Take your nonprofit communications team on an internal roadshow
Bringing your communications team on an “internal roadshow” can shift how staff across your nonprofit understands and engages with strategic communications. By making the rounds with different departments across your organization, you help your colleagues not just get what you do, but also see how your communications activities tie into their work and the overall mission.
Map the strategy: share your purpose, goals, and audiences
A successful roadshow starts with a clear focus. Communications teams aren’t just about social media posts or using the right colors—they’re shaping narratives, building engagement, and amplifying the organization’s work and impact. By explaining your strategic approach, or the mission of your communications team if you have one, in departmental meetings or small group conversations, you can help your colleagues see how your work fits into the bigger picture and why certain audiences or campaigns are prioritized. When people know the destination, they’re more likely to contribute helpful insights that make the journey smoother.
Meet the crew: who’s who in communications
A key part of the internal roadshow is introducing the people behind the communications work. Sharing a quick rundown of who’s who in the department (or just introducing yourself if you’re a mighty team of one!), helps staff understand each person’s role and how the team functions. Whether it’s your media relations lead, brand lead, social media content strategist, or the person managing email campaigns, it’s important to clarify who handles what. This way, colleagues know who to go to for different requests or questions—whether they need help with a media inquiry or have a branding question. Clarifying these points of contact ensures smoother collaboration and prevents unnecessary roadblocks.
Listen to your surroundings: gather perspectives from across the organization
While you’re on the road, it’s important to tune in to the voices around you. Make sure an integral part of your internal communications roadshow includes listening to your organization’s staff and collecting feedback. This means understanding your colleagues’ current perceptions—both the hits and the misses—when it comes to the role of communications. Learn about the benefits they’ve seen and the challenges they’ve faced. This will help you fine-tune your approach and build buy-in for the work.
Understand your lanes: define roles and responsibilities
A major pit stop during your roadshow is clarifying what your team leads and what falls under other departments. Without those clear lanes, things can get messy fast. By outlining where your team takes the wheel—like digital strategy or brand management—and where collaboration is needed—like donor communications or advocacy messaging— you keep everyone on the right path and avoid unnecessary traffic jams.
Show how you fuel the mission: how communications supports other departments
Communication is often the bridge that connects departments to key audiences, program participants, donors, and partners. Your roadshow is the perfect chance to show how your team can support others, whether it’s crafting messaging that resonates with funders or rolling out a new research report to get a splash. By showcasing real-world examples and results from previous initiatives, you show how communications can be a resource that helps everyone reach their goals.
Equip brand ambassadors: reinforcing a unified brand
An internal roadshow is the perfect time to give staff the tools they need to stay on-brand. Walking through the brand strategy, sharing brand guides and templates, and offering real examples keeps everyone on track. It’s also a great chance to explain why a unified brand keeps your message from swerving off course. Wrapping up with a Q&A clears up any roadblocks, so staff feel confident applying what they’ve learned.
Keep the motor running
A roadshow isn’t just a one-time journey. To keep the momentum going with regular updates—like quarterly check-ins or including communications in new staff orientation—help keep your team’s work front and center. That way, your colleagues stay in the loop, and the collaboration that fuels your nonprofit keeps running smoothly. You can also record a session and incorporate it into onboarding new staff or board members.
