#NPMC Chat

As I was interviewing for my current job, an interviewer asked what I would miss about my old position. “My team,” I said. “I wish I could bring them all with me.” The team I worked with at the time was amazing—committed, passionate, funny, diligent, harmonious—each person lending her strengths to serve our mission through… Read More »

Thanks to J. Lo, we know love don’t cost a thing, but marcom still does. Whether our marketing and communications ideas are lofty or little, things cost money. And, just as we say we can’t evaluate what we don’t measure, we also can’t spend what we don’t have. So, what’s a budget? I know how… Read More »

I start this post with an acknowledgment that I am the beneficiary of tremendous undue privilege, all of which is built upon the oppression of other people. As a white person living in Toronto, I am a settler implicated in the violence that Canada has been visited upon Indigenous peoples since the time of first… Read More »

Since you work for a nonprofit, I imagine the following sounds familiar: Get me 800 signatures by Friday! We need 250 people OR MORE to register for that conference. If we raise $5000 in the next 24 hours, we have a donor who will make a matching gift. For our nonprofit organizations to meet any… Read More »

Editor’s note: Last fall, I was introduced to Julia Rim Shepard when she was conducting research on the public relations, marketing and fundraising structures of nonprofit and charitable organizations, and their impact on public engagement and relationships. When Julia completed her academic research, I invited her to share her perspective on effective engagement with us… Read More »

One of the most frequent questions that I and other communications consultants get asked is this: Which social media channels should my organization use for which messages to get the best results? We all desire straightforward answers and easy-to-make decisions. While I understand why people ask this question, it is often the wrong question to… Read More »

Brian Sooy’s book Raise Your Voice: A Cause Manifesto is an inspiring, easy to read book for anyone interested in transforming the internal culture of their nonprofit. Sooy positions his book as a means to help organizations find their voice and there are enough outstanding takeaways in here that it should. The slim paperback is… Read More »

It’s no secret that effective use of email communications is a pillar of nonprofit engagement and fundraising strategies. But how important is it, exactly? As it turns out, it’s pretty critical. The 2016 M+R Benchmarks study found that 29% of online revenue comes from email fundraising, yet response rates to fundraising emails are down 8%… Read More »

Are you responsible for producing a nonprofit annual report? Does the process feel like a drag every year? Reframe your thinking! Although a “report” might not feel like the most exciting project for a marcom pro who enjoys more obviously creative projects, there are many ways you can benefit from the annual report creation and production… Read More »

Surprise! In the past few months, there has been a flurry of changes to social media platforms that matter to many nonprofits. For example, Facebook made it easier for people to recommend Pages to friends. Twitter changed what counts toward its 140-character limit. Instagram is becoming ever more monetized. YouTube launched Creators for Change. Snapchat… Read More »