When we think of nonprofit branding, what generally comes to mind for nonprofit professionals is a process, often conducted by an outside agency to work on improving an organization’s brand. Many of the products that can come out of that creative process are a new logo, a competitive analysis, branding/style guide, a new website, all assets that can really generate a lot of excitement for your nonprofit and help align your mission, goals, and communication.

But what happens after the branding agency has been paid and you have a spiffy new website, logo, and some persuasive new messaging? How do we get our staff and directors on board with messaging and concepts that have emerged from this creative process? What can we do in the day-to-day of our work and routines as an organization to integrate that new brand into our work and ensure that it aligns and supports our values every day?

Below are five ways that you can keep your nonprofit brand alive and thriving from the inside and out.

Feedback

1Creative branding processes can be exciting and a bit controversial, causing apprehension on the side of some staff members and directors. Is it too different than what we had? Will it confuse program partners? Does it feel authentic? These are some of the questions that may arise along the way. That’s why it’s important to check in with them not only during the creative branding process but also afterward.

When the dust has settled and we’ve got our plans and new branding assets uploaded to the shared drive, how are they feeling about it now? Has anything changed now that we’re in the implementation stage?

You’ll have a better experience integrating your new messaging if your staff and directors are continually on board and feel confident moving forward with it. Does anyone feel uncomfortable proceeding and integrating any parts of the new branding or messaging? If so, why? Asking these questions is key to continual improvements on the living brand and also key to staff buy-in. It can also unearth a lot of useful information that can actually help you move forward.

Training

2There has to be more than the distribution of a style guide and messaging points to really get staff to learn how they can integrate the new branding into their daily work. Consider having a communications training on the new branding guidelines.

Discuss what parts of programmatic and donor messaging need to change and what areas don’t.

How do we integrate our new messaging in a way that feels authentic for everyone?

What parts of our boilerplate and core messaging has changed now and can we all agree to move forward in the way we speak about the organization, so there is consistency across all departments in the nonprofit?

Messaging Toolkit

3While you may have a new style guide, logo, and messaging, perhaps it’s time to revise or create an internal messaging toolkit that will make it much easier for staff members to access the new messages when staff members are writing a grant proposal or program update. Ask program staff how they think they’ll need help integrating the new messaging into their existing work. Ask your fundraising folks what they think will change when they meet with new donors now? Have them write out a few scenarios and include them in the toolkit. In this way, people feel armed, included in the process, and confident that they have a tool to help them move forward.

Accessibility

4I know this seems like a no-brainer, and for many, it will be, but can all staff members and directors access the new branding and toolkit easily? Is the shared drive a safe place for all or is it a messy, terrifying document vortex? I joke but in all seriousness, make sure your new branding assets aren’t located in a shared drive, in a communications folder within an agency folder, within a branding folder. At least for now, give it a prominent place, front and center, maybe even a colorful tag so that we all know where to go to find it.

Feedback

5I have “Feedback” on this list twice because once is never enough and I’ve found the internal continuous checking in of a nonprofit brand, is what makes the brand alive, hence a living brand. Like other alive things, it gets checked on periodically, we tweak as we go, we test, we ask questions if we feel something sounds clunky or isn’t getting the response we seek.

Have we asked our partners or trusted donors for feedback on the new brand yet – is it working for them? Outside checks with trusted partner organizations can lead to some great insights along the way.

Does it still feel core to who we are? If so, why? If not, why not?

Has your organization worked on “living the brand” and doing brand checkups periodically? If so, have you found value in it? Let me know in the comments!

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As many of my nonprofit communications colleagues do this time of year,  I look back on my year and wonder how I will move forward more purposefully and meaningfully in my communications work this new year.

Having been fortunate enough to do this work for over 15 years, I sometimes skip over connecting the bottom-line – the ‘do-gooder’ part – and go straight into the “doing” part of the work.

Now, I’m clear that the work I do contributes to my organization meeting its mission-driven goals. That said, there’s something about the everyday pressures of editorial deadlines, meeting prep, and endless email follow-up, that can turn all that good work into a routine; leaving little time to reflect on how that work actually helps to change people’s lives.

Our communications work can at times feel very removed from the programmatic on-the-ground mission work of our peers. So how can we in the new year, make it a practice to directly tie our work to that good we know we’re doing?

How do we make it genuinely tangible?

That well-researched blog post.

That social media strategy that took two months to finalize.

The annual report.

