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http://www.bartholomewgroup.com/

Bartholomew Group, 611 Pennsylvania Avenue , SE #104, Washington D.C., DC (2026)

10/08/2026

Empowering volunteers is foundational to scaling impact.

Building a nonprofit startup takes passion, vision, and incredible dedication. When resources are limited, volunteers are your engine.

Too often, small or emerging nonprofits assume that because volunteers aren’t paid, or are simply willing to help, formal training can wait.

In reality, investing in volunteer training early can be one of the most strategic decisions a young organization makes.

Many nonprofit leaders, who are already juggling a dozen responsibilities, find it difficult to make the time required to build a strong training foundation. But investing in it upfront pays big dividends. It can reduce day-to-day hand-holding, minimize mistakes, and enable non-profit leaders to delegate meaningful responsibilities with confidence.

Here’s what works best for many of our clients:

— Bite-sized content: Breaking training into short videos and easy-to-use, one-page reference sheets.

— Role-playing: Practicing real-world scenarios so volunteers can build confidence in how to respond to different situations.

— The buddy system: Pairing new volunteers with experienced team members for hands-on mentorship and support.

— Continuous feedback: Asking new volunteers what could be improved or added to onboarding, and using that feedback to continuously strengthen their approach.

Volunteers often start with incredible passion and enthusiasm. But without clear direction and support, that energy can quickly fade.

Structured onboarding, ongoing training, and continuous feedback give volunteers the tools, confidence, and clarity they need to turn goodwill into measurable impact.

For small nonprofits especially, investing in people isn't just about training volunteers. It's about building the capacity to grow.

If you've led or volunteered with a startup nonprofit, what training practices made the biggest difference for you?

We would love to hear your experiences in the comments!

07/31/2026

Continuous improvement starts with honest evaluation.

In strategic communications, and leadership more broadly, it's easy to focus on refining existing narratives instead of challenging them. We celebrate what worked, make incremental improvements, and move on to the next campaign.

But meaningful growth rarely comes from confirming what we already believe. It comes from the willingness to question our assumptions and examine what didn't work with honesty and objectivity.

As my team prepares our progress reports, we ask ourselves a few important questions:

— What assumptions did we make at the outset, and what did the results teach us?
— Where did our messaging lose clarity, momentum, or impact?
— If we were starting from scratch tomorrow, what would we do differently?

The most valuable insights often aren't found in our strongest metrics, they're uncovered in the gaps, missed opportunities, and blind spots that challenge us to improve.

Evaluation isn't about dwelling on mistakes; it's about building a stronger foundation for what's next.

How does your team create space for candid reflection while maintaining momentum and forward progress?

07/14/2026

The real value of any event isn't measured by attendance, it's measured by what happens after everyone goes home.

We've all experienced it. You leave a conference energized, inspired, and carrying a stack of business cards or a list of new LinkedIn connections. But a week later, many of those promising introductions have faded, and the event becomes just another calendar entry.

The truth is, while events spark opportunities, it’s follow-up that build relationships.

Over the years, I've changed the way I approach post-event networking by focusing less on making connections and more on creating value.

Instead of sending a generic LinkedIn invitation, I reference a specific conversation, idea, or shared interest that made our interaction memorable.

Instead of immediately asking for a favor, I share something useful, like a relevant article, resource, introduction, or insight that continues the conversation.

Those small, thoughtful gestures make all the difference. They transform a brief introduction into the foundation of a trusted professional relationship.

I'd rather cultivate three meaningful, long-term connections than collect thirty names I'll never speak to again.

Networking isn't about expanding your contact list, it's about investing in relationships that grow over time.

I’m curious. What's your favorite way to keep the momentum going after a great conference or networking event?

06/25/2026

To Reply or Not to Reply: Avoiding the Email Black Hole

In the fast-paced world of communications and project management, silence is rarely golden, it’s usually just confusing. We’ve all been there, you sent an important update, a vital project file, or a quick answer to a pressing question, and then... crickets.

Now you have questions and are left wondering:
— Did they see my message?
— Did it land in the spam folder?
— Are they working on it, or did it slip through the cracks?

Responsiveness isn’t about having all the answers instantly. Acknowledgment can be an action Item.

No one expects a full breakdown or a finished deliverable two minutes after an email arrives. However, a quick acknowledgment can change the game.

