Industry Insights

By Sara Veltkamp, Minerva Strategies — While we know that people use social media, we tend not to think of social media users as people. They are metrics; they are likes, shares, and sometimes, unfortunately, trolls.  However, it’s important to remember that each avatar connects to a person with a personality, private life, stressors, and all…

By Rebecca Zanatta, President and Founder of RJZ Connections, Inc. and a Senior Consultant at The Ostara Group  ̶ Rebecca (Becca) is one of Minerva’s partners.  We team up with her for work with clients that need smart fundraising expertise on their team.  We love Becca because she understands the connections (and differences) between communications and development.  Plus, she…

By Kini Schoop, Director of Media Relations for Change.org— Confession: I don’t read celebrity tabloids or watch Entertainment Tonight. I avoid most celeb-tainment as a rule. This was not always the case for me, as I spent many years working in communications for fundraising organizations that had tremendous support from the entertainment community. (I have recently…

By Sara Veltkamp, Minerva Strategies — Domestic is different Communicators for U.S.-based international development organizations are often put in a tough spot.  We’re in the U.S., busily drafting content for websites, brochures, and social media posts about how the work of our organization or our client’s organization is changing the world for the better. However,…

By Joy Portella, President, Minerva Strategies — This week NPR and ProPublica did a scathing story on The American Red Cross and how they spent the $500 million raised after the Haiti earthquake in 2010. I was the director of communications at a large international NGO for several years, including during the Haiti earthquake response, and…

Roger Burks, Online Communications Officer, World Bank— There is no template for nonprofit storytelling – but there are truths. I’ve seen and heard many examples of how storytelling has failed or fallen short at a variety of organizations, from big to small, local to international. Most of the time, it comes from a fundamental lack of…

By Roger Lloyd, freelance marketing and communications writer — Ok, everybody break off into groups! Collaboration is the magic dance of creative communication and is an essential element of what we do. It builds successful relationships, adds weight and buy in to our work, and gives ownership of ideas to all parties involved. When it works…

By Erin Gray, Senior Communications and Media Officer, HIV Scotland — I love election time. As a nonprofit communicator, there’s no better opportunity to see communication techniques in action on a grand scale. Political parties take risks that nonprofits can rarely afford to – experimenting with key messages in the face of hard-hitting interviews, reinventing…

By Sara Veltkamp, Minerva Strategies – We all need a fresh start sometimes.  We move, take vacations, get rid of clutter, or streamline our lives in other ways to make it simpler, give perspective, reenergize, or become more focused. Nonprofits also need fresh starts.  Within the rapidly changing landscapes in which we work, maintaining perspective,…

By Joy Portella, President, Minerva Strategies – I’m that kind of aid skeptic. I scowl at the idea of child sponsorship. I wag my finger at people who want to send t-shirts or shoes or bicycles to kids in Africa. I yawn at sappy victim narratives that other people find heartwarming. But I am optimistic,…