How do we tie all of this work to our own values? 

Here’s a literal back-of-the-envelope example of one way that I remind myself of how my work ties into what I value, into what my organization values. Because when I do this either visually (see below!) or mentally, it energizes me, it keeps me creative and motivates me to find new ways to connect my work to my goals.

Here’s my “holiday card edition” example I made for myself, and now for you.

Forgive the stick figures.

How do you connect your communications work to your organization’s mission and your values? Leave me a note in the comments. Curious to hear what you all recommend!

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If you’re anything like me, then that week before New Year’s Day can sometimes throw you for an existential loop.

All those end-of-year memes on social media seem to be true, given the amount of laugh emoji responses from my friends and family that they’ve received. Truth!

We all want to begin the New Year feeling full of energy, clarity, and direction, but it’s not always how we start off.

One of the ways I try to ground myself for the New Year (while still enjoying all the cheese and champagne), is to fill out my yearly personal strategic planning chart.

I spend a lot of my time as a consultant creating strategic plans, so it’s a format I’m familiar with and with a little simplification, readily lends itself to a personal plan.

While some people enjoy vision boards (which are awesome!), there’s something about a strategic plan that for me feels more tangible.

And I need tangible these days.

So below I’m sharing my personal and professional strategic planning process.

By the way, I’m still working on mine, so don’t feel like you’re in any way behind. Truth be told, I usually get to finishing mine around mid-January.

So we’ll just work on it together! Much more fun that way, anyway.

Five areas of focus

My plan is be focused on five key areas of my life:

Personal – my personal goals, which focus on the intellectual and physical aspects of daily life

Family & friends – the goals I have for my relationship with my husband, my daughter, my parents, and my close friends

My business – what realistic and bold goals will I reach with my clients and partners

Leadership – what goals and objectives do I need to set to develop myself as a consultant and servant leader in my field(s)

Community – What are my community-centered goals focused on mentoring, advocacy work, and elementary school volunteering

Charting my plan: (Don’t make it complicated!) You want to be able to post this up on the fridge if you’d like. 

The Plan

Get the Google Docs version of the chart here!

As you can see from the chart, I’ve really tried to simplify the plan. The simpler the plan, the more you will look at it, the easier it will be to achieve or at least get closer to your goals.

And that’s genuinely the aim. I never really get to doing everything on my plan – especially my personal goals (working on that!), but it’s there for me to guide me back during times I feel I need to get back on my path.

Some people like to create a mission and visions statement for themselves before they even start their strategic plan, and that’s great.

I’ve found it helpful to wait until after I’ve finished my strategic plan to create my mission and vision statement since a lot of the priorities are already written down for me after filling out the plan.

I’m thinking of creating a three-part series this month on personal strategic planning.

The next two posts would be about writing your mission and vision statements, and the third and last post would be about how to hold yourself accountable to your goals.

If this sounds like something you’d like to learn more about, let me know in the comments below and I’ll get to work!

Happy planning and give me a shout @CarolineAvakian if you have any questions!

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Content marketing has risen to the forefront in recent years as an important tool (if not the most important) in the nonprofit communication toolbox. It’s about creating great content on your blog, through social media messaging, email, quarterly and annual reports, case studies, whitepapers, etc.

At its core, content marketing is about communicating wisely with your supporters. The nonprofit, social enterprise or organization is providing value by creating and sharing information, innovative ideas, and insights that makes your supporter smarter and in the know. You become a resource. The result, much of the time, is that you earn the trust and loyalty of your supporters and donors. You no longer interrupt them with “messaging” but invite them into a conversation they find value in, that resonates, that they deem worthy of sharing with others, that makes them come back and ultimately invest in you.

The issue with creating great content is that often change-makers and nonprofit leaders are unsure about how to activate the most powerful resource they have: their intellectual capital. Nonprofits can be treasure troves of insights, experience and expertise, just waiting to be unleashed and shared with the world, but often the best of ideas and expertise lies dormant within the walls of an organization.

The Readiness Dance: Share your insights despite the misgivings

There are many reasons why organizations keep their most valuable thoughts and findings internal. I call it the Readiness Dance. People will say, “Our data isn’t completely ready yet – we’re not 100 percent clear internally on our direction with this project,” or something similar. While I completely advocate for presenting breakthrough insights that are research-based and clearly thought out — in fact, that is the essence of true thought leadership — very often it’s more about that “readiness” variable. It’s less about how analyzed the data is and more about how comfortable and confident we are in sharing our ideas and insights with the world.