Sending a simple "Got it, thanks" or "Received, looking into this now" takes less than five seconds, but it does three massive things:

— Builds trust by letting your team, clients, or partners know you are reliable and engaged.
— Protects momentum by keeping projects moving forward without unnecessary follow-ups.
— Shows respect by demonstrating how much you value the sender's time and effort.

In a professional landscape where efficiency is everything, closing the communication loop is one of the easiest ways to stand out, reduce friction, and keep workflows seamless.

The next time you’re buried in your inbox, remember that a tiny update is always better than radio silence.

What’s your take? Do you value a quick acknowledgment, or do you prefer to wait until there's a complete answer? Let me know in the comments below!

06/10/2026

Transparency is no longer simply a best practice or ethical consideration. It is a business imperative.

While "false advertising" remains the traditional legal term, today's audiences have developed an entire vocabulary to hold organizations accountable when words and actions don't align.

For example, when products fail to live up to social media hype, consumers call it "product catfishing." Hidden fees and manipulative online experiences are labeled "dark patterns." Corporate messaging that overstates commitments to environmental or social causes is quickly exposed as "greenwashing," "pinkwashing," or "social washing."

The language of consumer skepticism has evolved, and keeps evolving, but the fundamental principle of effective communications has not: transparency matters.

As communications professionals, we should pay close attention to what this shift signals. Trust has become one of the most valuable organizational assets, and it can be damaged in a matter of minutes when stakeholders perceive a gap between what a company says and what it actually does.

The role of strategic communications is not to create a more appealing version of reality. It is to ensure reality and reputation remain aligned.

That means:
— Ensuring marketing claims, visuals, and storytelling accurately reflect the customer experience.

— Identifying and addressing communication risks created by hidden fees, confusing processes, or misleading digital experiences before they become reputation issues.

— Sharing evidence behind purpose-driven messaging and corporate commitments so stakeholders see substance, not slogans.

— Advising leaders to communicate openly during both successes and challenges, because credibility is built through consistency, not perfection.

The organizations that earn lasting trust are not the ones with the most polished messaging. They are the ones willing to communicate with clarity, candor, and accountability.

In an environment where audiences can fact-check, challenge, and amplify concerns in real time, transparency isn't just good communications practice, it's one of the strongest forms of reputation management.

I’d love to know how your organization builds transparency into its communications strategy.

06/04/2026

Effective internal communications can transform an organization.

It is far more than companywide emails or announcements. Internal communications is a strategic function that helps shape corporate culture, strengthen organizational alignment and ensure employees understand how their work contributes to broader business goals.

When strategy, HR, corporate functions and regional teams operate in silos, messages become fragmented, priorities compete for attention and culture can suffer. Employees may receive information but struggle to understand how the pieces fit together and how organizational priorities connect to their roles.

This is where internal communications becomes essential. By bridging gaps, creating clarity and connecting people to purpose, it helps organizations turn strategy into action and communication into alignment.

Strong internal communications supports organizational success in several ways:

► Connecting the Organization
Internal communications brings together initiatives, priorities and perspectives from across the business to create a cohesive narrative employees can understand and support.

► Aligning People to Purpose
By translating corporate strategy into clear, relevant and actionable messaging, internal communications helps employees understand how organizational goals connect to their daily work, creating alignment from leadership to frontline teams.

► Strengthening Corporate Culture
Culture is reinforced through consistent communication. Internal communications helps bring organizational values to life, celebrate achievements, amplify employee voices and foster a shared sense of identity across the workforce.

► Driving Engagement and Performance
When employees understand not only what is happening but also why it matters, they are more likely to be engaged, connected and invested in organizational success. Effective communication turns information into action and employees into advocates.

Organizations with strong internal communications do more than keep employees informed. They build aligned teams, stronger cultures and more resilient brands.

Have you ever felt like different parts of your organization were telling different versions of the same story?

How is your organization using internal communications to connect strategy, strengthen culture and create alignment across the business?

05/27/2026

Last week, I traveled to Trinidad and Tobago for a family wedding, and once again I was reminded how the strongest international brands move beyond generic “global” messaging to embrace hyper-local marketing strategies that genuinely reflect the communities they serve.

What stood out most was how brands tailored their campaigns to resonate with the culture and spirit of the region. They were not simply translating language, they were adapting imagery, tone, humor, and storytelling to align with local values and lived experiences. The result was marketing that felt authentic, relatable, and deeply connected to the audience.

