Dear friends,

We had a great week at the TNPA Leadership Summit and want to send our thanks to Shannon McCracken, Abby Graf, and the entire TNPA staff for putting on an excellent event. The conference explored issues of Me, We and Community through highly interactive sessions and peer conversations. The big takeaways were that the state of the nonprofit industry is strong, and the future of nonprofit marketing will become even more dynamic and interactive. Gathering together like this is invaluable for sharing our experiences and benchmarking results against what organizations across the industry are experiencing.

Developing the Next Generation of Leaders

Avalon COO Kerri Kerr had a spotlight role at the Summit, in a fishbowl conversation with Dave Strauss of the Nature Conservancy. She and Dave held an “intimate” conversation on stage in front of 165 of their colleagues about the state of leadership development and management. Kerri talked at length about Avalon’s culture, and she was very entertaining (she and Dave were hilarious). She did a beautiful job showcasing the ways we support our team and sharing how we develop new leaders. The feedback was incredible, and I am so proud of both her “performance” and the work we have done as a company. Congratulations and thank you, Kerri and Dave!

Kerri and Dave onstage during their fishbowl conversation.

Public Speaking: “It’s Not About You”

Vice President Kamala Harris gave us all a lesson in debate last week. To mark the occasion, marketing VP Barb Perell shared Harris’s spontaneous advice to young people on how to be a great public speaker. She began with the evergreen wisdom, “When you’re standing up to speak, remember that it’s not about you.” Reporting the story for Inc., Minda Zetlin drew out two questions that every speaker should ask:

First, what do you know that your audience absolutely needs to know? And second, how can you present it to them in a way that will cause them to take action? Find the right answers to those questions, and, I guarantee, you’ll be an effective communicator. And your audiences will remember what you say.

Thank You for Fact-Checking

Many of us were relieved to see moderators fact-check the most egregious of Donald Trump’s lies during last week’s debate. However, they were only the tip of the iceberg. For a deeper dive, our clients at Brennan Center for Justice have published robust fact-checks on election fraud, crime, and “the myth of ‘the migrant crime wave’.” We appreciate your hard work “to fight fear with facts.”

The briefing on Brennan Center for Justice’s website.

Direct Mail Is (Still) Not Dead

Analytics VP Sarah Birnie circulated assurance from NonProfit PRO that direct mail is alive and well. “We all know it,” Birnie emphasized. “We have data to prove it.” Fundraisers have been here before, but I always welcome resources to share with skeptics. It’s not unusual for leaders without direct response experience to question the value. Author Summer Gould outlined seven great reasons to continue sending mail:

• Tangible and personal connection
• Higher engagement rates
• Trust and credibility
• Targeted and personalized messaging
• Longer shelf life
• Integrated marketing potential
• Measurable results

Four Types of Communicators

For strong communications, it’s important to meet your conversation partner where they are. Senior director of HR Melissa Ferrell shared a helpful framework of four kinds of communicators, with do’s and don’ts for each. The four styles to know are: aggressive, passive, passive-aggressive, and assertive. While each style has unique ins and outs, the most important advice is to adapt your response for each person. This way, you can connect with different kinds of communicators and always ensure that your message lands well.

“Communication is effective only if it’s received.”
– Leah Mether

New Fiction from Industry Veteran Louis Bayard

I was excited to see veteran copywriter Louis Bayard featured in Washington Post’s “41 Books to Read This Fall.” His upcoming novel, The Wildes: A Novel in Five Parts, tells the story of Oscar Wilde’s family, including Wilde’s wife Constance and their two sons. The book looks wonderful and will hit shelves on September 17. Congratulations, Louis!