When nonprofits hone in on their years of experience, research, collaborations and discoveries, they can advance their mission by using those same valuable thoughts and insights to lead. Many people call this thought leadership, and I’d like to see more organizations build their capacity to lead with their thinking.

Especially for smaller to medium-sized nonprofits, thought leadership can be one of the most effective and least expensive ways an organization can build awareness of their cause and support for their ideas and programs, and influence the communities they need to reach, including decision makers, policy makers and donors. By harnessing the power of their collective insights, an organization can shape its thought leadership to inspire and move its supporters to action.

While building a thought leadership program for a nonprofit should be thought of as an organization development exercise and not just a communications/PR job, communications teams often and appropriately lead it.

Below is a short primer to help you get the conversation started with your team. I recommend getting your group together around breakfast (or Google Hangout!) one morning and running them through this little primer. I promise it will get the conversation started and make for an interesting talk about how you approach your work and the insights and ideas that lie just below the surface.

Start with the big idea or revealing insights

Every big idea starts with a vision. It has a strong viewpoint and brings new insights and problem solving to an issue. Ask yourself what original, innovative and valuable perspective you and your organization bring to the table. What do you want to achieve from it?

Overcome culture shock

Effective thought leadership programs are an organizational development function, not just a public relations function. Powerful thought leadership campaigns need to be embedded into the culture of an organization to be truly successful. Teams need to be on board with sharing those ideas and insights with the world. They are your greatest ambassadors. Does your culture support that? If you encounter resistance, ask them what about it makes them uncomfortable?

Tell a great story

Concentrate on telling one focused and clear story and communicate it using channels you know your audience engages with. Social media, online communities, associations, traditional media and speaking events like panels and conferences are all fair game.

Become a resource

People don’t like to be sold things, for the most part — even when what you’re selling is a noble and brilliant cause. That said, they do buy into solutions, expertise and problem solving. Share your insights. Spread your idea. Offer guidance and people will follow.

Inspire action

Powerful thought leadership can inspire people to act. Whatever your idea is, make sure that it is actionable. What do you want people to do? Be brave. Ask for what you want.

What are some of the ways your team is leading the conversation on the issues that drive your cause? I’d love to hear some examples. If you’re not quite there yet, I would love to hear what some of the barriers are that you’ve encountered.

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Here at Socialbrite, we are thrilled to share the launch of New Power!

We have long admired Henry Timms’ leadership and vision as president and CEO of the 92nd Street Y and co-founder of #GivingTuesday, an international day of philanthropy. Henry Timms and co-author Jeremy Heimans worked on this book for three years.

It unpacks the ultimate skill of the 21st century – the ability to harness the power of the connected crowd. From how to spread your ideas, to how to start a movement, to how to transform an organization, it is a practical guide to navigating our chaotic world.

The early response has been amazing. Sir Richard Branson said “If you want to understand how the world is changing…this book could not be coming at a better time.” Alicia Garza called it “…a must-read” Jane Goodall said “This book will inform and inspire all those wanting to make change . . . and achieve a goal against all odds.”

New Power shines fresh light on the cultural phenomena of our day, from #BlackLivesMatter to the Ice Bucket Challenge to Airbnb, uncovering the new power forces that made them huge. Drawing on examples from business, activism, and pop culture, as well as the study of organizations like Lego, NASA, Reddit, and TED, Heimans and Timms explain how to build new power and channel it successfully. They also explore the dark side of these forces: the way ISIS has co-opted new power to monstrous ends, and the rise of the alt-right’s “intensity machine.”

A wonderful read for any activist or nonprofit leader looking to better understand, navigate, and thrive in the world they live and work in.

You can purchase the book here: New Power 

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For many nonprofits, text messaging as a communications and fundraising tool can feel daunting. I’ve worked with nonprofits who grapple with understanding if text messaging is even right for them.

Below is a graphic shared with me by TextMagic that can help you better understand what an SMS campaign could look like and if it’s right for your nonprofit.

What do you think? Had your nonprofit worked on an SMS campaign? What were the results? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

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This week I was re-inspired by technology. It sometimes feels like we spend a lot of time criticizing or glorifying tech, and honestly neither of those descriptions seem or feel right most of the time. But Trickle Up, an international nonprofit, told me a story this week that reminded me of the basics of why technology applied wisely, in collaboration, and with great heart, can be the thing that transforms and improves so many aspects of people’s lives.

