Podcast Summary: The Smart Communications Podcast

Episode 193: How can you keep your communications plan alive?
Host: Ali Damu (C)
Guest: Farrah Trumpeter (B)
Date: August 20, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode explores the persistent challenge nonprofit organizations face: how to keep their communications plans from collecting dust and, instead, make them living tools that guide daily work and decision making. Host Ali Damu interviews Farrah Trumpeter, co-director at Big Duck and regular host turned guest, drawing on Farrah’s recent blog article “5 Ways to Keep Your Communications Plan Alive.” Together, they dig into reasons plans lose traction, what it looks like when a plan is truly ‘alive,’ and practical steps for embedding communications planning into everyday practice.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Why Communications Plans Often Gather Dust

[02:09 - 05:29]

• Common Issues:

  • After much work and investment, plans often get forgotten—whether as a literal binder on a shelf or a neglected file.

    "Now we have sort of the more virtual collecting of dust. ... Things happen, life gets in the way and that plan starts fading into the recesses of memory." – Farrah [02:19]

  • Nonprofit staff, especially in communications and development, must be reactive and constantly fight fires.
  • Staff turnover—especially among leadership or those who created the plan—can result in loss of continuity.
  • Board over-involvement sometimes distracts staff from strategic work, focusing on immediate requests instead.
  • Capacity constraints: insufficient people, time, or money to execute the plan.

    "Do we have the bandwidth, do we have the capacity to be able to take that on?...the plan isn't sticky." – Ali [05:40]

• Discussion of Organizational Realities:

  • The desire for improvement often runs up against everyday constraints.
  • Internal practices for revisiting and maintaining the plan are crucial but often lacking.
  • Nonprofit communicators rarely have the luxury of time for strategic reflection.

2. The Biggest Threats in 2025

[07:38 - 10:12]

• Current Context:

  • Nonprofits are facing heightened crises—budget cuts, increased demand, and staff reductions.

    "We're recording this conversation in July 2025 after a budget bill has been passed that threatens cuts to Medicaid..." – Farrah [07:39]

  • Crisis mode and staffing shortages emerge as the top threats to keeping any plan alive.
  • Ongoing urgencies challenge the ability to focus on long-term vision.

• Tangible Solution:

  • Inspired by COVID-19 survival strategies, Farrah references the “Now Team” versus “Tomorrow Team” approach (from a Big Duck blog):

    "The NOW team focuses on short term decision making, and the Tomorrow team focuses on the long term." – Farrah [08:38]

  • Even solo communicators can divide their own time between immediate and strategic work.
  • It’s vital to carve out space—even just a little—for non-urgent, important planning.

3. Why Bother with a Communications Plan?

[11:05 - 13:29]

• Value of the Plan:

  • Provides direction: clarifies goals, audiences, and priorities.
  • When tied to the organization's strategy/theory of change, a plan acts as an anchor in turbulent times.

    "Making the time to do it, gives us a destination, gives us a place to point to..." – Farrah [11:19]

  • Advocates for simplicity: a concise, memorable plan is more useful than an unwieldy tome.

• Practical Suggestions:

  • Identify "musts," "shoulds," and "coulds" to clarify priorities and guide choices.
  • Use tracking tools—but don’t just report data; highlight implications and emerging questions.
  • Sharing context with teams can foster empathy and support for decisions to say no or adapt tactics.

4. Making the Plan Flexible and Strategic

[13:29 - 15:48]

• Strategy Screens & Filtering Questions:

  • Embed a set of high-level questions in the plan to guide responses to opportunities, e.g.:
    • Does this advance our mission?
    • Does it reach our key audiences?
    • Do we have resources for this?
  • These strategic filters keep the plan practical and adaptable.

• Culture Integration:

  • Treat the plan less as a static roadmap and more as a “living” strategic toolkit.

    "Sometimes that's really helpful and necessary as well as like a list of projects, but really thinking about it in a little bit more of a flexible strategic framework." – Ali [15:32]

  • This is especially important in uncertain times.

