The Smart Communications Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 39: How can you get your team to stop fighting like cats and dogs? Jul 03, 2019

Show notes

Farra Trompeter, Big Duck’s Vice President, and Chris Tuttle, digital engagement strategist, bring their respective love for cats and dogs to the analogy of fighting communications and development teams. Hear how they create cross-departmental alignment and collaboration.

Episode 38: Can chatbots improve donor experiences? Jun 19, 2019

Show notes

Alice Hendricks is the CEO of Jackson River, a firm that helps nonprofits harness the power of technologies to achieve their goals. In this mind-blowing conversation, she shares how the consumer marketing space is using technology (chatbots, artificial intelligence, and more) and outlines how nonprofits can apply those tools to create more personalized and relevant experiences for supporters.

Episode 37: Are your internal communications values-driven? Jun 05, 2019

Show notes

Elizabeth Toledo, President of Camino Group and former Vice President of Communications at Planned Parenthood, is a crisis communications expert.

She discusses the biggest internal communications challenges she’s seen and how strong values alignment can help nonprofits communicate more effectively internally and externally, especially about social issues and controversial topics. Plus, she shares recommendations for nonprofits looking to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace.

Episode 36: Do you need a capital campaign consultant? May 22, 2019

Show notes

We sat down with Andrea Kihlstedt and Amy Eisenstein, capital campaign experts with over 50 years of collective experience in the fundraising space, to talk about their new project: the Capital Campaign Toolkit.

They discuss how the model of capital campaign development is changing—from nonprofits relying on consultants to lead the process to embracing online resources and tools staff can use themselves. Listen to learn more about what kinds of nonprofits can benefit from the toolkit and when calling a campaign consultant will be an organization’s best course of action.

Episode 35: Does your nonprofit need a new logo? May 08, 2019

Show notes

Claire Taylor Hansen, Big Duck’s Creative Director, helps nonprofits answer the age-old question: Do we need a new logo? She discusses signs that a logo might need to change, the power of using visual elements—typography, colors, patterns, and more—consistently and well, and shares a simple exercise in-house teams can do to assess whether their nonprofit’s materials align with communications goals.

If you want more resources to help you ensure your nonprofit’s brand is understood and applied consistently, download our free ebook, Brand stickiness: Building, integrating, and managing your nonprofit’s voice so it succeeds.

Episode 34: How can you make a lean team more effective? Apr 24, 2019

Show notes

Christine Hughes, Vice President of Institutional Advancement for Burke Neurological Institute, is a world-class fundraiser and scientist with extensive experience in the biomedical field.

Christine is in the process of building the Burke development and communications departments—and their pipeline of donors—from the ground up using precision communications. By applying this strategy, she’s built a lean and efficient in-house team with a passionate network of consultants to fill in the gaps. Tune in to hear how she did it and for tips on building a team from scratch.

Episode 33: Should your organization produce a PSA? Apr 10, 2019

Show notes

Stephanie Paul, Vice President of Marketing and Development at the American Parkinson Disease Association, sits down with Sarah Durham to discuss her experiences creating PSAs and shares lessons learned along the way. Tune in to learn how APDA uses their PSAs as tools to raise awareness, reach new audiences, gather stories, and change perceptions about Parkinson’s disease.

Episode 32: What data really matters? Mar 27, 2019

Show notes

George Weiner, Founder and Chief Whaler of Whole Whale, a social impact tech company, sits down with us to discuss all things data—why it matters for nonprofits, what data to pay attention to, how to visualize and share it, and how to get started with Google Analytics.

This is a must-listen if you’re a nonprofit communicator responsible for collecting and measuring data related to your mission, or a nonprofit leader looking to foster a more data-driven culture at your organization.

Episode 31: Should you rename your nonprofit? Mar 12, 2019

Show notes

Farra Trompeter, Big Duck’s Vice President, and Dan Gunderman, Big Duck’s Creative Director, have successfully facilitated many nonprofit name changes throughout the years. In this episode, they discuss reasons why more nonprofits are changing their names, what it takes, and lessons they’ve learned that may help organizations thinking about evolving—or radically changing—their name.

Episode 30: How do you structure a growing communications team? Feb 26, 2019

Show notes

Suzanne Shaw is Director of Communications at the Union of Concerned Scientists and has over three decades of expertise in nonprofit and private sector marketing and communications.

She restructured her communications department with the intention to build in-house capacity, increase efficiency, bridge “channel-silos,” and measure marketing efforts more effectively. Tune in to hear how she did it and get tips for deciding what a nonprofit with a small communications team should take on in-house vs. outsource.

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