It brought to mind Jerry Seinfeld’s well-known commercial for an international financial brand. In the ad, Seinfeld visits Glasgow, Scotland, but initially struggles to connect because he relies on generic American-style observational humor that misses the mark.

The turning point comes when he stops performing at the audience and starts engaging with the culture around him. By observing, listening, and interacting on local terms, his humor finally resonates and the brand message becomes naturally woven into the community experience.

Every time I travel abroad and observe the campaigns of successful global brands, the lesson becomes even clearer. As communications professionals, we cannot force a one-size-fits-all message onto every audience.

Effective communication requires cultural awareness, curiosity, and adaptability. We must listen first, understand the nuances of the communities we serve, and incorporate local perspective into the narratives we create.

That is true in , and it is true everywhere in the world.

05/21/2026

The thank-you is not the finish line. It is the starting block.

Most nonprofits have a solid routine for processing donations. A gift comes in, the system triggers an automated receipt, and a thoughtful thank-you message goes out within 48 hours.

Job done, right? Not exactly.

While a genuine, timely acknowledgment builds immediate appreciation and foundational loyalty, donor stewardship does not end with a thank-you. It is an ongoing relationship that requires consistent, strategic communication.

If the only time a donor hears from an organization is when you are thanking them for money, or asking for more, you are not building a relationship. You are just managing transactions.

To turn a one-time donor into a lifelong champion, the post-gift strategy needs to shift from a checklist to a conversation. Here are a few ideas:

► Donors need impact proof. They do not just want to know their money was received; they want to know it went to work. Sending a follow-up message a few weeks or months later strictly to share a story, photo or metric of what their gift accomplished bridges the gap between a financial transaction and real-world change.

► True stewardship requires two-way engagement. Relationships are never monologues. Inviting donors to a virtual town hall, sending a quick feedback survey or offering volunteer opportunities gives them ways to belong to the community without needing to open their wallets.

► Predictable transparency builds trust. Keep donors in the loop when things go well, but also when challenges arise. True partners appreciate honesty. So, regular, non-ask updates, like newsletters or progress reports, prove that you view them as teammates, not just bank accounts.

If we treat a donation like a transaction, the donor will too. But if we treat it like the beginning of a partnership, donors will help us change the world.

05/12/2026

A strong brand voice doesn’t happen by accident. It’s built through structure, consistency and disciplined editorial workflows.

In fast-paced environments, or when content production begins to scale, “winging it” is one of the quickest ways to dilute a brand. The good news? You don’t always need expensive SaaS platforms to create alignment. Sometimes, a thoughtfully designed Excel spreadsheet can become one of the most effective tools in your communications ecosystem.

Here are three practices I rely on to strengthen content production and protect brand consistency:

► The Excel Command Center. Track every asset, owner, milestone and deadline in one shared space. Visibility creates accountability and helps reduce production bottlenecks before they escalate.

► The Self-Edit Checklist. Before any draft reaches stakeholders, it should pass a rigorous self-review. This not only catches preventable errors early but also respects everyone’s time and improves collaboration.

► Shared Editorial Standards. Create quick-reference guidelines for tone, grammar, formatting and brand preferences. When teams align on details like voice and style, subjective debates decrease and consistency increases.

Over time, these systems have helped me do far more than catch typos. They’ve reduced brand inconsistencies, improved cross-functional collaboration and created a more cohesive, authoritative voice across communications.

Efficiency isn’t just about moving faster. It’s about creating clarity, consistency and trust at scale.

What editorial systems or workflows have helped your team maintain brand consistency?

05/05/2026

Evaluation helps programs improve, not just report.

Too often, evaluation is treated like a final checkpoint, or just a box to tick, once a program ends. But when used well, evaluation becomes a powerful tool for learning, adaptation, and growth.

It tells us what’s working, what’s not, and, most importantly, why.

For education and youth programs especially, this matters. Real-time insights can shape curriculum, strengthen engagement, and ensure resources are actually meeting student needs.

Instead of waiting for outcomes at the end, ongoing evaluation allows teams to course-correct in the moment.

Strong programs don’t just measure performance; they use that feedback to fuel continuous improvements.

If evaluation only lives in reports, it’s being underutilized. When it’s embedded into decision-making, it becomes a driver of better outcomes, stronger strategy, and deeper impact.

How is your team using evaluation to improve? Drop your answer in the comments. I’d love to learn what’s working for you.

Bartholomew Group

10/08/2026

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Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm