It's our birthday!
Written by Katie Test Davis
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…
I’ll just let them take it from here.
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You know those days where you just want someone to tell you where we're going to dinner?
Sometimes, I get really tired of making decisions – partly because as busy leaders, we make decisions at work all day, every day.
We ask questions such as:
Should we complete this grant application?
Which events should we go to?
Is that conference worth it?
And sometimes, your teammates don’t agree on the answer.
That’s why at Forthright, we use – you guessed it – a data-backed approach to make these decisions.
It’s 2026 and I’m wearing a party hat – because today, Forthright officially turns eight years old.
When we learned that the traditional present for an eighth anniversary is pottery, it felt perfect – and it got me thinking about all the connections between my work as a leader and my work as a potter.
I’m sharing more (and celebrating our team and anniversary) here.
News breaks.
Funding is cancelled.
New legislation is enacted.
How do communicators like you find steady ground while everything feels like an earthquake?
We get it. It’s a lot.
Yet charting a stable course on unsteady ground is something we’re pretty darn good at here at Forthright. (In fact, we have data to prove it. We heard from our clients in our 2025 client happiness survey that we’re a shelter in the storm.)
So how do we do it? Let’s break it down.
We send a client survey every year, but this time, after a tough 2025 for all of us, the results hit differently.
What we found was that, in a year marked by twists, turns and uncertainty, you valued our steadiness and trusted our strategies. Our results showed we were the steady hand our partners could rely on.
I’m also incredibly proud to share that our Net Promoter Score jumped 11 points this year. We remain way (way) above the industry standard. But, as always, I want to show our work and dive deep. So here’s a closer look at what we learned from you in our survey this year.
Your team is (understandably) dragging.
You can feel them losing sight of your “why” amidst the chaos and changing priorities.
Team meetings are downbeat and everything feels… hard.
You’re not alone. We’re hearing it from organizations just like yours across the country.
That’s why we designed a special menu of 2026 trainings that naturally foster team connection and positivity.
The ultimate success metric is that your team walks away feeling energized, hopeful, and clear on their priorities and vital role in the organization’s future.
Here are a few options for a morale-boosting team training. (Psst – don’t worry, if these don’t feel quite right for your particular team, we can design a custom training just for you.)
By popular demand, we're re-opening our training opportunities for 2026!
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.
Y'all, I can't believe we're already staring down the end of 2025. It's been a ride (as always).
Our team has been heads-down planning for 2026, and I am SO excited about what's coming next. We're growing, we're learning and we're getting even more focused on how we can best support the entire child-and-family space.
As part of our community, I wanted to give you an insider heads-up on a few big things we're launching.
The Forthright team just got back from sunny Orlando, Florida, for the annual Krimes Against Kids conference.
It’s a powerful event that brings together everyone from law enforcement and child protective services to survivor advocates.
Honestly, being in a room with so many people dedicated to protecting children was just incredible. As a firm that only works with organizations that help kids and families, we left feeling totally inspired.
Niki and I even had the chance to present on a topic we're incredibly passionate about: Reaching Families Without Internet Access.
In a world that’s so online, it’s crucial to remember that not everyone has the same level of connectivity.
Forthright began when I wondered:
Could I dismantle the current (broken) model of client services, and run an agency that puts people first?
Could that agency specialize exclusively in the child-and-family focused work I personally love to do?
Could we work with clients who want a true thought partner as opposed to just a vendor?
Well.
Turns out six years later, the proof, as they say, is in the pudding.
Data shows that a little happy goes a long way, from building stronger teams to reducing negative feelings overall. Today, we’re sharing how we share the happy at Forthright, along with research-backed tips for how you can share the happy within your own organization!