You have a meeting with your board in an hour. You’re presenting at a conference in a month. Your executive director has a local news interview tomorrow.
And you’re staring at a blank page, trying to figure out how to condense years of work into a three-minute segment.
Talking points help you bridge that big-picture vision (the deep work! the passion!) with the specific moment you’re in, the audience you’re talking to and your goals.
Here’s how we do it.
Read MoreToo often, we overlook the people who already know us, love us, and can help us accomplish our goals.
It takes an intentional plan to mobilize these champions. As always, we’ve got you.
We’ve included your step-by-step guide for activating your champions at every phase of your campaign below!
You know those conversations you find yourself having over and over again?
Here’s a key question that’s spinning on repeat (across various clients) here at Forthright:
“Where should we focus our efforts to influence child-and-family focused policies? Should we concentrate on the federal, state or local level?”
It’s a great question, especially in the Year of Our Lord 2026.
Let’s dive in.
You’ve heard me say it a million times: at Forthright, data is queen .
Now in an ideal world, you’d have thousands to invest in focus groups, interviews and robust surveys to help you answer our question. But for most child and family focused nonprofits, that’s simply not possible.
The good news? You don’t need a five-figure budget to get high-quality feedback. You can move away from guesswork by using the experts you already know: your community.
Here are three ideas that won’t break the bank!
When we get fellow advocates, board members, families, business leaders, faith leaders, and youth themselves involved in a cause, we’re unstoppable. But our partners and fellow advocates are BUSY. Like...eat some guac, chips and an apple for dinner and call it a well-balanced meal kind of busy. (It's me. I'm fellow advocates).
That's why to get partners involved, we need to make group advocacy easy. That’s where communications toolkits come into play.
Here are some questions and tips to get you started.
We all have our favorite stats. (Okay, maybe not all of us. But at Forthright, we have our favorite stats. We’re nerds.) One of mine is about what it takes for people to REALLY remember your message. It’s called the Marketing Rule of Seven, and it’s pretty simple.
A person has to see or hear a message about seven times before it starts to resonate. Add to this number (say… 14 times) if your topic is particularly tricky, such as infant mental health or adolescent brain development.
Today, we’re including tips to make sharing that same, powerful message easy.
Read MoreI’m not the first person to tell you that more change is coming.
We need to take all the skills we’ve developed over the past few years and be nimble.
Right now, we’re telling most of our clients to create a three-month communications plan instead of an annual plan.
Simplify by breaking the work into quarters and be honest about what’s realistic with your capacity.
Here’s how to make it happen.
Read MoreCoalitions are often powered by passionate people squeezing this work in on top of demanding jobs.
This brings me to the real secret of coalition building. A coalition is only as effective as its internal communications. How we communicate *internally* creates the trust and alignment needed to win *externally.* Here are our tips for communicating well within coalitions.
Read MoreLately, we’ve seen an influx of nonprofit clients who are coming to us ready to turn their beloved programs into profit centers for their organization. Clients who are taking programs that have historically been paid for by foundations, and instead of solely relying on funding, figuring out ways to make them replicable, accessible and cheaper.
They are rethinking their income streams. While doing that, they are reclaiming their own self-sufficiency.
Ready to reclaim your non-profit’s power and become a yes-for-profit? Here are four phases and some questions to get you started.
Read MoreBefore I joined Forthright, I worked at a DC nonprofit for several years. In my role, I focused on our policy initiatives and external communications. But I also partnered closely with our talented development team. (Hats off to them – that work is not easy.)
While it’s been nearly a decade since then, the key best practices I learned have stood the test of time.
I’m sharing them with you here as many of us gear up for Year-End Giving season.
Read MoreStarting my career in policy, I loved the long and winding wonky road. I believed more detail meant more credibility, and my early training taught me to love a 10-dollar word instead of a perfectly perfect 10-cent word. Our most important job, especially in 2025, is to be generous with our audience's time. That means doing the hard work of making our message simple. Here’s how to make it happen.
Read MoreYou are ambitious.
You want everyone to know your organization – you want the front page of the paper, the brightest billboard in Times Square, every celebrity endorsement.
You need to ensure you have a strong, consistent brand message. Yet you’re a small nonprofit., so (of course) you’ve got caviar dreams on a tuna fish budget.
You know what we say to that? Keep dreaming big.
Here’s our guide to making a big brand splash with a small team.
Read MoreIt’s not just you. It’s… uh… very LOUD out there lately.
In a media landscape buzzing with endless options and digital noise, how do you make sure your organization is heard?
This quick guide will walk you through a proven framework to build a campaign that not only gets noticed, but gets results.
Let's get to work.
Read MoreIn the advocacy world, LinkedIn feels like The Place to Be right now. Partners, funders, nonprofit leaders… decision-makers are all in the room, and the conversation is not quiet.
Maybe your executive director shares bold takes, or your VP of Programs highlights on-the-ground partners.
❓But, is your organization’s LinkedIn page doing what it should be?
If LinkedIn is the room where it happens, are you using this space to drive connections with the people who matter most and the people who make decisions … or is it more like a bulletin board without a strategy?
Read MoreIs it just us or is the conversation about AI… a lot?
Yes, AI is quickly changing the way supporters and advocates connect with your mission. Today, we’re walking you through what this shift means and what you can do about it.
Read MoreWe’ve all been there. You and your team have poured endless hours into crafting the perfect communications strategy or advocacy plan. You’re proud, you’re excited… but there’s one last step: bringing it to your board.
As a leader at a foundation or nonprofit, you know that board buy-in is so much more than a rubber stamp or a vote of approval. You want early, sustained trust and partnership that turns a great plan into a smashing success. Getting to that feeling of being "all in" together is the result of a thoughtful, ongoing process.
Here are four simple shifts in the way you work to get that process in motion and earn that buy-in… every time.
Read MoreYou’re working on that big grant proposal. I’m talking hours of research, planning and writing to craft that perfect pitch. But before you send it, wait! Did you remember to budget for actually telling people about the great work you’ll do if you win the funding?
Today, I’m sharing why you should include communications in your grant proposal.
Read MoreIt’s finally – FINALLY starting to warm up. (Your girl is not meant for the winter.) That means some days, I’ll take a lunch run to enjoy the sunshine.
I was on one of these runs last week, bored and thinking about needing to mix up my exercise routine. And then I passed a lawn sign. It simply said:
Free Outdoor Workout Classes
And then included a QR code.
While I’ve been a TAD dramatic saying it changed my life, this is brilliant marketing.
Here’s why:
Deepa has supported and led social justice work for over two decades with a focus on immigrant communities. Currently, she is the Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives at Building Movement Project where she develops programs and narratives on solidarity and social movements.
Figuring out where you fit as an advocate – and how you can make the most positive impact – can be tough, especially when things are changing. Every. Single. Day.
We see this challenge, and we simply say: Game on.
That’s why I recently interviewed author, lawyer and activist Deepa Iyer. Deepa is the brilliant mind behind the Social Change Ecosystem Map (pictured above).
This tool helps you (and your organization) find your place in the justice and equity-focused movements we work within every day.
During our conversation, Deepa shared how to find your footing in turbulent times.
We’re including Deepa’s thoughts (from her point of view!) below.
Read MoreI’ve heard many experts compare the first few months of 2025 to the first few months of the COVID pandemic. People are feeling unsure, overwhelmed, confused and paralyzed. (That’s by design, by the way.) Yet, we learned during COVID that pausing your outreach and communications work is the wrong choice.
While we may need to shift our work – to change it to meet the moment – coming to a standstill is ultimately harmful for our communities. Here’s what you should do next.
Read More
