Serial Comment

We’ve been wrestling the English language to a draw since 1996. That’s no small feat given the changes this world has seen in Libretto’s 30 years.

While there’s a time and a place to fly by the seat of your pants, we all know that a multi-million dollar fundraising campaign is not that time or place. We’ve learned a few things over the years that help our projects succeed. Here are some tips that we live by.

As yet another summer comes to a close, we wanted to share with you the reading that captured our attention and helped us survive the onslaught of heat waves and summer thunderstorms that rolled through our backyards this year.

There are few things more exciting than leading an interview. During the discovery phase of our projects, focus group interviews are our chance to dive deep into the mission, values, and aspirations of an organization, as well as build a sense of trust and connection with stakeholders.

For many years, Libretto has had a presence at AFP’s Fundraising Day in Boston. Sometimes we send a few Librettists to mingle, other times we share our insights via a presentation, and we always try to set up a table with information about our offerings.

Since January, “the present moment” has emerged as a euphemism for the unprecedented challenges and daunting uncertainties many of Libretto’s clients are facing. Despite the fact that nonprofit organizations are by necessity apolitical, virtually none of the mission-driven organizations we work with have been immune from the political forces dominating the headlines. Here are a few thoughts on what we’ve observed during our recent work with our nonprofit partners, who are still striving to effect positive change in a challenging political climate.

Libretto works with ambitious mission-driven organizations to develop messaging platforms that drive their institutional and fundraising communications. Once a platform has been finalized, we often find ourselves wondering about its subsequent implementation. How often does the client use the platform? In what contexts? What’s the longer-term impact of the platform on the client’s communication function, and on the organization as a whole?

With summer in full swing, we would be remiss if we didn’t share with you a bit of what we’re reading to pass the sweltering days that have just swept through our midwestern and northeastern locales.

Once you’ve generated a list of potential names or themes for a product, fundraising campaign, or organization, the review process begins. How you structure that process can have almost as much influence on the ultimate success of the project as the list of candidates itself.

Naming is one of the most enjoyable—and in certain respects, mysterious—parts of Libretto’s practice. Our naming work reflects an approach that is equal parts systematic and serendipitous.