About Forthright

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!

How we create account teams for our clients

One of the most common questions I get when a potential client reaches out about a project is: who am I going to work with? So today I’m pulling back the curtain on how we put together a team for a client account.

Here’s what you told us: your feedback from our 2023 Client Survey

First, our NPS score, a universal score of customer satisfaction, remains nearly double that of the average consulting firm. In fact, for the third year in a row, we saw our NPS score go up!

Our NPS is one of our “north star” measurements, so I’m thrilled by this result and excited we’re maintaining our superstar streak year-over-year.

This year, 100 percent of our clients strongly agree that we make them feel important, and 100 percent of our clients strongly agree that we’re fun to work with.

Communications is an act of love

In 2023, we fought politicians working to dismantle public education. We battled funding cuts that impact kids and families. We’ve had our hearts broken daily from escalating violence in Israel-Palestine, Sudan and Ukraine. We demanded paid family leave for all. We struggled to re-envision child care in America. We supported leaders who are exhausted and overwhelmed. Through it all, we’ve remained dedicated to dismantling structural oppression for children and their families.

Spring training opportunities with Forthright

Pumpkin spice lattes may be taking over our world, but we're already thinking about the spring and making 2024 the best year yet. That's why – by popular demand – we're opening our training opportunities for 2024! Our trainings have been called “an excellent investment." Also: “polished and downright perfect." Here’s a (sampling of) what we’re offering starting in January.

Presenting on preschool suspensions at NBCDI

We’re headed to Charlotte this weekend for the National Black Child Development Institute’s national conference! Forthright’s own Michael Ramsey is joining our partners with the North Carolina Coalition for Inclusion, Not Expulsions at the conference. Michael is presenting alongside Coalition members Dr. Valerie Jarvis McMillan of North Carolina State A&T University, and Dr. Nina Smith of North Carolina Central University. They’re sharing about a topic that affects all of our communities: eliminating racial inequities in suspensions and expulsions in early care and education settings.

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).

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!

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.

It’s our birthday!

We’ve been so lucky to have such a wonderful group of leaders and communicators to grow alongside. Most small businesses fail in the first three years of operation, so this particular anniversary is really meaningful to me personally as a founder.

About ForthrightKatie Test DavisMay 8, 2023about forthright, anniversary, birthday, video

What you said: our 2022 client survey results

Each year, as we wrap up before the holidays, we take a moment to send out our annual client survey. As part of our commitment to continual improvement, we ask our clients to reflect on what parts of our work together are going well, and what we could do better. And as always, it’s one of my favorite times of year. Feedback is a gift. I’m always so grateful when our clients take a minute out of their busy days to tell us how our work together is going. Here’s what we heard.

About ForthrightNiki JuhaszJanuary 26, 2023nonprofit

When is the right time to engage a PR firm?

There’s a buzz in the air, tempting you with ideas like: “Can we stand up a whole campaign next week? Can we land that shiny New York Times piece? Can we push out all of our fresh data to everyone across digital?”

And maybe, “You know what… we’re gonna need some help with this.”

Ultimately, knowing if and when you're ready to engage a communications firm helps make sure that you’re making a sound investment and sets you up for a solid, successful partnership!

7 of our favorite ice breakers

Every couple of months, our all-remote team joins together for virtual happy hours. Or, as my colleague Ashley calls them, snacky hours, since Forthright founder Katie sends us delightful snack boxes to enjoy during these get-togethers.

During our last snacky hour, Katie asked us to come prepared with our favorite ice breaker. Hilarity – and learning about each other – ensued.

Today, I’m sharing more about why community activities benefit your organization – and some of our winning ice breakers, too.

About Forthright, Hiring and PeopleKatie Test DavisAugust 29, 2022education

It's our birthday!

We’re celebrating Forthright’s 3rd (!) birthday this week.

Normally, people call us when they need to bring in the experts.

So we took a page out of that playbook.

To figure out how we should celebrate Forthright’s 3rd Birthday, we called in the professionals…

About ForthrightKatie Test DavisMay 9, 2022nonprofit, education

The results are in...our 2021 client feedback survey

Clear, actionable feedback is a gift.

And at the end of each calendar year, our clients generously take a few minutes to share their candid feedback during our Annual Client Feedback Survey.

Our survey results tell us what we're doing well and should keep doing, and show us where there are opportunities for us to do things differently.

Here’s what we heard at the end of 2021–and what we’re planning for 2022 to better serve you, too.

About ForthrightKatie Test DavisJanuary 31, 2022nonprofit, education

Why I'm proud to be one of Forbes Next 1000

On Day 1, I decided Forthright would have a focused niche in the child and family space, which meant the teammates who joined me would need to be rockstar caliber. Every single teammate would need to have an extensive background in the issues facing our kids and families today—from early childhood education to teacher professional development to youth mental health.

About Forthright, Most PopularKatie Test DavisJanuary 12, 2022nonprofit, education

It’s our birthday

The other day on LinkedIn, I saw a quote that was something to the effect of “businesses are only as good as the people in them.” As I reflect on Forthright’s anniversary this year, that rings more true than ever before. At the heart of a successful business is...humans.

About ForthrightKatie Test DavisMay 11, 2021education, nonprofit, celebration

The Results Are In...Our 2020 Client Feedback Survey

Delivering and receiving kind, respectful yet candid feedback is how we grow together, what we should keep doing, and where we can stretch or innovate. To that end, each year we do an Annual Client Feedback Survey where we ask our clients to help us continually improve. This year’s results were a bright spot in a tough year. Here are a few takeaways.

About ForthrightKatie Test DavisJanuary 12, 2021feedback

Why We Charge More for Work We Perform Outside of Business Hours

As our clients know, when we’re billing hourly on a project, we charge more for work requested to be performed outside of our business hours. We’re upfront and transparent about it from the beginning of the relationship. Let’s talk about why we do it.

About Forthright, Most PopularKatie Test DavisSeptember 17, 2020management, equity

Fighting for Change: What it Means to Come to the Front

I am outraged that black people like George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor are being killed, and without accountability. It is ugly, it is uncomfortable, and we do not get to turn away. I am committed to using my privilege and my platform to create a better world.

About ForthrightKatie Test DavisJune 1, 2020forthright

For You

Let’s Do This

who we work with:

Smart communication strategies for organizations that love kids.