7 values that drive our work
7 values that drive our work

When I meet a potential client for the first time, they often ask what our company core values are. I love that question, because we recently gave Forthright’s values a spring cleaning. Our updated set of values are a combination of what those in the leadership biz would call “core values” (cornerstones of deeply ingrained principles we hold dear), as well as “accidental values” (values that came about more spontaneously and reflect our teammates’ personalities as we’ve grown these past four years).

Read More
About ForthrightKatie Test DavisForthright, core values, about forthright, working with forthright, about us, people first
Build trust with updated messaging
Build trust with updated messaging

Keeping your materials up to date, especially anchor materials like your logo and your core messages, maintains trust with your audiences and helps make sure you're living up to your brand's promise or organization's mission. We understand how busy nonprofit leaders are, and we want to make it easy to take just a few steps to ensure your most important materials are up to date, and to let your newest, most relevant materials shine.

Read More
Nonprofit Communications, Writing and MessagingForthright Advisingnonprofit messaging, how to update messaging, messaging best practices, messaging for nonprofits
3 questions to ask during your communications audit
3 questions to ask during your communications audit

That exciting first date. A job interview for the perfect position. Your key communications materials. Can you guess what all of these have in common? The answer: first impressions really, really matter for all of them. You’re on your own with the first part of this list – but at Forthright, what we CAN do is to help ensure your communications materials get that first impression rose. Below, we’re sharing our favorite questions to ask while conducting a communications audit.

Read More
Nonprofit Communications, School District Marketing, Writing and MessagingNiki Juhaszcommunications audit questions, how to conduct a communications audit, strategic communications, what is a communications audit, communications audit
2 steps for a strategic naming process
2 steps for a strategic naming process

Keeping your materials up to date, especially anchor materials like your logo and your core messages, maintains trust with your audiences and helps make sure you're living up to your brand's promise or organization's mission. We understand how busy nonprofit leaders are, and we want to make it easy to take just a few steps to ensure your most important materials are up to date, and to let your newest, most relevant materials shine.

Read More
Nonprofit Communications, Writing and Messaging, Brand/Materials CreationNiki Juhasznonprofit messaging, Smart branding for nonprofits, smart rebranding for nonprofits
Are you a comms team of 1?
Are you a comms team of 1?

Look, I get it. It’s absolutely not easy being a solo communications shop – you’re the one who writes the tweets AND dreams up the strategic communications plan. You’re over there photographing an event AND coordinating the reporter interviews. If you’re the only communicator in your organization, you deserve a round of applause. Today, I’m sharing four tips for solo communicators based on what we’ve learned through our work across more than 30+ one-person comms shops.

Read More
School District Marketing, Hiring and People, Nonprofit CommunicationsKatie Test DavisSolo communicators, one person communications team, one person communications shop, setting communications goals, metrics, mentorship
3 lessons from school redistricting we can all use
3 lessons from school redistricting we can all use

People hate change. 

It makes us feel uncertain, uncomfortable and like things are out of our control. And that’s not just coming from me – that’s directly from Dr. Joseph Ciarrochi, author of “What Makes You Stronger: How to Thrive in the Face of Change.” 

And this fact is really, really important for our work – because to best serve kids and families, we often have to lead innovation – also known to your families and team as change. 

Here at Forthright, we’ve done a lot of research and work around tricky topics. We’ve included a few key takeaways from our most recent research project – school redistricting – below.

Read More
Accessibility, Writing and Messaging, Communications Campaigns, School District MarketingNiki Juhaszcommunication tactics, redistricting, communicating change, community relations, redistricting campaigns, school bond campaigns, rezoning, school districts, public schools
3 secrets for simple writing
3 secrets for simple writing

When you’re used to writing emails, white papers and journal articles for your peers and colleagues, it can be really hard to switch up your writing style and draft something easy to read for a different audience. What if I told you that it doesn’t have to be that way? With a little bit of effort, and some “tricks of the trade,” I know you can create high-quality materials that are easy to read. Here’s how…

Read More
Nonprofit Communications, Writing and Messaging, AccessibilityKatie Test Davisnonprofit campaigns, writing tips, how to write for your audience, writing for families, simple writing, writing best practices, how to edit your own writing, simplify your messaging, writing for accessibility
2 steps to take *before* you talk to a reporter
2 steps to take *before* you talk to a reporter

Reaching out to the media can be a solid public relations tactic. But, a little tough love here: this approach is not for everyone. Just because you’re doing amazing, life-changing work doesn’t automatically mean that it will gain you a media hit. Before you hit “send” on your email to a journalist, we have two steps you should take in order to get ready to pitch.

Read More
Communications Campaigns, Nonprofit Communications, Media Relations, StorytellingForthright Advisingnonprofit campaigns, media relations best practices, how to pitch a reporter, how to get media coverage, best practices for talking to reporters
Is an animated or live video better for your org?
Is an animated or live video better for your org?

Whether you’re watching, selling, teaching or learning, video remains a critical communications tool. As a matter of fact, 92 percent of marketers say video leads to a positive ROI. And your video options are virtually limitless. That’s why today, we’re breaking down two video types – animated and live action – to help you choose which one is right for your next big campaign!

