Book Description About the Author Sarah is an entrepreneur and creative consultant with a passion for helping nonprofits communicate more effectively so they can advance their missions. She founded Big Duck (bigduck.com) in 1994 to help nonprofits increase their visibility, raise money, and communicate more effectively. In 2019, she acquired Advomatic (advomatic.com), which builds and supports websites for nonprofits. She spends her days guiding these businesses and talking with nonprofit leaders about their communications. The author of Brandraising: How Nonprofits Raise Visibility and Money Through Smart Communications (Jossey-Bass/Wiley, 2010), Sarah’s expertise has been borrowed by NPR, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Guidestar, and others. She is a sought-after speaker on branding, fundraising, and other nonprofit communications topics. She was named a “top fundraiser under 40” by Fundraising Success magazine in 2006, and one of the most influential women in technology by Fast Company magazine in 2010. As an adjunct professor at NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, Sarah taught strategic communications to other aspiring nonprofit communicators for many years. Read more Customers Review: Highly recommend. It’s like they had a camera in our nonprofit’s communication’s office. Will be sharing until everyone in our office has a chance to read it!
This book X-rays how a communications department, especially a new one (or one in recovery), fits into the bigger organizational picture. It’s a worthy how-to: it has enough nuts and bolts to build your own Tesla … plus many frank anecdotes about how nonprofit communications fall and rise. Books like this come from pain, I think: the pain of seeing great missions stumble (repeatedly) over unseen and unsuspected obstacles like a lousy internal culture, one that undermines rather than nurtures brand-building and fundraising. Read it, leaders. Weep. Get better soon. All the good advice you need is here, from Sarah Durham, founder/CEO of NYC-based Big Duck.
Time and money are almost always short at nonprofits, and strong communications, used effectively, is a powerful force multiplier. Whether your organization has its own large comms team or you’re working with outside consultants, The Nonprofit Communications Engine’s seamless mix of communications theory and practical advice will be invaluable to you. Sarah Durham is a clear, compelling writer with no time to waste. Any nonprofit executive director who isn’t already a communications expert needs to read this book.
Wow… what a perfect learning tool as well as reinforcement of what you know and need to know about the non-profit world!Most importantly, you learn how to reach and enhance your organization goals. This book offers intelligent, understandable laid out steps for enhancing action forward for the non-profit world.A must read guidebook for today’s world.
The book provides nonprofit leaders with action-oriented strategies and tools to reach, engage, and collaborate with the audiences that are essential to advancing their mission. I especially enjoyed Sarah Durham’s six-pronged approach to ensure your communications are building mindshare, sparking action, and expressing your organization’s voice clearly and deliberately.
I was an in-house nonprofit marketing and communications professional for several years, and had a hard time communicating with org leadership about why and how to dedicate resources and energy to a cohesive, strategic comms “engine.” I wish I could’ve used this book back in the day as a way to build understanding. I’m so glad to have it now in my role as a consultant.
I’m going to read anything by Sarah Durham and this does not disappoint. Sarah is a gifted writer and marketer and you will learn a ton from her wisdom and experience.
Well written, easy to understand, and clear! I found it very actionable and thoughtful. It sparked a lot of ideas and takeaways. |
8 reviews