Impact communications is so much more than a “buzzword.” What does it actually look like in practice?
Tessa Danelesko is an expert in harnessing communication for social impact. She's not only an account director at Yulu, but also the Co-Executive Director of the Impact Communications Institute, and she brings a wealth of knowledge on creating narratives that resonate and foster societal change.
In today’s case study, we’re uncovering the origin and evolution of the Audible Indigenous Writers' Circle, a mentorship program that amplifies the voices of indigenous storytellers. The impact of the program has already resulted in 100 media stories, 16.8 million impressions, and 77,000 touchpoints!
You’ll hear how Tessa initially pitched the program, how they built trust on Facebook and worked closely with indigenous influencers to spread the word, culminating in an experience that honors the narratives that emerge from experiences of trauma and systemic racism.
The Audible Indigenous Writers' Circle stands as a testament to the power of storytelling, and encourages a ripple of positive impact through media coverage and community engagement.
Resources & Links
Connect with Tessa through her work at Yulu PR and the Impact Communications Institute, where you can also take their pledge. Tessa can be reached at tessa@yulupr.com.
Check out the application for this year’s Indigenous Writers' Circle, which is open through April 1st. If you are interested in volunteer opportunities, email audible@yulupr.com.
Want to make Missions to Movements even better? Take a screenshot of this episode and share it on Instagram. Be sure to tag @positivequation so I can connect with you.
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Let's Connect!
Impact communications is so much more than a “buzzword.” What does it actually look like in practice?
Tessa Danelesko is an expert in harnessing communication for social impact. She's not only an account director at Yulu, but also the Co-Executive Director of the Impact Communications Institute, and she brings a wealth of knowledge on creating narratives that resonate and foster societal change.
In today’s case study, we’re uncovering the origin and evolution of the Audible Indigenous Writers' Circle, a mentorship program that amplifies the voices of indigenous storytellers. The impact of the program has already resulted in 100 media stories, 16.8 million impressions, and 77,000 touchpoints!
You’ll hear how Tessa initially pitched the program, how they built trust on Facebook and worked closely with indigenous influencers to spread the word, culminating in an experience that honors the narratives that emerge from experiences of trauma and systemic racism.
The Audible Indigenous Writers' Circle stands as a testament to the power of storytelling, and encourages a ripple of positive impact through media coverage and community engagement.
Resources & Links
Connect with Tessa through her work at Yulu PR and the Impact Communications Institute, where you can also take their pledge. Tessa can be reached at tessa@yulupr.com.
Check out the application for this year’s Indigenous Writers' Circle, which is open through April 1st. If you are interested in volunteer opportunities, email audible@yulupr.com.
Want to make Missions to Movements even better? Take a screenshot of this episode and share it on Instagram. Be sure to tag @positivequation so I can connect with you.
Don’t miss DonorPerfect’s Community Conference SPARK on June 4 & 5! It’s for any fundraiser wanting to excel in donor management, program innovation, community engagement, and organizational growth. Register for FREE! RSVP: https://bit.ly/DSSPARK
Want a donor acquisition plan tailored to you? All you need to do is answer 5 simple questions. Get your personalized growth plan: https://bit.ly/DonorGrowthQuiz
The NIO Summit is the nonprofit industry’s premier digital fundraising event! Join hundreds of fellow nonprofit professionals in Indianapolis September 18-19 and save $600 on your ticket -- the lowest price available anywhere right here: https://bit.ly/NIOSummit2024
Let's Connect!
We also saw the opportunity to do something more. That's really the core of what we do at ULU is we think about our clients. How can we do more? How can they leverage their network, their resources, their mission to create the best type of change? While we were pitching Audible, we also pitched the idea of doing an impact program. They did a good job, took some time to think about it and came back and said let's do it.
Speaker 2:Hey there, you're listening to the Missions to Movements podcast and I'm your host, Dana Snyder, Digital Strategist for Non-profits and Founder and CEO of Positive Equations. This show highlights the digital strategies of organizations making a positive impact in the world, Ready to learn the latest trends, actionable tips and the real stories from behind the feed. Let's transform your mission into a movement.
Speaker 3:Hello friend, welcome back to Missions to Movements. I am your host, dana Snyder, and I'm here wishing you a wonderful day. I hope you're having a good one. If you're not, this is me speaking through your headphones hoping that you're having a great day. You're doing amazing work. Just take time to relish in that. Don't forget it. In our constant flux of go, go, go. That can happen all the time. If you have a minute today, whether you're listening to this on a run or in your car, you can take a moment just for yourself and to realize that you're doing great work. I hope that you can. I'm speaking that through into your earpods, your phone, your car, whatever that is right now. I am very thankful for today's guests. We're going to have a really great case study conversation. Tessa Deleusco did I say it right?
Speaker 1:Nailed it Yay.
Speaker 3:We were just chatting beforehand about how my maiden name got totally butchered all the time. I wanted to make sure that I got this girl's last name right. Tess is an account director at ULU, focused on environmental and social justice, and also the co-executive director of the Impact Communications Institute, which I'm very excited to become more integrated with in the next coming months. But she really draws on her knowledge of justice, equity and anti-racism to provide thoughtful and considered recommendations to collaboratively drive systemic change. Tessa, so excited to have you on the show today.
Speaker 1:Thank you. I'm excited to be here. Any opportunity to talk about justice and impact. I'm there.
