Julie Masson, CCO for Nonprofits
"When I first connected with Julie I was lacking clarity around my role, the confidence to change the perception of my role, and the tools to make the shift I knew our organization needed."
Crystal Stine, Director of Communications
Where Crystal started
Your nonprofit wants communications that actually move the mission (more donors, more volunteers, fuller programs), but most weeks your comms person is buried in last-minute requests.
Leadership wants a clear communications plan for the year ahead, but nobody has had the time or the roadmap to build one.
You'd love to hire a senior comms leader someday, but the budget isn't there yet (and the person who could grow into that role may already be down the hall).
That’s why I created the CCO Accelerator. It gives your comms leader a full year of support, starting with 12 weeks where I work 1:1 with them to build the strategic communications plan your nonprofit has been missing.
A former nonprofit CCO in your corner
Meet Julie Masson
I spent 18+ years in nonprofit communications, working my way from “the social media girl” to Chief Communications Officer (and yes, I’ve been the team of one). I've led multiple nonprofit comms and marketing teams, and along the way, I built the strategic calendar that got leadership aligned, and I learned how to show them that communications drives real results.
In the CCO Accelerator, I walk your comms person through building that same kind of strategic communications plan for YOUR nonprofit:
-
We start with an honest audit of what’s working and what’s getting in the way.
-
Then your comms leader works with leadership to build a strategic calendar that will shape a messaging calendar and communications roadmap tied to your organization’s goals.
-
In our final 1:1 session, your comms leader presents the plan to leadership.
Then I stay in your comms leader’s corner for the rest of the year as they carry the plan out, and your nonprofit keeps a comms leader who knows how to use it.
An audit that reaches all the way to your board.
A former CCO Accelerator client told me the audit alone was useful for the data and insights it surfaced, and, surprisingly, it bought her credibility with her board. She interviewed a difficult board member as part of the audit, and it totally changed how that board member interacted with her. Not long after, that board member asked HER for advice on their own comms challenges.
That's the kind of credibility a new hire can't walk in with.
"If you're on the fence about getting Julie's coaching, DO IT. You will see not only personal growth but a radical change in how your colleagues perceive you and the value you bring to your organization. Julie empowers you to see how wide the communications lane truly is and all the areas you need to speak into to be effective as a non-profit communications professional."
Alisson, Communications Director
What's included in the CCO Accelerator?
Weeks 1-12:
-
Six 1:1 coaching sessions over 12 weeks, every other week, with support between calls when something comes up
-
An honest audit of your channels, campaigns, and workflows, including interviews with staff, donors, volunteers, and other key stakeholders
-
A strategic calendar and messaging calendar tied to your organization's goals, built by your comms leader with me right beside them
-
A final session where your comms leader presents the plan to leadership
The rest of the year:
-
A full year of support through the Nonprofit Comms Club, so your comms leader has direct access to me and a community of nonprofit comms peers to lean on as they carry out the plan we built together
This is for nonprofits with...
-
A comms team of one (or a small team) carrying EVERYTHING.
-
A comms leader who's new to leading, or recently stepped into a bigger role.
-
Communications that mostly react to requests, with no plan tied to organizational goals.
-
Leadership that wants a strategic plan their own comms leader builds and keeps using all year (and every year after)
-
You want someone to hand leadership a finished plan. A traditional consulting engagement can do that, but the plan may end up sitting in a slide deck while your comms team figures out how to carry it out. In the Accelerator, your comms person builds the plan with me as their coach and has my support for a full year as they carry it out, so they know how to use it
-
Leadership can't make time for a few strategic planning meetings or the final presentation. The plan only works if leadership is part of it.
This isn't the right fit if...
Invest in the comms leader you already have.
CCO Accelerator
-
A strategic communications plan your leadership is aligned on, built from an honest audit and a strategic calendar tied to your organization’s goals (the same work I’d do as a consultant, $6,000 value)
-
A comms leader who can carry that plan out, coached 1:1 through every step by a former nonprofit CCO, with a full year of support and direct access to me through the Nonprofit Comms Club ($3,400 value)
Total value: $9,400
Your investment:
$3,000
for a full year of support
Payment plans available.
When you invest in your comms leader, your donors get a clearer message, and a clearer message brings in more of them.
Plus you'll have a comms leader you can rely on to carry the plan forward, with a full year of support from a former nonprofit CCO behind them
"In 6 months, I've not only been able to become a strategic partner instead of a service department, but I've had the tools, resources, and data to share with my team... and the support of Julie AND the NCC community. If you are a non-profit comms director, especially if you are a team of one, I highly recommend this investment."
Where Crystal is now
Crystal Stine, Director of Communications
Picture this, 3 months from now:
Your comms leader walks into the room with a plan they built themselves (and rehearsed with me first). Leadership sees what the audit uncovered and a roadmap tied to the goals they've been talking about all year. For the first time in a long time, the conversation is about strategy, and nobody is asking for "just a flyer."
And 12 months from now:
Your comms leader is sitting down to build next year’s strategic calendar, and this time they don’t need me to walk them through it. They’ve spent the year running the plan and bringing the hard calls to me and their peers in the Nonprofit Comms Club along the way. When they walk into that leadership meeting, everyone at the table already knows what communications is going to deliver.
Your comms leader is ready for that room. Let's get them there.
FAQs
-
Can our nonprofit pay for this? Yes, and most do. Nonprofits usually cover it as professional development or a consulting expense. You can pay in full or in three monthly payments of $1,000, and I'm happy to send an invoice to whoever handles approvals.
-
How much time does it take? The 1:1 coaching is six sessions, every other week, over 12 weeks. After that, your comms leader has a full year of support through the Nonprofit Comms Club and can take part in ongoing training as much or as little as their schedule allows.
-
What does leadership need to do? Not much, but it matters a LOT. Leadership needs to be available at the beginning for a strategic calendar meeting and then attend the final 1:1 session, when your comms person presents the plan. That's how the plan gets used instead of sitting in a folder.
-
What's the difference between the CCO Accelerator and monthly coaching? The CCO Accelerator is a full year of support that starts with a 12-week 1:1 program where your comms person builds a strategic comms plan for your nonprofit. Monthly coaching is for established comms leaders who want an experienced sounding board for the decisions in front of them. If you're not sure which fits, that's exactly what the Discovery Call is for. When their year in the Accelerator wraps up, some comms leaders move into monthly coaching to keep a regular 1:1 call with me on the calendar.
-
We're a church. Is this for us? Yes! I work with church comms leaders all the time, and the process is the same: an audit, a plan tied to your church's goals, and a comms leader who knows how to carry it out.
-
When can we start? I have limited capacity for CCO Accelerators because I am giving specialized support to both the comms leader and the nonprofit as a whole during our time together. During our Discovery Call, I'll let you know my soonest availability but I keep a small number of CCO Accelerator clients at a time so each one gets a lot of attention.