How to write welcoming messaging

As leaders in the child and family advocacy space, the words we use matter. How we talk about families and children matter. When we use language based on assumptions – so, for example, in the case of mom and dad – we are unintentionally prescribing relationships that may not exist for all families in our community. Here’s your guide to inclusive family language.

Nonprofit Communications, Communications Campaigns, Brand/Materials Creation, Storytelling, School District Marketing, Writing and MessagingKatie Test DavisFebruary 8, 20242023 reflections, Inclusive family language, margaret middleton, nonprofit messaging, school district writing, family language, caregivers

Decline a media interview request with confidence

A reporter reaches out to request an interview, and it’s…just not the right fit. You have to say no to the reporter’s request, and that could be for a million different reasons, such as: You don’t have the expertise. You don’t have the bandwidth. Your team can’t agree on what to say. The reporter hasn’t been friendly to your work in the past. So…how do you handle this delicate situation without burning bridges? Well, here’s what our team has learned from working with the media for many years.

Nonprofit Communications, School District Marketing, Writing and Messaging, Media RelationsKatie Test DavisFebruary 1, 2024Decline media interview request, say no to reporter, decline interview, no to media, media relations, reporter relationships, interview requests, media training, spokesperson

7 predictions for 2024 social media trends

Social media brought many surprises in 2023. Will 2024 be a roller coaster too? Because my Magic 8 Ball told me “Reply hazy, try again,” I checked in with some of the biggest names in social media to see what they predicted for 2024.

Communications Campaigns, Writing and Messaging, Digital and Social MediaKatie Test DavisJanuary 17, 2024social media, video, threads, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, SEO

How to win over your target audiences

I have a friend who cares deeply – and I mean deeply – about college football. Despite graduating from a huge football school myself (War Eagle), I…do not. If you only have those facts, you may think we don’t have much in common on fall weekends. However, if you dig a little deeper, you find a shared value: we both love being outdoors. On many a weekend, you can find us sitting *outside* with the games on a big screen, enjoying the sun. Everyone’s happy. The key takeaway? If you try hard enough, you can find something in common with – a shared value – with your most important target audiences.

Nonprofit Communications, Communications Campaigns, Writing and MessagingNiki JuhaszJanuary 4, 2024target audience, targeted messaging, shared values, campaign messaging, clear communication, how to write for your audience

Eliminating early childhood suspensions: lessons in real-world change

If you asked me a year ago what came to mind when thinking about early care and education, I would have conjured some pretty traditional images. Toddlers adorned with finger paint. Play-Doh of various colors, sculpted into comically unrecognizable shapes. The joyful sounds of children, with their infectious laughs and with their futures brimming with promise. You can, then, imagine what it felt to learn more about a startling truth in early care and education in America: the widespread suspensions and expulsions of young children, many barely old enough to walk. The desire to upend what has become an unfortunate status quo recently led me to Charlotte, North Carolina for the National Black Child Institute’s (NBCDI) national conference.

Nonprofit Communications, Writing and Messaging, Brand/Materials Creation, Communications Campaigns, StorytellingForthright AdvisingDecember 1, 2023elections, equity, Early care and education, branding, messaging, preschool suspension, preschool expulsion, suspensions and expulsions, logo, collaboration, communications campaign

5 tips for better project feedback

Have you ever received a draft of a written or designed document – and your heart sank because it isn’t quite right? We’ve all been there. Here are a few tips to get your creative project back on track!

Nonprofit Communications, Writing and Messaging, Brand/Materials Creation, School District MarketingForthright AdvisingNovember 13, 2023elections, systems, clear communication, advocacy, advocates, feedback, graphic design, writing project, creative project, kickoff call, branding, quality review, creative feedback

It’s one year from Election Day

It’s just over a year until the next presidential Election Day across the US. Do you have your advocacy communications plan ready? If not, there’s still time! While Election Day may seem far away, the time for advocacy is now. Here’s why.

Nonprofit Communications, Communications Campaigns, Writing and MessagingForthright AdvisingOctober 31, 2023elections, systems, clear communication, advocacy, advocacy campaigns, advocates, nonprofit advocacy, nonprofit organizations and elections

How to ensure your reader *gets* what you're writing

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: simple writing is…weirdly hard? That’s why we *just* updated one of our most popular resources – Writing for Your Community: How to Ensure Your Messaging is Easy to Understand – with fresh new data and updated best practices!

Accessibility, Nonprofit Communications, Writing and Messaging, School District MarketingNiki JuhaszOctober 5, 2023Forthright, community friendly writing, writing for your community, easy-to-read messaging, easy-to-read writing, how to write simply, accessible language, accessible writing

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