I’ve recently done some work with a small education charity to help them improve their termly schools newsletter. It was a classic situation of something they knew wasn’t working as well as it could, but as a small and operationally busy team they simply didn’t have the time to step back and look at how … Read more
At the weekend I was lucky enough to go along to a painting class with the wonderful Jane from Be in Art. For some time now I’ve been looking for a class like this, so when I saw this one via a tweet from a friend, I jumped at the chance to go along. Jane’s … Read more
The literacy charity for which I am a trustee, ABC to read, was recently awarded the Investing in Volunteers quality mark. Like many organisations, we are only able to do the work we do, changing children’s lives, because of our amazing volunteers. So we were delighted to receive recognition for the support we offer them. … Read more
I have just started a communications project with an organisation that has a high profile with the public, with content regularly appearing in the traditional media as well as on social media. This coverage can be mixed in terms of being positive and negative, based on fact and based on rumour and hearsay. It means … Read more
With just a couple of weeks to go to the ‘big day’, many organisations are facing the twin pressures of lots to do before the end of the year and employees who in many cases already want to be winding down for Christmas. Offices are full of chocolates gifted by suppliers and the tinsel and … Read more
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. April is Autism Awareness Month. March sees Marie Curie’s Great Daffodil Appeal. Time-specific campaigns can be a great way for charities to raise awareness of their work and the difference they aim to make. They can also be an opportunity for different organisations doing similar things to work together. … Read more
Last summer a not-for-profit organisation approached me for help in identifying how to take their internal communication activity forward during a period of change. A campaigning organisation that had grown rapidly in a short space of time, they had never had time to review the way they were communicating with each other, but they knew … Read more
My clients are busy people, with lots to do and lots to achieve. They recognise that communication at their organisation needs improving – often because other people have told them so – but they don’t know where to start, haven’t got enough pairs of hands or they don’t feel confident enough in their own communication … Read more
We’ve all heard the old cliché “Failing to plan is planning to fail”. Personally I’ve always found it a bit smug, but like most clichés, there is a truth at the heart of it. Regular readers of this blog will know that it has become my mission in life to inspire organisations to be more … Read more
To be honest, there are no hard and fast rules about what it will cost. You might as well ask how long is a piece of string. But it is useful to think about what to include for internal communication when you are putting your comms budget together. A recent CharityComms report found that communication … Read more