Posts By: Mac Prichard

You may have noticed that it’s becoming more common for foundations to produce podcasts that feature interviews with social change leaders and experts. Here are just three examples: The Heinz Endowments recently launched We Can Be, a weekly show hosted by Grant Oliphant that shares conversations with social justice leaders. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

The growing popularity of podcasting is good news for changemakers. Interview shows rank among the most popular podcast formats. And that means hosts, especially those who produce weekly or even daily programs, need guests with interesting stories to share. Once you get invited to be a guest on a podcast, how do you make the

Ten years ago in April of 2007, I opened the doors to Prichard Communications. I’m grateful to the many clients we’ve served in the last decade. And I especially appreciate the many gifted people I’ve had the good fortune to work with at Prichard today and in the past. It’s been terrific to spend the past

You put time and energy into building relationships with your local media. Soon your hard work pays off. You start getting calls from reporters who see you as an expert or respond to your story pitches. And before you agree to any interview, you ask a reporter about the topics to be discussed. But sometimes

For many us, public speaking ranks as our biggest fear. As a result, you may say no to giving presentations even to small groups. Or when you say yes, you procrastinate, become filled with dread, and stumble through the experience with much emotion and mixed results. That’s a shame. Because public speaking, especially in your

The arrival of every new year brings reflection about goals and opportunities for the months ahead. Here at Prichard, social change is always at the top of our minds because we are committed to using our communications superpowers for good. We asked ourselves and local leaders who are alumni of The Portland Ten three questions

A well-run blog lets your social change organization engage supporters, share ideas and accomplishments, and connect with decision-makers. To be successful, you must publish consistently and provide valuable content. This creates trust and keeps readers coming back. And you need an editorial calendar to plan your work and a strategy to market it. But coming

Communications was a vital part of the movement that stopped legal discrimination against gays and lesbians in the U.S. military in 2011. (A similar ban on discrimination of transgender persons didn’t come until June 30, 2016).   Aaron Belkin, the founder of Palm Center, was at the center of the effort. He led a 10-year

At Prichard, we’re big fans of professional conferences for social change communicators. Our favorites include the annual events sponsored by frank and The Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network. These and other gatherings offer terrific opportunities to share ideas, reconnect with old colleagues, and make new friends. At the end of this month, my colleague Jenna Cerruti

It’s high summer, a season for vacations and leisure-time reading lists. At Prichard we love books, especially books about social change. And because we’re a digital agency, our reading lists also include websites, apps, and software. Here’s a short list sharing five of our favorite online tips for social change communicators this summer with tools that can

Podcasting is booming. In 2016, more than one out of five Americans have listened to a podcast in the last month, according to the Pew Research Center. And that number is expected to grow. Is your organization or company starting a podcast? Or do want to take your show to the next level? Last week

Who looks at your organization’s blog and other online content? You may have met a few of your readers personally. But chances are you know little else about the others besides a name or an email address. That’s a problem. You need to know what all your readers care about. Otherwise you can’t create content

Your work is not done once you hit the publish key on a post for your social change organization’s blog. If you want to attract and grow your audience, you need to think about how you will market your content even before you begin to write. Here are steps you can take now to get

What’s one of the most common communications mistakes social change leaders make? Too many otherwise savvy executives believe that effective media relations means sending out a news release alone. That’s all it takes, according to this line of thinking, to produce both calls from reporters and plenty of news stories. What happens next? Sometimes people

As Twitter celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, many commentators have noted the difference the global social media network has made in social change movements. From the Arab Spring to Black Lives Matters, Twitter has been a vital online communications tool for activists and revolutionaries around the world. It’s also the online news service of

Do you and your nonprofit colleagues know the audiences you want to reach and the messages you want to deliver? Congratulations! Now you’re ready for your next challenge: You need to communicate your organization’s messages effectively, especially to reporters, community leaders and funders. One of the best tools you can use to do this is

It’s been 22 years since a Swarthmore College student created the first blog. Can an online tool launched in 1994, the year when Forrest Gump was number one at the box office and the Beastie Boys ruled MTV, still make a difference in your nonprofit’s communications? Absolutely. Blogs are the perfect tool for sharing and

  As December draws to a close, it’s time to take out our crystal ball here at Prichard and look ahead to the New Year. Here are three important trends in online communications my colleague Jenna Cerruti and I see happening in 2016 and our tips about how your nonprofit can make the most of

With more than 250,000 podcasts on iTunes, it can be hard to get listeners to pay attention to your nonprofit’s show. You can stand out in this crowded field—and attract new audiences—by ranking high on the charts iTunes uses to track podcast popularity. This puts you in front of people looking for new programs and

Podcasting allows your nonprofit to reach new audiences who like to listen to content while doing other things, such as driving, running errands, or walking the dog. Almost one out of five Americans listen to podcasts, about as many as the number of people who use Twitter. Podcasts can also help your nonprofit achieve your

Prichard joined the ranks of the nation’s leading benefit corporations this week by becoming a Certified B Corporation®. We’re thrilled to receive this official recognition of our commitment to helping nonprofits make a difference in communities right here in Oregon and across the country. B Corps™ are certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet

Which of two restaurants side-by-side would you think might offer the better meal? The one with a long line out the door or the one that is half empty? I see how people make this choice every time I visit “Restaurant Row” here in Portland, a few blocks of SE 28th Avenue that has more

Your nonprofit’s online audience may be your organization’s most valuable asset. But once you create that community, how do you keep it engaged? Here are eight secrets we see effective nonprofit communicators use to connect with others online. Define your Audience Get specific, really, really specific, about who you want to reach. The general public,