5. Embedding the Plan in Team Culture & Project Management

[15:48 - 18:25]

• Role of Project Management:

  • Designate someone as plan/project manager to ensure follow-through.
  • Use stakeholder engagement frameworks (DACIE, MOCA) to clarify roles and responsibilities.

    "We really value those skills. ... we have a whole account management team with three people in those roles." – Farrah [16:00]

  • Regular reference in meetings, updates, and organizational communication channels (e.g. Slack).

• Practices to Maintain Momentum:

  • Include quarterly look-backs and future-oriented reviews.
  • Publicly celebrate achievements and explain course corrections.
  • Share “headlines” about progress or necessary pivots with staff.

6. Simple, Actionable Steps for Listeners

[18:25 - 22:02]

• Farrah’s Top Two Tips:

  1. Repeat, Repeat, Repeat:

     "You can't just share it once... The only way you're going to be able to keep it fresh is to remind them that exists." – Farrah [18:28]

     • Regularly reference the plan—not just at launch, but ongoing.
     • Use updates, victories, and even challenges to reinforce the plan’s relevance.
  2. Quarterly Reviews with Key Questions:
     • At review time, ask: what should we stop, start, or test?
     • Reassess priorities as musts, shoulds, and coulds.
     • Don’t redo the plan every quarter, but make thoughtful, informed adjustments.

• Ali’s Advice:

  • Start small—don’t leap from zero to a complex plan.

    "The plan doesn't have to be every single thing we're taking on, but it's...a strategic tool..." – Ali [20:44]

  • Focus on achievable, realistic strategies.
  • Leave room for flexibility; don’t overcommit capacities.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Now we have sort of the more virtual collecting of dust where we see organizations put all this time and energy into communications plan...and then things happen, life gets in the way and that plan starts fading into the recesses of memory.”
  — Farrah [02:19]

• “Keeping something alive takes work, right? It does take that intentionality of saying, oh, does this align with our plan?...”
  — Ali [05:57]

• “If I had to pick, it's just a tie between crisis and staffing. We are just seeing a lot of organizations who have to either reduce their staff or let folks go or just staff who are having to do the job of two or three people with limited resources.”
  — Farrah [08:25]

• “The NOW team focuses on short term decision making, and the Tomorrow team focuses on the long term. So for bigger Organizations, you might divide up who is on these teams...For smaller organizations...divide up your own time...”
  — Farrah [08:38]

• “A simpler plan, I think you can still make space for unknowns and specify what strategies and tactics are the musts, what are the shoulds, and what are the coulds so that it's clear to everyone what the priorities are...”
  — Farrah [11:44]

• “Sometimes a great plan is actually like strategically realistic and not over ambitious. It's actually achievable. And that's what makes a smart goal a smart goal. Right? It's achievable.”
  — Ali [21:37]

• Finale:

  • For the stationary aficionados: “Trapper Keepers still exist. Apparently you can buy them according to the Internet.” – Farrah [22:02]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Why Plans Fade Away: [02:09–05:29]
• 2025 Sector Challenges: [07:38–10:12]
• Purpose of a Plan: [11:05–12:46]
• Simplifying and Tracking: [11:30–13:29]
• Strategy Screens/Filters: [13:29–15:48]
• Project Management & Culture: [15:48–18:25]
• Top Tips for Listeners: [18:25–22:02]

Takeaways

• Communications plans fail when they lack visibility, buy-in, or are too complex.
• Start with a simple, actionable plan and embed it into organizational routines.
• Regularly review, adjust, and celebrate progress to keep plans “alive.”
• Assign clear roles and use tools/frameworks that promote ownership.
• Prioritize what must be done now versus what can wait—focus resources wisely.
• Begin small and realistic; let the plan grow as capacity and engagement increase.

For more resources, be sure to check out the episode’s show notes and the original article, “5 Ways to Keep Your Communications Plan Alive,” on Big Duck’s blog.