What's ahead for Forthright
Written by katie test davis
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.
new service launching: hiring and recruiting
For years now, we’ve helped our clients find the right people for their open communications roles and make great hires. (Because, of course, it’s better when communicators hire other communicators – it’s really hard to hire a communicator if you’ve never done the job!)
We’ve developed job descriptions, sat on interview panels, created interview guides and been part of selection committees. We’ve also developed our own free hiring guide and onboarding recommendations. So formally adding ‘hiring and recruiting’ to our services menu is a natural extension of work we… already do.
I’m particularly excited about this because we’re also going to get to pull back the curtain and help our clients hire the way we, at Forthright, hire for our internal team. If you’ve ever been impressed by how high-quality our team is (I know I have been, if I do say so myself), it’s because we use a specific bias-mitigating application form. We also interview using a *really* particular science-backed style. Even our task exercises are strategically designed to uncover hidden strengths.
We’re making our recruiting package a single project fee and very transparent, so clients have a predictable investment amount they can rely on. So hang tight – we’ll be sharing more in January when we officially launch, but consider this your insider heads up! (And if you know you’re hiring for a communications role in early 2026, hit reply and we’ll give you a steep discount for being one of our first-ever recruiting clients!)
upcoming state of communications in child and family advocacy report
Let's be real: it’s been a more challenging advocacy environment than ever before in our careers. (Yes, I'm gesturing wildly at... all of this.)
We’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how we can give back to leaders like you and make your work just a little easier.
So, we secured some funding to research and write a “State of Communications in Advocacy” report. Our goal is to identify what child and family focused leaders actually need at this important point in history – so we can then better resource the field.
We’re in the middle of interviewing nonprofit and philanthropic leaders across the country. We’re asking them the tough questions:
What are the biggest challenges child and family advocates like you are facing?
As a field, what’s holding us back or making us weaker than we could be?
What topics are suddenly way more challenging to communicate about than they used to be?
And, my personal favorite: What do you wish funders knew?
We'll be publishing a report with all our findings and recommendations in early 2026.
I’ll absolutely share it with you as soon as it’s live.
But the report is just the start. We’re going to use all this data to launch new resources and supports (like training on reframing arguments or fresh audience polling data) to bolster and resource the field.
Stay tuned.
expanding our client base
Ok, now, don’t get it twisted… we’re (always) only going to work with organizations that love kids. In 2026 we’ll be opening our doors to more cause-driven clients in our space.
Our team is great at getting information to parents and families. We’re also some of the best in the country at getting information to educators. And there are plenty of organizations beyond nonprofits, philanthropy and school districts that need those skills.
We’ve always worked with a handful of values-aligned for-profit clients, but in 2026 we’ll be intentionally expanding and diversifying our client base to include corporations’ social responsibility programs when related to our work.
For example (and I'm manifesting here, so if you know someone who knows someone, help a girl out) this may include clients such as General Mills' Box Tops for Education. Or PNC Grow Up Great®. So if there’s anyone in the CSR space that works on issues of children and families that you think I should meet, I’d love an introduction.
We’ll also be opening our doors to aligned clients such as therapy practices, affordable legal aid and other service providers that work closely with children and families and live our values.
Phew! That's the big news from our end.
To say I'm pumped is an understatement.
As we look to 2026, we're excited to build upon our core mission of making the world a better place for kids and families. Our new initiatives will expand our impact in the child-and-family space, allowing us to deepen our support and positively impact even more people.
Because goodness… we need it right now.
Thanks for being on this journey with us – we're so glad you're part of our village.
