We sat down with Andrea Kihlstedt (https://capitalcampaignmasters.com/about/andrea-kihlstedt/) and Amy Eisenstein (https://www.amyeisenstein.com), capital campaign experts with over 50 years of collective experience in the fundraising space, to talk about their new project: the Capital Campaign Toolkit. (https://capitalcampaigntoolkit.com/) They discuss how the model of capital campaign development is changing—from nonprofits relying on consultants to lead the process to embracing online resourc...
May 22, 2019•13 min
Claire Taylor Hansen, Big Duck’s Creative Director, (https://bigducknyc.com/about/claire-taylor-hansen/) 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...
May 08, 2019•14 min
Christine Hughes, Vice President of Institutional Advancement for Burke Neurological Institute (https://burke.weill.cornell.edu/people/christine-e-hughes), 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...
Apr 24, 2019•15 min
Stephanie Paul, Vice President of Marketing and Development at the American Parkinson Disease Association (https://www.apdaparkinson.org/about-apda/stephanie-paul/), 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.
Apr 10, 2019•19 min
George Weiner, Founder and Chief Whaler of Whole Whale (https://www.wholewhale.com/staff/george-weiner/), 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-...
Mar 27, 2019•14 min
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.
Mar 12, 2019•26 min
Suzanne Shaw is Director of Communications at the Union of Concerned Scientists (https://www.ucsusa.org/about/staff/staff/suzanne-shaw.html#.XEtbJM9KjOQ) 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 ...
Feb 26, 2019•17 min
Marcus dePaula, co-founder of Mixtus Media (https://www.mixtusmedia.com/who-we-are/) and producer of this podcast, is an expert in online content creation. In this episode he breaks down creative commons licensing, explains the ethical (and credibility) issues in grabbing images from Google for fundraising appeals or marketing communications, and shares resources for great, free photography and music every organization can use.
Feb 13, 2019•12 min
Nonprofit leaders must make their vision clear and get everyone—staff, board, and other stakeholders—aligned and motivated to work toward it together. For Wayne Ho, President and CEO of CPC (https://www.cpc-nyc.org/) (Chinese American Planning Council), this means communicating effectively with over 4,000 employees. In this episode of the Smart Communications Podcast, Wayne shares three essential rules that guide all of his internal communications. Want to learn more about how Wayne encourages a...
Jan 30, 2019•18 min
Vince Warren reflects on his twelve years (and counting!) as Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights. Over the course of his tenure, Vince has built the organization around its potential—and his vision of what it could become. Tune in to learn about his, and the Center for Constitutional Rights’, journey. Want more on the Center for Constitutional Rights? Read all about our branding work together in the case study (https://bigducknyc.com/work/mobilizing-a-new-generation-in-the...
Jan 16, 2019•13 min
In this episode of the Smart Communications Podcast, two members of Big Duck’s strategy team, Laura Fisher (https://bigducknyc.com/about/laura-fisher/) and Gil Mejia (https://bigducknyc.com/about/gil-mejia/), define strategy, unpack the differences between strategic goals, objectives, and tactics, and offer tips for nonprofit communicators looking to develop their strategic thinking. If you want more resources on strategy, download our free ebook, Achieve more: Putting strategy to work for your ...
Jan 02, 2019•12 min
Chandra Hayslett, Communications Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, sits down to share her experiences launching the podcast, The Activist Files (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-activist-files-podcast/id1389473053?mt=2%20), for her organization. She discusses why she started the podcast, results she’s seen so far, the nuts and bolts of production, and shares practical tips for starting a podcast for your nonprofit. Curious about the Center for Constitutional Rights’ rebran...
Dec 19, 2018•19 min
Craig Shelley, Managing Director of Orr Group (https://orrgroup.com/our-people/craig-h-shelley/), shares how nonprofit leadership and staff can foster stronger, more productive relationships with board members. He unpacks different board types and offers simple suggestions for executive directors looking to build trust and partnership with their board, and more.
Dec 05, 2018•21 min
Elise Dowell is Vice Chancellor for Communications and External Affairs at The Jewish Theological Seminary (http://www.jtsa.edu/elise-dowell). Since joining JTS in 2002, Elise has lead transformational communications efforts, upgraded their recruitment marketing program, and won two Emmy Awards. She sat down with us to share lessons she has learned over her illustrious career, focusing on how to collaborate more effectively and build organizational alignment around the value of communications.
Nov 28, 2018•18 min
Jenny Dyson, Ruler and Creative Director of Pencil, a creative agency specializing in brand storytelling in the UK, shares her experiences turning content from one conference into a rich, multi-channel story for her client, One Small Thing. She also shares practical advice for nonprofit communicators looking to translate their organization’s work into clear, compelling, and authentic stories.
Nov 14, 2018•17 min
Sarah Durham and Farra Trompeter head to Fundraising Day to ask development professionals one question: “What can communications do to support development?” You’ll hear answers at the beginning of this episode from Samantha Coolidge, New York Area Director of Advancement at Moishe House (https://www.moishehouse.org/about-us/people/samantha-collidge/), Margaret Fredrickson from Graham Pelton (https://grahampelton.com/people/), Leslie Weber, Deputy Executive Director for External Relations at Huds...
Oct 31, 2018•20 min
Stephanie Paul, Vice President of Marketing and Development at the American Parkinson Disease Association (https://www.apdaparkinson.org/about-apda/stephanie-paul/) shares how the rebranding process helped APDA unite its 19 local chapters and ensure all had the tools to communicate with one clear voice.
Oct 17, 2018•15 min
In this episode of the Smart Communications Podcast, Ally Dommu, Big Duck’s Director of Strategy (https://bigducknyc.com/about/ally-dommu/), shares the four core elements a nonprofit organization needs in place internally—culture, team, assets, and reflection—to ensure the hard work of a rebrand doesn’t go to waste.
Oct 10, 2018•16 min
Simone Joyaux, author of “Firing Lousy Board Members,” (https://www.simonejoyaux.com/) and organizational management, development, and fundraising expert tackles what makes a great nonprofit board. She maps out the process of getting smarter about governance and shares the steps nonprofit boards can take right away to begin reflecting, discussing, and reaching consensus about what good governance looks like.
Sep 19, 2018•12 min
Liz Ricca, Big Duck’s Managing Director, shares tools and practices that can help facilitate great internal communications. She gives tips on how to use organizational values actively as an HR tool and provides a structured feedback exercise you can put into practice to spark meaningful, productive conversations between staff. Listen in.
Sep 05, 2018•15 min
Should nonprofits squeeze in a full rebrand when their website needs an update? In this episode of the Smart Communications Podcast, Sarah Durham, CEO of Big Duck, outlines the basic order of operations for a successful rebrand process—from the strategic plan to the website overhaul.
Aug 22, 2018•7 min
Cecilia Clarke, President and CEO of the Brooklyn Community Foundation, shares her experiences listening to over 1,000 community members about their vision for Brooklyn, and how those insights helped redefine their work and organizational values. She also shares tips on how to articulate your nonprofit’s values and get to the underlying why of your work.
Aug 08, 2018•16 min
Elianne Ramos, Senior Director of Communications and Public Affairs at National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health and prior Latino Digital Coalitions Desk for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, shares her experiences launching and maintaining a YouTube Live platform for her organization. She discusses the benefits of YouTube Live in helping maintain consistent, digestible, and shareable communications that tie together all threads of her organization’s work, what it takes for nonpro...
Aug 01, 2018•10 min
In this episode of the Smart Communications Podcast Claire Taylor Hansen, one of Big Duck’s Art Directors, shares digital brand guide trends and best practices in the nonprofit and for-profit worlds and offers suggestions for keeping your brand guide alive.
Jul 24, 2018•7 min
Dan Gunderman, Big Duck’s Creative Director, tells all about taglines. Dan defines what taglines are, the function they serve in a nonprofit’s brand, and shares tips for crafting a tagline that is simple, meaningful, and truly unique to your organization.
Jul 11, 2018•14 min
Jessica González-Rojas, Executive Director of National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, shares her experiences planning for her sabbatical and the unexpected benefits it brought to her organization. She also shares tips for how nonprofit leaders can prepare for their own sabbaticals and set sabbatical policies for staff.
Jul 03, 2018•18 min
Word choices are important! Tune in to learn what words and phrases nonprofit communicators should avoid, gleaned from our popular “Words to Avoid” annual blog, plus tips for making more thoughtful language choices.
Jun 27, 2018•10 min
To successfully increase their organization’s visibility through campaigns, nonprofit leaders need to ensure they’re grounded in strategy—with concrete goals, audiences, and actions in mind.
Jun 13, 2018•9 min
Organizational values and brand personality are related but very different, and often get confused. We’ll define and differentiate them in this podcast.
May 30, 2018•12 min
Special events and annual galas may no longer be a nonprofit’s best bet for fundraising. Why? The world is changing rapidly—and so are audiences’ expectations. Tune in to learn more.
May 16, 2018•12 min
