Lilypad Strategies

Preparing to engage in thought leadership? Here are three questions to ask when choosing a topic. 1️⃣ Is this a unique or unconventional point of view? (If everyone is saying it, it's not thought leadership.) 2️⃣ Does my audience care? Effective thought leadership addresses a true audience pain point, ideally something they are grappling with right now. 3️⃣ Am I credible to speak on this topic? The best thought leadership is based on lived experience or expertise. That sweet spot in the middle is where you should focus your thought leadership! #QuickTips #Communications #SocialImpact #ThoughtLeadership

Taking care of your mental health is important when you work in social impact communications. ✨ Dealing with heavy subject matter, limited resources, and the constant stream of news can be draining. It’s easy to put your own well-being on the back burner, but it doesn’t have to be that way. On #WorldMentalHealthDay, here are a few tips to help you manage stress and stay grounded while continuing to do meaningful work: 🕒 Set boundaries with news consumption and give yourself regular digital detox breaks. Balance heavy content with positive stories and solutions-based media. 🤝 Lean on your support network—talking it out can help more than you think. 📚 Carve out time for people and activities that make you happy. When you prioritize joy, you bring your best self to your work and the people you’re trying to help. 🧘 Prioritize self-care in small, meaningful ways throughout your day - such as meditation, walks or stretch breaks. 🏆 Celebrate small wins, even when they feel insignificant. You’re doing important work—just don’t forget to take care of yourself along the way. 🖤

🚨 Calling all change makers! How are you preparing for the upcoming U.S. election (and what comes after)? With the Presidency, all 435 House seats and one-third of Senate seats up for grabs this November, 2025 will be all about creating new relationships, building on existing ones, and positioning your organization as a trusted voice -- no matter who’s in office. Communications will play an outsized role during this transition period, so it's important to be prepared. You don't have to wait for election results to get your ducks in a row. Scenario planning is a given, but this is also an excellent time to design communications templates, update assets and develop playbooks so that you can hit the ground running in January. Not sure where to start? Take a look at our checklist for some of the big to-dos. And if you're in need of communications strategy or support, we can help with that, too! 👇 Drop a comment: What’s your top priority to get ready for a new Administration and new Congress? #2024Election #Advocacy #SocialImpact #CommunicationsPlanning #2025Planning #GovernmentAffairs #Communications #PublicAffairs #MessageTesting #MediaTraining

Planning digital content for your nonprofit can be time-consuming—but generative AI can lighten the load! Here are three ideas to make your next campaign more efficient, using hypothetical examples from a Chicago food bank. 1️⃣ Start with AI-generated content calendar ideas Kick off with a prompt like: "Acting as a social content strategist for a Chicago food bank, generate a list of holidays, commemorations, national and local events to build social content around." This gives you a comprehensive calendar of relevant dates to plan posts around—everything from National Volunteer Week to Hunger Action Month. 2️⃣ Build a specific campaign plan with targeted prompts Once you have key dates, ask AI for specific content ideas. For example: "Generate a content plan for National Volunteer Week that drives a 25% increase in volunteer signups, including strategies for email marketing, Instagram, and LinkedIn." You’ll get tailored strategies for each platform—perfect for actioning across multiple channels. 3️⃣ Use AI for project management help Using the example above, let's say the AI-generated campaign plan includes securing volunteer testimonials and photo content. You can drill down even further, creating a mini-plan for how you'll secure social assets for the campaign: "Create a plan for securing the volunteer testimonials and photos needed for the National Volunteer Week social campaign. Include a step-by step outreach timeline, a breakdown of estimated hours, and budget considerations." 💡 Pro Tip: After generating the initial ideas, refine them by asking for more specific outputs or tailoring the messaging to your audience. AI can save time while still giving you flexibility to adjust based on your nonprofit’s unique voice! By using AI tools strategically, you can focus more on storytelling and engagement while cutting down on the time it takes to research, plan and execute social campaigns. ✨ #GenerativeAI #NonprofitMarketing #SocialImpact #ContentPlanning #ContentCalendars

