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These free, downloadable guides are created with you in mind. Whether you run a small nonprofit or a large foundation, these guides will help you communicate more effectively.

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Considering a Branding Project? | 6 Key Questions to Ask

Creating the right brand strategy can be challenging, time-consuming, and a significant financial investment. We’ve outlined what’s involved and what it will take for your branding initiative to succeed.

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Strategic Planning for Impact | Expect More from Your Strategic Plan

These are the five common pitfalls to avoid when creating a strategic plan that breaks the mold, amplifies your impact, and advances your mission.

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Breathe Life Into Your Next Donor Campaign | How to Balance Emotion with Facts

A good donor campaign case balances reason and facts with emotion, with a good amount of energy thrown in for good measure. In this paper we’ll show you how to create a quiet or public-phase case that has all the right ingredients.

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Messaging That’s Memorable for Your Nonprofit | Your Nonprofit's Minute Message Model

In our noisy, sound-bite culture you need a way to quickly and memorably state your case. Use this model for creating powerful messages to help you attract more support from more people.

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Considering a Branding or Admissions Project for Your School? | 6 Questions to Ask

If you are considering investing in a branding, messaging, or admissions project, these general guidelines will help you evaluate how well our approach meets your school’s needs.

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10 Nonprofit Communications Mistakes | How to Avoid Them

What are the most common communication mistakes nonprofits make? This guide identifies them and outlines solutions so you can avoid them.

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Marketing Your Independent School | 10 Steps to Maximum Effectiveness

Most independent schools need to compete for students who are a good fit for the school’s values, day-to-day personality, and unique offering. Here are 10 tips for ensuring you’re strengthening your school’s reputation.

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Integrate Your Brand and Strategic Plan | to Create a Powerful Decision-Making Playbook

Use these four phases to align your strategic plan and brand strategy and make a powerful decision-making tool and culture driver for leadership, board, and staff.

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The BrandEquation™ | How to Sum Up Your Nonprofit Brand

The BrandEquation is the perfect sum of the internal wisdom and external insights that help solidify the reputation you want to hold. A strong brand unearths who your organization is and why it matters, giving audiences a clear understanding of why they should join you.

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Tell Your Organization’s Story | 7 Guidelines to Create Connection

Your story should make your work stand out among similar organizations and be so memorable that people pay attention and remember you after the story ends.

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Your School’s Brand During Uncertain Times | 9 Steps to Creating Messages Right Now that Inspire Commitment and Loyalty

In these uncertain times, reinforcing your value to families has never been more important. Here’s a guide to help you create messages for parents that are right for right now.

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Taglines that Tell | Create a Memorable Message for Your Nonprofit

A pitch-perfect tagline can be the foundation for all messages you create about your organization or program. Follow these guidelines to ensure yours is memorable.

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Time to Plan? | Answers about Strategic Planning for Your Nonprofit

Our strategic planning methodology is efficient, inspiring, and designed to involve only the right people during the right points of the process to help draft an actionable plan to guide your nonprofit’s long-term success.

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Make Your Case for Donations | Create a Standout Case for Support

How do you make your case to your next major donor? We’re about to show you. At the end of this guide, we’ll summarize our tips for making your case for support great.

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Ready to Plan? | A 6-Phase Framework for Inspired Nonprofit Strategic Planning

Lead your nonprofit community through a strategic planning process and launch a plan that will inspire, focus, and align your stakeholders—and your work—for years to come.

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The BrandEquation™ | How to Sum Up Your School Brand

The BrandEquation is the perfect sum of the internal wisdom and external insights that help solidify the reputation you want to hold. A strong brand unearths who your school is and why it matters, giving audiences a clear understanding of why they should join you.

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School Websites that Get Brand Right | How to Use Your Website to Tell Your School's Brand Story

Your website is likely to be the first impression a prospective parent or student has of your school. In such a noisy digital world and competitive independent school market, you have to make a quick and lasting impression with your brand.

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Your Digital Campaign Plan | 8 Steps to Creating a Successful Campaign for Your School

If you’re not marketing your school digitally, you may be missing out on significant opportunities to engage your target audiences and attract the support you need to reach your goals.

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Web WOW | 4 Ways to Bring Your Brand to Life Online

Before you create your website, you need to do some strategic thinking about your brand, audiences, and goals. This groundwork will guide both your copy and your design.

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Engage Your Audience | How to Use Design to Create Connection

As a nonprofit marketer, you need to know how to make the biggest impact with limited resources. Here, we lead you through the five major steps in the design process and teach you how to get the most out of design.

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Your Annual Report is a Fundraising Tool | 6 Key Steps to Creating Your Best One Yet

Your nonprofit’s annual report is more than just a legal document; it’s a fundraising tool. Make sure yours captivates your donors.

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Campaigns that Cut Through the Noise | How to Use Digital Platforms to Achieve Your Nonprofit's Campaign Goals

Any digital campaign should be a coordinated effort with specific goals, target audiences, precise calls to action, and a deadline. We've summarized the 8 steps you can take to make sure your nonprofit’s digital campaign is successful.

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New Head of School? | 8 Pitfalls to Avoid (and How to Avoid Them)

Being a new head of school is exciting, and it can also come with a set of challenges. Learn eight of the most common pitfalls, and how to avoid them for an effective first year that sets the right tone for your community.

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Are You Ready for a Coach? | 11 Questions to Ask

Having a coach to help you address challenges big and small with confidence and balance can make all the difference. Here are 11 frequently asked questions to help you determine if coaching is right for you.

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Branding Project RFP | Mission Minded's Free Template

This RFP template will be useful as you plan your branding project.

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Strategic Plan RFP | Mission Minded's Free Template

This template will help you craft the right RFP for your strategic planning needs.

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Your New Name | 10 Guidelines for a Powerful Launch

Launching your new name successfully means premiering it in such a way that it creates more interest in your organization, re-engages your donors, and inspires renewed commitment to your mission. Here’s how.

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Messaging That’s Memorable for Your School | Your School's Minute Message Model

In our noisy, sound-bite culture you need a way to quickly and memorably state what makes your school unique. Use this model for creating powerful messages to help you attract more right-fit families for your school.

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