Podcasts have become an important resource for nonprofit leaders and it’s no mystery why. You can find dozens of shows about nonprofit work that share personal stories, actionable ideas or in-depth interviews that will inspire and help you do your job better. Podcasts are convenient, too.  Like Netflix, Hulu and other streaming television services, podcasts

You know how important it is to measure the results your nonprofit’s online communications produces. However, which metrics really merit your attention? According to Chris Brogan, author  of Social Media 101: Tactics and Tips to Develop Your Business Online, only two online yardsticks matter: how much revenue you generate and the number of e-newsletter subscribers

Media coverage offers many benefits to your nonprofit, such as: encouraging public action on your issues drawing attention to your organization’s accomplishments increasing awareness of how people can donate time or money However, before you pitch a reporter you need a media relations plan. To get the coverage you want you need to identify the

The nonprofit world has more than its fair share of bad writing. Impenetrable jargon, run-on sentences, and bloated paragraphs are everywhere in our reports, proposals, and other documents. Giving our coworkers our industry “go to” Strunk and White’s classic “The Elements of Style” isn’t the answer, Harvard linguistics professor Steven Pinker told the audience at

With all 50 state legislatures now in session nonprofit leaders will spend much time this year in state capitols asking lawmakers to vote for a piece of legislation or an appropriation. Public policy and money always matter. But state lawmakers, Members of Congress and local elected officials can do much more to help your nonprofit

At Prichard we’re good at helping social changemakers forge connections that count. We love to introduce nonprofit leaders to each other so they can find new ways to work together. That’s why we host The Portland Ten, a dinner for our hometown’s most innovative social changemakers. It’s why Jennie and I serve on the planning

Communications tools come and go. It’s probably been many years since your nonprofit used once common public relations tactics like news conferences, press kits, and radio actualities. To create a communications programs that produces the results you want, such as new donors, increased attention, or policy change, you need to depend on ideas that never

With a new year less than a month away, it’s a good time to check in on trends in communications and how they might affect your social change organization. Here are three developments nonprofit leaders need to watch in 2015 and our ideas about how you can respond. Social Sharing Vs. Search Engines For years

Love it or hate it, you can’t ignore the success of BuzzFeed, the wildly popular online media company. Every day it offers up an addictive mix of animal photos, celebrity gossip, and political news that attracts more than 150 million people a month. BuzzFeed Editor in Chief Ben Smith recently spoke at the 2014 conference

It was impossible this week not to notice Apple’s release of its latest smartphone, the iPhone 6. At some stores people stood in lines that stretched for blocks. Smartphones, whether they use the Apple or Android operating system, have brought new attention to podcasts, audio programs that can take the form of radio interview shows.

Sci-fi fans know this summer marks the 35th anniversary of the original release of “Mad Max,” the 1970s drive-in movie about a police officer tangling with motorcycle outlaws on the highways of the Australian Outback in a dystopian future. It’s also the film that helped make Mel Gibson a star. The story of Mad Max’s bleak

One of the smartest investments you can make in your nonprofit’s communications program is to ask the people you serve what they think using an online survey. An online survey can help you meet the needs of your members, volunteers and donors better, and avoid wasting time and money on services that don’t interest them.

The messages your nonprofit uses to communicate with target audiences matter no matter what your organization does. Whether you’re helping kids learn to read or finding ways to keep teens out of trouble with the law you need to understand how your audiences think and talk about your issue in order for your communications to

Your nonprofit’s best blog posts might become invisible to your readers as they age and fall further and further down your blog feed. Unless visitors dig deep—and most won’t–they won’t ever see your earlier content. That’s a problem because much of what you write  — stories, for example, about the people you serve or your

Last month, I had the pleasure of accompanying Reclaiming Futures National Executive Director Susan Richardson and her colleague Donna Wiench to Washington D.C. to meet with a targeted group of elected officials and policymakers. Together, the three of us met with administrators at U.S. Department of Justice, staff at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy,

The Internet is full of nonprofit Facebook groups, Twitter accounts, and blogs that haven’t been updated in years. Instead of vibrant, useful communities these places are ghost towns a la “The Walking Dead.” How does this happen? Many nonprofit leaders believe if they build an online site the traffic will follow quickly and easily. But

Six years ago the iPhone didn’t exist and smart phones were an expensive novelty. Today, these and other mobile devices deliver almost 20% of all global web traffic. However, the new smaller screens found on mobile devices have made many websites hard to use. Type chosen for large monitors becomes fine print on tiny screens.

Online tools come and go (anybody remember Friendster?) More than four decades after its creation in 1981, however, e-mail is everywhere and shows no sign of disappearing. Email has become the online tool of choice for everybody on the Internet and it’s easy to see why. Here are three reasons why I’m grateful for email

It’s hard to top the high-level access granted to Olivia Pope, the glamorous chief “fixer” on ABC’s hit TV show “Scandal,” who breezes in and out of the White House the way the rest of us come and go at our neighborhood coffee shop. While Pope-style access might not be easy to come by for most of

Sometimes when we help our nonprofit clients relaunch a website we feel as if we’ve walked into an episode of “Storage Wars,” the cable television reality show. If you haven’t seen “Storage Wars,” here’s how it works: An auctioneer sells a storage locker’s contents after the rent has gone unpaid for months. Buyers have five minutes

Whatever the mission of your nonprofit, you will probably work with reporters. Yes, even you, executive director, may need to work with reporters–especially if your organization is a small one with no communications staff. Even if you’re one of the ‘lucky ones’ who has a communications director, the media often will want to talk to

You’ve just hit the “publish” button on a new blog for your nonprofit. You know your post is good because you thought about the needs of your audience, your content solves the problems of the people you want to reach, and you optimized your text for the best search engine results. But your job is