3 Lessons from the Nonprofit Communications Trenches

TL;DR: At GP Creative, many team members bring years of direct nonprofit communications leadership to the table. We’ve learned that clear, two-way communication, repeatable strategies, and sustainable execution are the key to effective collaboration and organizational health. Don’t get caught in the comparison game. Start where you are, build steadily, and focus on what’s truly sustainable for your team.

Did you know several members of the GP Creative team previously worked in communications leadership roles at nonprofits? We have decades of first-hand experience in responding to urgent needs, negotiating limited budgets, and achieving big goals. All this practical experience gives us a unique perspective on what works and what it takes to communicate well.

The ideas below are just a few of the lessons we’ve picked up along the way. We hope they can help your nonprofit communicate with clarity, consistency, and purpose!

What Are You Really Saying?

What you say isn’t always what your audience hears. As communicators, it’s our job to consider the different ways people will perceive our message, then to clarify the message itself and the intention and context behind it.

Asking good questions and making time for dialogue are important ways to ensure the clarity of your message. Clear, two-way communication is the foundation for strong collaborations with your champions (staff, board members, donors) and the community at large. Take the time to ask good questions, sit down for an actual chat, and double-check that your message matches your meaning.

We believe the best ideas — and the best execution — come from genuine connection and conversation. Ask what people need. Allow space for honest input. Put yourself in others’ shoes.

Project Management is Essential

Even the best ideas fall flat without systems and people to support them. We’ve seen fantastic projects fail, not because the heart wasn’t there, but because the next steps weren’t defined and organized/galvanized by the right people.

We’ve come to believe that every project — large or small, or anywhere in between — needs a manager. Effective project management is the silent partner of great communication and a satisfying journey. So, get clear on the strengths and contributions of your teammates, then identify one of them as the manager for your next project!

There are lots of great resources online to learn best practices. Check out Coursera, which we’ve used to boost the capabilities of each of our Project Managers. We also use ClickUp every single day to keep our work organized and galvanized in a collaborative environment. PMI is the gold standard for leveling up in your project management know-how.

Repeatable and Sustainable Win in the End

In the hallways and meeting rooms at our offices, you’ll hear a quote that’s often attributed to Bill Gates: 

“Most people overestimate what they can do in a year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.” 

We apply this idea to nonprofit communications by acknowledging that consistent, repeatable effort compounds over time and leads to better outcomes than chasing fleeting trends.

Just because a flash-in-the-pan trend works for another organization doesn’t mean it’s right for yours. Running after others’ approaches is a slippery slope that can lead to burnout, frustration, and disappointment, especially when you don’t have the same resources or personnel they had. That’s why it’s vital to build strategies that truly fit your needs, your team, your community, and your actual capacity. 

So, start where you are, set realistic goals, and don’t be afraid to grow slowly and intentionally! You’ll continuously improve over time, and you’ll surprise yourself at how far you’ve come in just a few years.

What are some game-changing communication lessons you’ve learned in your role? Subscribe to our email list to keep learning from our team’s experience, mistakes, and wins in the world of nonprofit communications.