Your work matters.
Let’s find the words to carry it forward.
I help nonprofit leaders turn scattered communications into work that moves the mission forward, without burning out their team.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
“We need to post more on social.”
“We should be getting more media coverage.”
“Our website needs updating.”
“How about a podcast?”
If you lead a nonprofit, you’ve probably said some version of this.
Your communications team is working hard. They’re busy every single day. And you’re still not seeing the results your organization needs.
The problem is rarely effort. It’s what the effort is built on.
THE ROOT SYSTEM
You see the problems one at a time. They’re connected.
From inside an organization, the challenges show up one by one: a funder pitch that falls flat, a board using last year’s language, a team that’s always busy. From the outside, I can see what they have in common. They usually grow from the same few places, underneath the work, where no one is looking.
Think of a tree. Roots are the part nobody sees, but they hold everything up and feed everything that grows. Communications works the same way. When the roots are strong, the work above ground gets easier: the funder pitch, the annual report, the social posts. When they’re weak, no amount of effort above ground makes up for it.
I call my approach the Root System. It looks at the five foundations of nonprofit communications, the places where most of these problems start.
Mandate
“Can you just get this out by Friday?”
Communications has no clear role in the organization, so it becomes whatever the latest request is.
Messaging
“That’s not quite how I’d describe what we do.”
Staff, board members, and funders each tell a different version of the story.
Planning
“We need to post more.”
Without a plan tied to the organization’s goals, doing more feels like the only option.
Operations
“Wait, who approved this?”
Requests come from every direction, and one busy person absorbs all of it.
Measurement
“Is any of this working?”
No one can say for sure, so it’s hard to know what to keep, cut, or fix.
Most organizations are solid in some of these and fragile in others. Knowing which is where the work starts.
WHAT CHANGES
You can’t build what you can’t express.
When the foundation is in place, everyone can tell your organization’s story, and your communications team can finally get ahead of the work instead of chasing it.
Your communications team
Knows what matters most, and has the plan and systems to deliver it without burning out.
Staff and board
Describe the work in the same words, and can explain why it matters.
Funders
Understand your value clearly enough that supporting you becomes an easy decision.
Partners and policymakers
See where you’re headed, their place in it, and what it will make possible for the people you serve.
WHEN TO CALL
These problems are always there.
Change makes them impossible to ignore.
New Executive Director
New leadership usually brings a new direction, and the old language stops fitting.
New strategic plan
The whole organization has to talk differently about its work, its priorities, and its impact.
Significant growth
New programs, places, or funding outpace how you describe what you do and why it matters.
Rebrand or name change
A chance to rethink how you talk about yourselves from the ground up.
New funding relationship
You’re introducing yourselves to people who may never have heard of you.
Restructuring or pivot
Staff and partners need clarity to keep trusting you through the change.
HOW I CAN HELP
Start where you are.
You don’t have to fix everything at once. The work can happen in stages.
SEE THE WHOLE PICTURE
The Communications Assessment
I review your communications and interview team members. You get a written report across the five foundations of the Root System: what’s solid, what’s fragile, and where to start, plus a 60-minute call to walk through it. Act on it right away, with or without me.
BUILD WHAT’S MISSING
The Foundational Build
I work with you to build what your organization needs for its next chapter: the messaging, the strategy, and the systems that make the work sustainable. Everything is documented and handed off for your team to own and build on.
A PARTNER THROUGH IT
Strategic Advisory
For organizations in the middle of something big and sustained, like a multi-year transformation, a leadership transition, or a period of fast growth. Closer to embedded leadership than project work.
Something else? If you have a specific challenge in mind, let’s connect. Book a call →
“Anne developed a strong understanding of our organization and needs. In just over a month, she created a clear framework to introduce more equitable and strategic decision-making into our content production process. Her approach was thoughtful and collaborative. Our team could see itself in the final product, and we felt confident in adopting the new procedures.”
- Laila Joud, Communications Manager, Newcomer Info Hub at Refugee 613
WHY WORK WITH ME
Most communications consultants come from the outside.
I spent 15 years on the inside.
I've built communications functions from scratch. I've been the person inside when new leadership arrives, when the strategy shifts, when growth outpaces the story. I know what it looks like when an organization is trying to become something new but can't quite express it to its funders, its partners, and its own people.
That experience shapes how I work. I listen before I build. I'm looking for what's not being said as much as what is. And I reflect back what I hear with enough clarity that organizations leave those early conversations knowing things they didn't quite have words for before.
What gets built is designed for the organization you actually are, and where you're trying to go.
WHAT CLIENTS AND COLLABORATORS SAY
“She understood that strong communications is more than visibility and reputation — it's infrastructure that enables impact.”
Esther T. Benjamin, CEO and Executive Director, World Education Services
“She’s a quick study and a great listener, which meant high-quality work without a lot of back-and-forth.”
Ada Wong, Director of Communications, Right To Food
“For communications teams managing a heavy workload, she’s exactly the kind of partner you want — proactive, reliable, and highly effective.”
Julie Hiroz, Director of Marketing and Public Affairs, ACCES Employment
A conversation is always the first step.
Thirty minutes, no agenda beyond understanding where you are and whether I can help.