Posts in Writing and Messaging
Are you ready for Giving Tuesday and end of year fundraising?

I get it. Whenever I think about Giving Tuesday and the end of year giving season for our clients, I am hit with a mix of anticipation and excitement, topped with a thin layer of dread. As anyone who has ever worked at a nonprofit knows, while everyone else in the world is settling down with mistletoe and turkey, you’re sprinting full speed into one of the busiest times of year. Never fear— we’ve got your back.

Here are a few tips to make your end of year campaign the best one yet.

Read More
Our #1 favorite messaging trick...

In many communications initiatives, you just KNOW your target audience is going to find fault with your campaign. They are going to have questions, concerns or downright oppose your work.

Once you explain your vision, they’ll say “what I’m worried about is...” and launch into why they don’t support you. What comes after the “what I’m worried about...” is the concern—in other words, the challenge you need to overcome to gain your opposition’s support.

Read More
Your Fail-Proof Guide to Nonprofit Communication Planning Part Three: Choose effective tactics and track your progress

Since it’s always our goal at Forthright to help make our nonprofit clients’ and partners’ lives easier, we decided to create an actionable guide to nonprofit communication planning. In this three-part series, we’re sharing all of our secrets. We promise you'll walk away eager to plan and ready for success!

Read More
Your Fail-Proof Guide to Nonprofit Communication Planning Part Two: Create Powerful Core Messages

Since it’s always our goal at Forthright to help make our nonprofit clients’ and partners’ lives easier, we decided to create an actionable guide to nonprofit communication planning. In this three-part series, we’re sharing all of our secrets. We promise you'll walk away eager to plan and ready for success!

Read More
Your Fail-Proof Guide to Nonprofit Communication Planning Part One: Jumpstart Your Strategy

Since it’s always our goal at Forthright to help make our nonprofit clients’ and partners’ lives easier, we decided to create an actionable guide to nonprofit communication planning. In this three-part series, we’re sharing all of our secrets. We promise you'll walk away eager to plan and ready for success!

Read More
Two Reasons to Thank Your Donors Today

When an organization reaches out to supporters just to say thank you—without making an ask—supporters feel more connected with the organization, building both future giving (or partnerships!) and their relationship with the nonprofit. Building these relationships with your supporters and partners is critical year-round. We’re including specific tips on how to do so here.

Read More
A Blueprint for Your 2020 Annual Report

By creating a shorter annual report, you can communicate about all of your priorities with your most important stakeholders, while saving your team time, effort and money. Here, we’re going to be sharing an (only four-page!) annual report we love. We’re pointing out specific things we love about it and how you can use this as an example for your own work!

Read More
Instantly Improve Your Outreach Through Empathy

As communicators and leaders, we’re constantly having to put ourselves in other people’s shoes. At the heart of good communication is empathy—anticipating how our audience will receive information, and then customizing our approach based on that. I’m sharing my advice for how to do this here!

Read More
The Five Things You NEED to Know About Your Target Audience

When you know what audiences value about your work and their barriers to accessing your services, you can make smart, informed communications decisions. Ideal audience profiles enable you to speak to your audiences' unique values, address their pain points and share information on channels they frequently use.

Read More
Why No One is Listening

We’ve heard from many of you that you’re struggling to break through the noise and that your audiences “just aren’t getting it.” You’re not alone. Right now, our brains are busy juggling uncertainty, stress and anxiety. That’s why we’re sharing two tips to help you reach your audiences.

Read More