New Articles & Resources
Messaging one-pager and talking points in response to proposed Legal Services Corporation funding cuts (Voices for Civil Justice, 3/16/2017)
Talking About Economic Justice: Communications that Support Efforts to Eliminate Poverty (The Opportunity Agenda, 3/15/2017)
Your Nonprofit’s Role in Reframing the Post-Election Discourse (Nonprofit Quarterly, 2/16/2017)
General Communications Resources
Idealware – Idealware works to help nonprofit organizations make technology decisions. They offer many free resources including articles, reports, and online trainings, as well as informative blog posts and an eNewsletter.
Nonprofit Marketing Guide – Nonprofit Marketing Guide is a website that offers numerous free and low-cost resources for communications and marketing professionals, including a blog (with new posts every weekday) and a weekly weekly newsletter with communication tips.
Tech Networks of Boston – Tech Networks of Boston helps mission-driven organizations extend their reach and increase their impact through technology. TNB hosts regular roundtable events on a variety of topics as well as a free event listing service at Boston Charity Events.
The Opportunity Agenda – The Opportunity Agenda is a “social justice communication lab” focused on expanding opportunity and driving policy change through media and creative engagement. They publish a variety of toolkits as well as communications resources covering specific topics including criminal justice, poverty, economic opportunity, and immigration.
Media Outreach & Advocacy
Voices for Civil Justice – Voices for Civil Justice is a national organization dedicated to increasing visibility of civil legal aid in national media, and building capacity for media advocacy within the civil legal aid community. Voices for Civil Justice offers assistance in developing potential pitches and placements; writing and placing opinion pieces such as op-eds and letters to the editor; drafting talking points for interviews, preparing for presentations and public appearances; as well as feedback on websites, graphics and social media tactics and overall communications planning. You can also sign up for their email discussion list or search their archive of civil legal aid news coverage.
Media Advocacy Handbook (The Legal Aid Society)
Messagine, Storytelling, and Infographics
National Public Radio Editorial Training – NPR offers numerous resources related to audio, digital, social, and visual reporting and storytelling.
Storytelling with Data Workshop (Boston University College of Communication)
5 Ways for Nonprofits to Tell an Ethical Story (Nonprofit Quarterly)
Telling a New Story: A Collaborative Checklist for Social Justice Leaders (The Opportunity Agenda)
Free infographic creation tool: Easelly
Free design tool for presentations, social media graphics, and more: Canva
The Most Amazing Online Organizing Guide (Green Memes) Using examples from the environmental movement, this guide offers insight on strategy, storytelling, social media, taking great photos, and creating memes.
Smart Chart is a free interactive tool from Spitfire Strategies to help nonprofits make and assess communications plans. You can download a PDF version of the tool here.
Basic messaging guidelines for your nonprofit organization (moflow)
Press Releases
A simple guide to injecting colorful quotes into your news release (Nonprofit Marketing Guide)
Press Release 101: Why you need a good nut graph (Nonprofit Marketing Guide)
Social Media
The Nonprofit Social Media Policy Workbook (Idealware)
Draft social media guidelines (Greater Boston Legal Services)
Social media policy (Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation/The Equal Justice Coalition)
12 Questions Skeptical Lawyers Might Have About Social Media (Robert Bertsche, Partner at Prince Lobel Tye)
Originally published in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly on April 6, 2016.
An always up-to-date cheat sheet for social media image sizes (Sprout Social)
Facebook has created a website for nonprofits that provides guidance on setting up a page, attract more supporters, and raise funds, among other resources.
Hashtagify allows you to search a hashtag’s popularity and helps you find hashtags related to your issue that may be more relevant and popular than what you’re using.
Data & Contact Management
Idealware offers several articles and guides about customer/constituent relationship management software, including A Few Good Constituent Relationship Management Tools and 10 Things To Consider in a CRM.
Salesforce, one of the most popular CRMs, is available to nonprofits for free (for up to 10 users). The Salesforce Foundation also offers “office hours” on Fridays, during which you can ask questions of Salesforce experts.
Website & Writing
Website Accessibility in Mind (WebAIM), a service of the University of Utah’s Center for Persons with Disabilities, offers numerous resources to help ensure that your organization’s website and its content are accessible.
A Progressive’s Style Guide (SumOfUs)