Podcast Summary: The Smart Communications Podcast

Episode 204: Is the Field of Nonprofit Communications Coming of Age?

Host: Farrah Trumpeter (Co-Director & Worker-Owner, Big Duck)
Guest: Kivi Leroux Miller (Founder & Chief Strategy Officer, Nonprofit Marketing Guide)
Date: January 30, 2026
Length: ~22 minutes

Episode Overview

This episode of The Smart Communications Podcast explores whether nonprofit communications as a profession is “coming of age.” Host Farrah Trumpeter and frequent guest Kivi Leroux Miller discuss the key findings from the just-released 16th Annual Nonprofit Communications Trends Report, zooming out to reflect on progress, challenges, and the defining characteristics of the field today. Through data, anecdotes, and thoughtful reflection, they examine what’s holding communicators back, where the sector is evolving, and what lies ahead for practitioners.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Coming-of-Age Metaphor for Nonprofit Communications

• Historical Reflection: Kivi introduces the metaphor of the profession as a 16-year-old adolescent: ready and able to “take on the world,” but still restrained by “parental” systems—most notably, nonprofit leadership.
  • Quote: “We are sort of like that anxious 16-year-old ready to take on the world, but you know, still being held back a bit.” — Kivi (03:18)
• Sector Growth: While communications roles have always existed, the past 16 years have seen dramatic changes in professionalism, expectations, and challenges for nonprofit communicators.

2. Structural Challenges: The Role and Status of Comms Teams

• Persistent Obstacles: Despite more skills and best practices, communicators STILL report high levels of reactivity, lack of time for strategy, and feeling undervalued.
  • Quote: "It’s really not that the communications staff don’t know what they should be doing...It is truly about the environment that nonprofit communicators are being asked to work within." — Kivi (05:28)
• Leadership Understanding: Progress is hampered by leaders who may not grasp the strategic value of communications, resulting in underinvestment and misplaced priorities.

3. Impact Misalignment: Long-Term Goals, Short-Term Measurement

• Short-Term vs. Long-Term Focus: Communicators are often tasked with achieving deep, long-term shifts in public perception or engagement, but are managed by short-term outputs (list size, event RSVPs, immediate fundraising metrics).
  • Quote: "Communications is expected to deliver long term impact, but is managed for short term wins." — Farrah (08:04)
• Practical Example: Executive Directors emphasize email list size over engagement, despite the known risk of ending up in spam folders. Similarly, producing quick, easy social content is preferred over complex but effective formats (like video).
  • Quote: “If you’re measuring on short term results, [it] makes it really hard for you to focus on long term results.” — Kivi (09:09)

4. Staffing Trends in a Challenging Climate

• Layoffs and Stagnation: 2025 saw major sector layoffs due to economic and federal budget pressures. Communications team growth is largely “stalled,” with only 17-18% of teams seeing or expecting growth.
  • Quote: “Only 17% of teams saw growth in 2025. Only 18% expect growth in 2026.” — Kivi (11:38)
• Differences by Team Size and Geography:
  • Hardest to move from a solo communicator to a two-person team.
  • Slightly greater job stability in Canadian organizations.
    • Data Point: "10% of US communications teams lost staff and do not plan to backfill...Only 3% in Canada." — Kivi (13:13)

5. The AI Era and Website Traffic Realities

• AI’s Impact: Introduction of “Zero-click content” (AI summaries in Google results) is increasingly keeping audiences off nonprofit sites.
  • Quote: "If AI is training itself off of your web content and your social media, but you’re not paying attention to what's going on with your website...how are you going to be in the conversation about hearts and minds?" — Kivi (14:39)
• Awareness Gap: 61% of report respondents didn’t know if this was affecting their website traffic, highlighting a sector-wide risk of falling behind.

6. Project Management: Progress and Gaps

• Editorial Planning: Sector has matured in using tools (Google, Microsoft, etc.) for editorial/content planning—but major breakdowns still happen where:
  • Last-minute requests override plans
  • Content review processes (who reviews, managing conflicting feedback) are unmanaged and ad hoc.
  • Quote: "This is a place where I think people can be more strategic in how they use tools to manage that whole content creation process." — Kivi (17:54)

7. Signs of Real Maturity and Bright Spots

• Growing Strategic Mindset: Communicators are more savvy, less distracted by every new social platform, and are leading internal strategic conversations.
  • Quote: "We have a lot of strategic thinkers out there. It’s just about getting the systems to support that. Tactically, I think people are finally more savvy and kind of over social media." — Kivi (19:09)
• Pandemic as Catalyst: Many comms teams leveled up during COVID and are applying those lessons now to other sector disruptions.
• Social Media Scepticism: Less “shiny object syndrome”—most orgs just want to hone core channels (FB, IG, LinkedIn) instead of chasing every new app.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|---------|-------| | 03:18 | Kivi | “We are sort of like that anxious 16-year-old ready to take on the world, but you know, still being held back a bit.” | | 05:28 | Kivi | “It’s really not that the communications staff don’t know what they should be doing…It is truly about the environment that nonprofit communicators are being asked to work within.” | | 08:04 | Farrah | “Communications is expected to deliver long term impact, but is managed for short term wins.” | | 09:09 | Kivi | “If you’re measuring on short term results, [it] makes it really hard for you to focus on long term results.” | | 11:38 | Kivi | “Only 17% of teams saw growth in 2025. Only 18% expect growth in 2026.” | | 13:13 | Kivi | “10% of US communications teams lost staff and do not plan to backfill. Only 3% in Canada.” | | 14:39 | Kivi | “If AI is training itself off of your web content and your social media, but you’re not paying attention to what's going on with your website...how are you going to be in the conversation about hearts and minds?” | | 17:54 | Kivi | "This is a place where I think people can be more strategic in how they use tools to manage that whole content creation process." | | 19:09 | Kivi | "We have a lot of strategic thinkers out there. It’s just about getting the systems to support that." |

Additional Resources Referenced

• Nonprofit Communications Trends Report: nonprofitmarketingguide.com/trends
• Book Shout-Out: The Nonprofit Communications Engine by Sarah Durham, Big Duck
• Related Podcast Episode: Ep. 187 with George Weiner on AI brand footprint

Final Encouragement & Community Shout-Out

“Please stick it out. Stay with us. You have a lot of communities of support. You’ve got great content coming from the Big Ducks of the world. You’ve got our Community at Nonprofit Marketing Guide...please stay. Please stay in the sector with us.”
— Kivi (21:24)

Conclusion

This episode offers a candid, data-driven reflection on the evolution of nonprofit communications. While the field is more skilled, strategic, and mature than ever before, old structural and leadership challenges persist. The clear takeaway: The sector’s promise will only be realized when internal understanding and external realities align to truly empower nonprofit communications professionals.

For links and more resources, visit bigduck.com/insights.