Read More
Nonprofit Communications, Storytelling, School District MarketingNiki Juhaszcreating good videos, nonprofit videos, how to create an animated video, why create a video, animated videos, video best practices
How to create the perfect comms toolkit
How to create the perfect comms toolkit

When we get fellow advocates, board members, families, business leaders, faith leaders, youth themselves involved in a cause, we’re unstoppable. However, to get partners involved, we need to make group advocacy easy. That’s where communications toolkits come into play. I’m including two tips to build a strong toolkit below.

Read More
Communications Campaigns, Nonprofit CommunicationsNiki Juhasznonprofit campaigns, how to win your nonprofit campaign, creating the perfect communications toolkit, what to include in a toolkit, campaign toolkit, social media toolkit
8 tips to make your listening session a success
8 tips to make your listening session a success

Maybe you just joined a new district or organization and want to do a communications audit. Perhaps you’re considering a big change that affects students. Or you simply want to build better communication with the families you serve through your nonprofit or foundation. No matter the reason, there’s one critical piece to all successful communications work: listening. Today, we’re sharing tips for before, during and after your listening sessions.

Read More
Communications Campaigns, Nonprofit Communications, School District MarketingKatie Test Davishow to create allies, how to engage your community, nonprofit listening sessions, school district listening sessions, best practices for gathering feedback
How to find unlikely allies for your work
How to find unlikely allies for your work

When our team kicks off our work on a communications campaign, we focus first on the objective we’re trying to achieve. What’s our goal? But quickly afterwards, we ask the important question: who can make our goal a reality And that’s when we start our search for likely AND unlikely allies. We’re sharing what unlikely allies are — and how you can find them — here.

Read More
Writing and Messaging, Communications Campaigns, Nonprofit Communications, School District MarketingKatie Test Davishow to build a communications campaign, how to create allies, building support for your nonprofit cause
Making your work easier
Making your work easier

Our besties know we *love* feedback. We always want to hear from YOU – the nonprofit and foundation leaders, the communicators, the public school superintendent, our PIOs – about what will make YOUR life easier. 

You’ve shared that you know we have great resources – but sometimes have a hard time finding them. We heard you. That’s why we created a brand-new, easy-to-search resources page!

Read More
School District Marketing, About Forthright, Nonprofit CommunicationsNiki Juhaszresources for school districts, communicating as a nonprofit, how to communicate as a nonprofit, help for nonprofits, resources for nonprofit leaders, resources for nonprofit communicators
A look back at how PR has changed
A look back at how PR has changed

A couple of weeks ago, my colleagues and I were reminiscing about “how PR used to be.” In addition to making us feel – well, like seriously seasoned comms professionals who have seen it all – it made us realize just how different things are.

So then I asked the rest of our teammates how PR has changed over their careers. Here are their answers, just for fun.

Read More
Writing and Messaging, Digital and Social Media, Media Relations, Communications Campaigns, Nonprofit Communications, School District Marketing, About ForthrightNiki Juhaszsocial media trends, media relations trends, press releases, media relations best practices, communications strategies, changing nonprofit tactics
What do your logo’s colors say about your brand?
What do your logo’s colors say about your brand?

When we work with a client on a branding and logo project that involves decisions about color choices, we always start with strategy. We ask questions such as: What do we want people to feel when they consider the organization? What emotions do we want people to associate with the brand?

Knowing the answers to those key questions can help us make smart color choices.

Read More
Brand/Materials Creation, Communications Campaigns, Nonprofit Communications, School District MarketingKatie Test Daviscolor psychology, branding, logos, rebrands, collateral creation
The difference between passive & active language
The difference between passive & active language

Passive language is the enemy of simple, easy-to-understand language. Using passive language can confuse your audiences – or even stop them from reading/listening to your message.  We’re breaking down why, along with writing best practices.

Read More
Writing and Messaging, Nonprofit Communications, School District MarketingNiki Juhaszcommunication tactics, simple writing, active language, passive language, active voice, passive voice
5 tactics to reach families without internet access
5 tactics to reach families without internet access

We’ve spent years creating campaigns to reach both families with AND without internet access. Through our extensive research, we’ve put together a list of tactics that you can begin to implement – or use to improve your existing strategy – to effectively reach audiences without internet access. In the worksheet, we’ve included five tactics, the data that support each tactic and best practices to use while implementing each one!


Read More
Accessibility, Communications Campaigns, Nonprofit Communications, School District MarketingNiki Juhaszreaching families without internet access, communication tactics, inclusive communications, equity in communications
3 tips to end the school year strong
3 tips to end the school year strong

The weather is warming, the days are longer and summer break is so close you can practically taste it. (And we hope it tastes like tropical beverages by a beach, or iced tea on a porch with nothing but you, a good book and a view.) During this final stretch, we have a few tips to finish strong, maximize on the summer and build positivity with your community and team.

Read More
Writing and Messaging, Hiring and People, School District MarketingNiki Juhaszgraduation speech, speech writing, writing for families, student enrollment, hiring teachers
The best ways to share your news this summer
The best ways to share your news this summer

We’re sharing the freshest data about how people are consuming news in 2023, so you can ensure your information gets in front of your target audiences, even while they’re sunning themselves at the beach.


Read More
Nonprofit Communications, Media Relations, School District Marketing, Digital and Social Media, Communications CampaignsKatie Test Davisdata, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Radio, Broadcast, newspaper, breaking news over the summer, announcements