The Smart Communications Podcast

Farra Trompeter, co-director, is joined by Nneka Allen, Camila Pereira, and Nicole Salmon, co-editors of Collecting Courage: Joy, Pain, Freedom, Love, a collection of lived experiences written by 15 accomplished Black North American fundraisers in the United States and Canada, to discuss how nonprofit staff can push for more honest, kind, clear, and direct conversations with their colleagues.

Farra Trompeter, co-director, talks with Kivi Leroux Miller, founder and CEO of the Nonprofit Marketing Guide, about the latest nonprofit communications trends, including hot topics like AI, brand archetypes, and the structure of communications teams.

What is most important, the message, the channel, or the mindset of the audience you are trying to reach? Farra Trompeter, co-director, and Ryan Gerhardt, copy director, discuss how we think about segmentation and messaging, the differences between organizational and persuasive messaging, and more.

Effective research begins with clear objectives and choosing methods aligned with your audience to answer key questions. Farra Trompeter, co-director, sits down with senior strategist, Menaka Chandurkar, to talk about the benefits research provides to in-house communications teams and how research connects to issues of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA).

Join Farra Trompeter, co-director, and Jennifer R. Hudson, president of Think Beyond Public Relations, as they discuss how nonprofit staff can create messaging that gets people to engage with that organization's mission. Together they discuss important frameworks on developing messages that bring in perspectives of all stakeholders and offer tips about training others and operationalizing core values.

Farra Trompeter, co-director, and Funmilayo Brown, founder and CEO of Layo Philanthropic Partners chat about redefining philanthropy for people of color and how nonprofits can effectively use communications to attract and engage their donors.

Farra Trompeter and Liz Ricca, co-directors, explore the emotional nuances of changing a nonprofit's name and break down six highs and lows of the journey.

Farra Trompeter is joined by Kerry Thompson, senior advisor for inclusion and accessibility at the Disability Rights Fund and the Disability Rights Advocacy Fund, to discuss the significance of incorporating accessibility and inclusion in your nonprofit communications and sheds light on how she is designing DRF's internal processes, policies, and practices to serve as an example for other organizations.

Farra Trompeter, co-director, is joined by Dr. Ashutosh Nandeshwar, senior vice president of data science and analytics at CCS Fundraising to talk about how nonprofits should approach AI, various use cases, and practical tips that nonprofits can use to determine how it can work for your organization.

How do you hire for a strong communications team? Co-directors, Farra Trompeter and Elizabeth Ricca zoom out and talk about communications in general, why nonprofits are investing more now in how they structure their communications teams, and talk through four questions to guide your next communications hire.