The story goes something like this: (via Trickle Up) 

As Lopamudra Manjhi unboxes her smartphone, a smile appears on her face. She delicately holds the phone in her hands, a little uncertain of what to do next.

Over the next couple of hours, she learns. Lopamudra then confidently demonstrates how to switch the phone on, make a call, take photos and videos, and keep it charged. In between, she also manages to take a selfie. “I can do so many things with it,” she says.
Lopamudra is among 1,800 participants in a pilot project, “Mobile Connections to Promote Women’s Economic Development” (M-POWERED), aimed at empowering women living in extreme poverty in eastern India with custom-designed mobile technology. With newfound access to information about weather predictions, market prices, and best practices in cultivation, women become more successful farmers and marketers, and are better equipped to meet their family’s basic needs.

Watch the video to see all of it in action:

Facebook is previewing new page templates for nonprofits. If you manage your nonprofit’s FB page, you might have received one or several notifications about it. Here’s a great post that explains it all.

How do you excel in a time when modern strategic communications is so rapidly evolving? This piece by The Communications Network talks us through this process: How to Build an Effective, Modern Communications Shop

Still looking for a Father’s Day gift? These fancy and soft socks from our friends at Conscious Step are a great option. I have a pair that I love and can tell you they definitely don’t stink – see what I did there? :) Through partnerships with three of the world’s most impactful organizations, their sock box supports the movement against illiteracy, supports solutions for the water crisis, and provides treatment for child malnutrition.

In case you missed it, earlier this week I wrote about The Hidden Magic of Conferences.

The title of this post made me laugh and the piece within is quite insightful.
How Many Times Can You Mail Your Donors Before They Rise Up and Kill You? Worth a read.

You’d Be a Better Communicator If You Weren’t So Afraid of Embarrassing Yourself is an interesting piece by the Science of Us that gives you some key takeaways, advice, and techniques applicable for anyone who has to give a presentation at work, or just wants to connect with their dinner date.

A thoughtful piece on how Diversity Without Inclusion Is Only Skin-deep, and can certainly be applied to nonprofit-landia, which can often pride itself on wanting and demanding diversity in the workplace, yet lacks the tools for proper integration and not just representation.

The 2017 Global Trend in Giving survey gives us a better understanding of how donors worldwide prefer to give and engage with nonprofits, NGOs, and charities worldwide. You can help out and take the survey here. They also shared their 2017 Global NGO Online Technology Report here.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Caroline Avakian

The post My Friday Edit: Restoring My Faith in Tech appeared first on Socialbrite.

Photo courtesy of JD Lasica/Nonprofit Technology Conference 2013

If you’re like me, you feel a little bit of dread right before you leave for a conference. All the work I’ve left behind, the accumulating emails and deadlines waiting for me when I get back, and leaving my family behind is never easy. Then there’s the dreaded conference fatigue. Also, trying to find conference session rooms in these maze-like hotels makes me feel like a lost child right before I enter a room where I’d like to feel empowered and oriented. Anyone else?

Between room disorientation, sessions, networking, processing of new information, socializing, and then getting back to your hotel late to catch up on work or emails – it’s a lot. So, it’s easy to lose sight of all the great things that are happening while you’re at a conference and the subconscious magic that can integrate into your thinking and work afterwards.

So what’s so magical about conferences? Below I’ve attempted to consolidate some of what happens at these events between the excitement, fatigue, session confusion, wonderful AHA! moments, and reunions with former colleagues and friends:

• PROMOTES A LEARNING MINDSET – There’s something powerful about taking time out of a busy schedule to learn. Ask yourself what three things you want to get out of a conference before you go, and you’ll be setting yourself up for success.

• CONNECTION – Conferences allow you to liaise, and form greater relationships with your peers. Ask yourself BEFORE you get there – who do I want to meet? Can I set up a time to connect with them before I even get there?

• ELEVATED THINKING – Sessions often create conversations and introduce ideas that elevate your work and thinking around issues that pertain to your work, i.e. – women in tech, mentoring, and diversity. Ask yourself what themes interest you the most this year. What do you want to explore further? Choose sessions that make sense for what you’re there to do, but also make room for a at least a couple of sessions that are outside your comfort zone. You may be happily surprised.

• SPACE – Conferences give you space and time away to integrate your current thinking with the introduction of new concepts. Jot down notes at sessions – less about of the actual content which you can likely retrieve from the instructor, but of the larger questions you may have about the session topic or how you can apply your learning once you leave the room.

