Throughout the year, we’ve been lucky enough to speak with so many people who are experts across many different fields as part of our 7 Questions series. These folks made some book recommendations that we want to highlight and share with you. 

No matter the size of your nonprofit, advocacy campaign testing should be a key component of everything you do digitally. Testing allows you to find out which tactic, message, strategy, etc., is the most effective in accomplishing your goal. Instead of relying on a hunch of what the best thing to do is—which we are often wrong about—tests allow us to find what really works.

Get ready, I’m about to crack advocacy budgets wide open (pun intended, and it won’t be the last). I know you’re on the edge of your seats, but this is really no chicken and the egg conundrum I’m about to solve for you. When you’re looking to develop an advocacy program, your budget should always come first. This may seem counterintuitive when you begin talking to consultants (like you’re tipping your hand and about to get taken for a ride), but it’s really important for a few reasons:

It can be hard figuring out what to gift everyone for the holidays, but we’ve got your back. If your friends and family aren’t readers, we even have cookbooks for those looking for a less traditional read. In fact, there are options for all interests and ages.

Can you believe the holiday season is already upon us? Though we know you’re already gearing up for 2020, the 2019 election season has finally come to an end, and it’s time to take a deep breath before jumping back in. 

If you’ve just come off of a political campaign, chances are you’ve spent the last few months consuming nothing but political content—from news to television to a podcast or two. After you’ve wrapped everything up, and shut down your campaign properly, maybe you need a break?

Kate Childs Graham is currently a principal at West Wing Writers but has long worked in the field of political speechwriting. She is the former communications director for US Senator Amy Klobuchar. She also wrote speeches for principals and surrogates during the Clinton-Kaine campaign and the 2016 Democratic National Convention.