This document discusses how thought leadership can help nonprofits advance their missions and careers. It defines thought leadership as expressing ideas through expertise in an area. Thought leadership is an overlooked form of marketing that can increase a nonprofit's profile, influence, opportunities for funding and partnerships, and build trust and credibility. Developing a thought leadership strategy involves determining key messages, audiences, leaders to convey those messages, and assets to create to disseminate the messages. The document provides examples of how a nonprofit addressing domestic violence could develop a thought leadership strategy around issues like the impact of abuse on children and underserved groups. It offers help developing a customized thought leadership plan.

1. BE IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE:
ADVANCE YOUR NONPROFIT CAREER
WITH THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

2. Our Time
WHAT'S UP NEXT
What is Thought Leadership?
Why Thought Leadership?
The Perfect World
Benefits of Thought Leadership
Elements of Thought Leadership
Thought Leadership Strategy
Quick Start Plan
Need Help?

3. Founder of Witness My Life
20+ years experience in story, marketing, public relations
Speaker, trainer, author
TEDxOcala Speaker - The Secret to Healing the World
TEDxCharlotte Speaker Coach
Featured in Essence, CEOWorld, Entrepreneur, Blavity, Forbes,
The Huffington Post, YFS Magazine, Coastal Virginia, Inside
Business
Fractional CMO/CLO
Teach marketing and technology at local community college
Cicero Speechwriting Award winner

4. Respect
WHAT WITNESS MY LIFE STANDS FOR
Our single mission is to bring the world together one
story at a time and to provide opportunities for people
to S.E.E. (support, education, encourage) each other
in order to get to a place of mutual respect.
Witness My Life is a declaration and affirmation.

5. What is Thought Leadership?

6. It's the expression of ideas
in an area of expertise.

7. Why Thought Leadership?

8. Often overlooked way to do MARKETING

9. Money Time
Ads
Printing
Mailing
Subscriptions
Sponsorships
Research
Writing
Speaking
Pitching
Creating Assets
Networking
Marketing Currency

10. Internal Newsletter
Email List
Website
Social Media

11. It's the only thing you really own

12. The Perfect World

13. Experience
Expertise
Point of View
Time
Money
Energy
Perfect World
Your Story/Message

14. Perfect World
Your Story/Message
Ally
Hero
Donor
Board Member
Volunteer
Becomes
G
e
t
s
I
n
s
p
i
r
e
d

15. Benefits of Thought Leadership

16. Increase nonprofit profile/exposure
Increase influence
Increase opportunity
Attract funding/partnerships
Attract constituents
Build trust and credibility
Establish authority

17. Elements of Thought Leadership

18. Articles
Speaking
Influencer Marketing
Awards/Accolades
Content Marketing
Forums/ERT/Panels
Industry Research
Infographics
White Papers

19. Your
Story
SERVICES RELATIONSHIPS ADVERTISING
Start here
Did you start here?

20. POINT
OF VIEW
E
X
P
E
R
I
E
N
C
E
S
EXPERTISE
your story

21. Consistency
Values
Platform
Charitable
Focus
Audience
Value
Proposition
Authenticity
Belief
System
your story
THOUGHT
LEADERSHIP

22. Thought Leadership Strategy

23. STRATEGY
INTENT
What
programs/services
need exposure?
What do you want
to gain?
LEADERS
Who will speak for
the organization?
AUDIENCE
What audience
supports the
intent?
Who do you need to
be in front of?
ASSETS &
OUTCOME
What do you need
to create to set the
plan in motion?

24. STRATEGY IN ACTION
Executive Director of Domestic Violence/Homelessness Organization
You come from an affluent family and your daughter was the victim of violence. You never saw this for your
family. It ruined your relationship with your daughter. You saw how the kids were affected by violence and the
court system. You vowed to be an advocate.
Your organization serves a lot of women and children in the shelter. You also see an increased number of
men as well as those from the LGBTQ community. You need more funding for children and in-kind donations
for the shelter.
PERSONAL STORY
ORGANIZATION PROFILE
Family violence
Parenting with an abuser
Abuse and the court system
Domestic violence and work
Grandparents affected by abuse
PERSONAL STORY THEMES
Children and shelter
Serving underrepresented populations
Men are abused too/Many faces of abuse
Abuse is not gender-specific
Abuse affects us all
ORGANIZATIONAL THEMES

25. STRATEGY IN ACTION
INTENT
What
programs/services
need exposure?
Get more exposure on
children, underserved
populations, and
families
LEADERS
Who will speak for
the organization?
Executive Director
Family Advocate
Volunteer/Board
Member
AUDIENCE
What audience
supports the intent?
Women's/Men's
Health, Business
Community,
Parenting
Community
ASSETS &
OUTCOME
What do you need to
create to set the
plan in motion?
Speaking topics
Articles
Video asset

26. STRATEGY IN ACTION
Children and shelter: Growing Up Homeless: How Abuse is the Ultimate Eviction Notice
Underserved populations: Can You Hear Me Now? The Deafening Sound of Abuse
POTENTIAL ORGANIZATION TOPICS
Domestic violence and work: How Violence Affects Productivity/How to Recognize Abuse at Work
Grandparents and violence: Three Generations of Abuse: How to Stop It Before it Spreads
POTENTIAL PERSONAL TOPICS

27. Internal
External
Newsletter
Email List
Website
Social Media
Speaking
Publishing articles
Asked to speak
Strategic advisor
Board assignments
Trusted source

28. Quick Start Plan

29. Review your strategic plan
Decide where you need attention
Decide who is going to speak for the organization
Research current events and trends around your message
Research reporters in your local area who cover those trends
Pitch a story with your organization as the source
Quick Start Plan

30. People don't buy what you do, they buy ...
Why you do it
How you make them feel
The story you tell them about themselves

31. Need help?

32. CLIENTS CALL US
WHEN IT'S TIME FOR STRATEGIC NARRATIVE
Need to get everyone on the same page
Unable to communicate what makes them different from competitors
Need to know the best way to tell stories
Need to have a backstory of why the organization started or its impact
Need to get leaders involved around the overall narrative
Don't have the best team in place
Need to get team invested in diversity, equity and inclusion
Need to rebrand or develop brand assets
Need elements of thought leadership

33. AREAS OF CORE EXPERTISE
Storytelling
Marketing (Traditional and Digital)
Communications
Public Relations
Branding
Thought Leadership
Leadership Development
Personal Development
Speechwriting
Executive Strategy
Team Building

34. HOW WE WORK WITH CLIENTS
Training Programs (Virtual and In-Person)
Intensives
Consulting
Executive Coaching
Retreats
People Assessments
Keynotes
Strategic Planning
Speaker Training
Licensing

35. Consultative Process
We meet with the appropriate members of
your team to assess your starting point.
The more we know about your
organization, the more we can effectively
design an action plan.
DISCOVERY
We outline, workflows, staffing
requirements, timeline, budget, and
training schedule. Our goal is to get your
team set up to lead and take on a more
active role in data mining, crafting and
telling stories.
PLANNING & STRATEGY
In addition to onsite training, we
offer implementation of the action
plan, whether it’s the full or partial
plan or licensed.
IMPLEMENTATION
We are committed to your success. We
work with you to set up benchmarks to
review your progress and monitor return
on investment.
FOLLOW UP

36. Let's Connect
OUR PROMISE
We take complicated story structures and
processes and make them easy to
understand so your team is able to recreate
the process over and over again.
We believe great stories are about more than
you remember. Great stories are about what
you convey.
SHEREESE@WITNESSMYLIFE.ORG
757-577-2972
BOOK A COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT