Last month marked the second anniversary of my move to independent consulting. A year ago I was celebrating the joys of building a practice that allowed me to help causes I care about while paying the bills, and looking forward to a second year helping my clients build communities where neighbors understand each other better and a country that lives up to our ideals.
I’m happy to report that the people and organizations I was lucky enough to work with over the past year allowed me to do just that. Among the many great causes I worked with, a few stand out. I got to help Welcoming America develop a brand, messages and communications plan to help them weave immigrants into the social fabric of their adopted home towns. I also helped articulate the editorial stance of a fascinating online magazine exploring the intersection of religion and public life in America, Religion Dispatches. They are (in case you were wondering) “respectful but not reverent, an informed observer (but not necessarily observant).”
I also worked with an inspiring organization called Uniting NC that’s reminding North Carolinians of the values they share with their immigrant neighbors. I developed a set of ads for them and then helped them plan a crowdfunding effort to finance a statewide billboard campaign. The billboards earned them a huge amount of positive media coverage, and more than half of the donations that supported it came from new supporters of the organization.
To celebrate my second year in business, I’m sharing the blueprint we used on the campaign as a model for any cause that wants to pay for an ad campaign and build their base of support at the same time.
So what’s ahead for Year Three? I still get excited about helping good causes build strong connections with the people they need to reach in order to achieve their goals. Sometimes that means articulating a brand, or drafting some compelling messages. Sometimes it means creating an ad, building a website or running a crowdfunding campaign.
In other words, helping nonprofits tell their stories. If you could use some help with that, or know someone who could, please do get in touch.