• INSPIRATION – Conferences are places to learn so much from others. This is also the time to dig below the surface. The time to ask bigger questions about important topics, your career, where the industry is going, and your place within it? Make sure you allow yourself the space to explore some of these ‘bigger’ questions. It will make the conference feel a lot more meaningful than just a bunch of sessions you attended over the course of three or four days. My favorite part of conferencing is the inspiration I take away from the work my peers are doing. It makes me want to go home and do better, and be better at what I do.

Did I miss anything else? Let me know in the comments!

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Today is my 10 year wedding anniversary and it got me thinking about how we value and place importance on anniversaries. That the action of acknowledgement is important. It recognizes a significant commitment and bond. It communicates that through the years, I continue to choose you. Pretty big stuff.

It then got me thinking about how we, as nonprofit communicators and fundraisers, celebrate our donor anniversaries. Do we do it? Is it a choice we make to not do it, if we’re not doing it? And what would that anniversary “love letter” look like?

Here are some thoughts on how I might approach the messaging of that “love letter”:

• Congratulations on your first donation anniversary! We know that first donation took some faith in us and we acknowledge and appreciate that.

• Today’s anniversary date is important. On this day, we started a very important relationship. One we value tremendously.

• Here are three ways in which your continued support of us has made lives better this year.

• Your commitment to us through the years is never taken for granted, and we’re so happy you’re here with us today.

Do you know any organizations that send out great anniversary emails or outreach? Please let me know in the comments section below!

I manage a great learning and resource sharing Facebook Group called Nonprofit Communications Professionals. Come join us!

Still pouring through Mary Meeker’s essential 2017 Internet Trends report. HERE are the highlights.

Digital Credit: Can it really alleviate poverty? And how do we protect borrowers better?

Should Your Nonprofit Livestream Events? As more and more nonprofits dip their toes into livestreaming galas and other events, how do we decide what gets streamed and what doesn’t?

Why are so many of us in a rush to create new nonprofits and social enterprises and less resolute to collaborate or join forces with existing organizations doing the same or similar work? What can we do about this phenomenon and how can we be better together? This really thorough piece from SSIR tackles an issue we think about a lot.

These are pretty great and funny: 30 Creative Museum 404 Pages. From our friends at Hyperallergic.

Happy Friday!

Caroline

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock/Mallorca, Spain

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June is just around the the corner, and it gets me thinking a lot about what my creative summer projects will look like. I often use the summer to focus on planning and brainstorming. I treat September like the new year in many ways, so summers spent cleaning up strategic plans, assessing what worked and what didn’t, and brainstorming, are all things I look forward to as the weather warms up.

Do you have any summer projects you’re working on? Let me know in the comments! Would love to learn how you put your summer to work – or not! All good.

Here’s some of the things I’ve been reading and learning about this week:

Speaking of summer projects, here’s a piece by John Haydon on 4 Creative Summertime Fundraising Projects

The InterAction Forum is coming up in Washington DC from June 20-22. InterAction’s Forum convenes leaders from a variety of sectors, and is one of the largest gatherings of international development and humanitarian professionals.

I enjoyed this piece from Beth Kanter in SSIR about Turning Empathy Inward. The piece discusses how if nonprofits are to function well, they need to promote compassion and understanding not just toward the people they serve, but also toward fellow employees. Worth a read and a share.

Looking for a great grad gift? FEED just released their first jewelry line and these lovely ‘cuffs for a cause’ are minimalist, lovely, and give back.

Yep, it’s true. Taking regular breaks from your work, as Science of Us explains doesn’t just make the day go by a little faster — it also makes you a more productive employee, leaving you mentally refreshed and reenergized for all the things left on your to-do list.

We talk here a lot about the positive effects of social media for social good, but that isn’t always the case. Social media has contributed to the conflict in South Sudan. During the re:publica in Berlin, activists from South Sudan and abroad described how rumours and hate speech on social media is fueling the violence. Read and watch the video here. Eye-opening, to be sure, and a discussion that needs to be explored much more and with people and communities on the ground.

And lastly, a laugh. This gave me a chuckle. 13 Awkward Moments for Nonprofit Employees [GIFs]

Have a wonderful weekend.

Photo by Visual Intermezzo/Colorful lanterns and lamps hanging in the market at Marrakesh, Morocco

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