✨ Free resource alert ✨ Google has launched a free #GenerativeAI resource library for nonprofits that includes #Gemini prompts for #fundraising, marketing and content strategy, and program management. ⬇ Link in comments We love these relevant and specific prompt ideas from the library: “Generate concepts for a monthly giving campaign to increase recurring donations to help people and their caregivers deal with the impact of Alzhemier’s disease.” “Our nonprofit is applying for a grant from [funder]. Summarize the top 3 focus areas of importance to this funder using only the information from their website: [include URL]” “Explain some best practices for transforming data on our nonprofit program’s impact on the air quality in our community into clear and compelling visuals to share with donors.” If you try out the prompts, tell us what you think! #Nonprofits #AIPrompts #AI #PromptEngineering

They're one of the fastest growing forms of charitable giving, with more than $50B granted to charitable orgs in 2022 alone. So how can your nonprofit tap into donor-advised funds (DAFs)? We love this free toolkit from Schwab Charitable, which has 8 practical tips for fundraising teams, along with screenshots and examples. Check out the full toolkit at the link in comments! #DAFs #CharitableGiving #DonorRelations #Fundraising #Nonprofits #SocialImpact

We love hearing how our Storytelling for Impact workshop is making a difference for mission-driven teams! 💓 If you want to: ✅ Build your team's confidence in their storytelling abilities ✅ Tell more impactful stories with the help of proven frameworks and free & low-cost tools ✅ Brainstorm actionable storytelling ideas you can implement right away Then let's talk about how our facilitated workshop can help your organization!

🤖 Generative AI tools like #ChatGPT can be HUGE time savers for nonprofit communicators. The key is to be specific in your prompts! Let's walk through a specific use case: If you're responsible for email marketing at your mission-driven organization, here are four prompt ideas that can save you time when drafting your next campaign. ( 💅 Pro tip: To make the results even more tailored to your org, provide info up front about your mission, target audience, the communities you serve, and the key points you want to make.) 1️⃣ "Write a monthly newsletter template that updates our supporters on recent achievements, upcoming events, and ways they can get involved or donate." 2️⃣ "Generate an email sequence that re-engages lapsed donors, reminding them of our mission and the impact their renewed support can make." 3️⃣ "Create a welcome email for new subscribers, introducing them to our organization’s mission, key programs, and how they can get involved." 4️⃣ "Generate a follow-up email for event attendees that thanks them for their participation, shares highlights from the event, and invites them to take the next step in supporting our mission, whether through donations, volunteering, or sharing our cause with others." What other #AIPrompt tips would you share with your fellow communicators? 🔁 Pssst! Don't forget to hit that like or share button if you found these prompts useful and want to see more! #GenerativeAI #EmailMarketing #Nonprofits #SocialImpact #AIPrompts

Ever wonder what happens in your 🧠 when you hear a good story? Stories have a profound impact on the brain, activating multiple regions and triggering the release of neurochemicals that enhance engagement and memory retention. Here are just a few ways a good story can light up the brain: HIPPOCAMPUS: The hippocampus is the brain's memory center. A good story can help with memory formation, enhanced recall, and pattern recognition. AMYGDALA: The amygdala is the brain's emotion center, and plays a central role in how we experience and remember stories -- particularly those with strong emotional content. FRONTAL LOBE: The frontal lobe plays a critical role in our ability to engage, process and understand stories. This is also the part of the brain that controls our attention. OXYTOCIN: Compelling narratives can trigger the release of oxytocin, the bonding hormone, which fosters empathy and emotional connection. So the next time you're figuring out how to get your message to stick, ditch the dry stats and tell a good story instead! Brains everywhere will thank you. PS: We cover this and a lot more in our Storytelling for Impact workshops! Visit www.lilypadstrategies.com to get in touch and book a workshop for your team. #Storytelling #SocialImpact #ImpactCommunications #Communications #Marketing

It's always a great day when we get to facilitate a storytelling workshop for an incredible organization. 🤩 Today's workshop was for our friends at The Appellate Project (TAP) - a national nonprofit whose mission is to empower law students of color to thrive in the appellate field. Through case studies, story frameworks and group exercises, they left with a literal (virtual) board full of ideas to implement! Want to take your organization's storytelling to the next level? We can help you put on a workshop that does just that. Let's collaborate! #Storytelling #SocialImpact #Nonprofits #Philanthropy #Marketing #CommunityOutreach