Speaker 3:Yes, okay, I don't want to waste a second without doing it. Before we talk about the case study, everyone waits till the end, but I want to ask right at the beginning how can people reach out to you, how can they find you, how can they learn about the Impact Communications Institute and also ULU?
Speaker 1:Yeah, great question. I'm really lucky. I get to wear two hats. I help lead environmental and social justice initiatives at ULU PR, where I'm an account director, like you mentioned, and I'm also in a new role to me, which is the co-executive director of the Impact Communications Institute, and the ICI, as we call it, is a 501c3 registered nonprofit and you can find us at impactcommunicationsinstituteorg. There's a really fun thing you can do if you're interested in impact communications and that sign our pledge, and really what this means is you commit to upholding our standards of how to use communications as a force for good.
Speaker 1:We also have a number of really awesome webinars that we call Impact Councils. It's a monthly series that we run that is open to anyone, and it's really our chance for community to be in dialogue with various impact experts. We've had some really, really smart and compelling people on, from Patagonia Ben and Jerry's to the United States Space Force to Fjallraven. So whatever you're interested in in the impact space, we're having conversations about that in a really thought-provoking and fresh way. So make sure to check out impactcommunicationsinstituteorg.
Speaker 3:Yes, I love it, and I think this is not the premise of our discussion today. But the reason for creating ICI, I think, is so profound and true in the fact that when we went through college and where I went through a PR degree, like having impact communications or that language was something that was not ever discussed, and so being able to have this community and people around you collaborating that are wanting to write and share stories and do PR in that way, I think is incredible. So absolutely go check it out. But today we're gonna talk about that work literally in action. So what does that mean? Because sometimes we say impact comms, it's this buzzworthy thing, but what does that actually look like in practice?
Speaker 3:So there is a case study that you did with Audible and Yulu, and Audible established a nationwide mentoring and writing program for emerging indigenous writers, and I think this is so cool not to tout like the ending already, but teaser. They had a hundred total media stories, 16.8 million impressions and over 78, basically 77,000 touch points. And it's now. It's not a one-time thing, it's going on into its. Is it fourth year right now or fifth Fourth year? Yeah, we're just about to launch our fourth year Amazing, Okay. So I want to talk about how this came to be with the brand Audible. Let's go back to the beginning. What was the original challenge that Audible came to Yulu and presented?
Speaker 1:It's a great story so I'm excited to share. And I think to your original point about what even is impact communications. The way I like to think about it is that we use storytelling as a gateway to impact or a gateway to change, and that's how we got in with Audible. Originally we had been in conversation with Audible to represent them for more traditional PR and communications initiatives that they were running, but we also saw the opportunity to do something more, and that's really the core of what we do at Yulu is we think about our clients. How can we do more? How can they leverage their network, their resources, their mission to create the best type of change? So while we were pitching Audible, we also pitched the idea of doing an impact program and they did a good job, took some time to think about it and came back and said let's do it Wait quick pause.
Speaker 3:So was the impact program technically not even part of the original pitch.
Speaker 1:That's right, it wasn't really an initial brief, but it's one of the reasons that I love working at Yulu is we think outside the box and where we see opportunity to push something and create big change, we go for it, and that's what happened with Audible here.
Speaker 3:So good, I love it. Okay, first of all, so many times I worked in the PR agency space too and there's an RFP right, a request for a proposal that you are given, and it's usually like pretty specific, and a lot of times, if you go in with something completely different, like oh yeah, that and listen, you might feel this way too, because you're so in it all the time there's something else that could be totally possible, but you just don't have blinders on, just because of the nature of being so ingrained in something. So, oh my gosh, I love that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's true, and it's one of the things that really drew me to Yulu as well.
Speaker 1:Just a slight aside on my backstory I actually spent 10 years working in the nonprofit sector for a number of different environmental organizations and it was, you know, one of those classic pandemic stories where I was like I think I need to change and had some experience in communications but was really just coming in being like here's my past experience and here's what I think I can do, and Yulu seemed like the fit.
Speaker 1:So jumping forward to today, I feel really grateful that I get to apply that past experience and that lens into into the work we do with Audible and it. The work I was doing kind of in environmental justice really led me into this work with Audible because we what we ended up doing with them with Yulu, once they decided to go ahead with our impact program idea was we started from scratch. We did a six month research project really to identify the greatest opportunities for where they could drive meaningful change. And that's when we no-transcript kind of co-created and landed on creating a program that would bring equitable opportunities to underserved groups, specifically Indigenous peoples, by leveraging audible specific expertise in the literary arts. And from there, we've created a one-of-its-kind, first-of-its-kind mentorship and workshop program for emerging First Nations, métis and Inuit writers.
Speaker 3:So cool. Okay, so I want to go back to the research work that you did. Did you have an idea of where you thought you wanted this project to net out? Was there like a creative element to the writing program that was created? Or like, how did you come up with the research strategy that led to the results that it did?
Speaker 1:We went into it with a blank slate and we basically wanted to look at okay, what does Audible have? What do they do well, what's their ethos, what's their mission, and where do we see gaps in existing services or community need or voices that are asking for something that overlap with what Audible can bring? So it required a lot of deep thinking, community consultation. You know, we needed to create something that there was an actual need for. We didn't want to overlap with something that already existed, and so when we thought of Indigenous storytellers the oral storytelling tradition is so central to many of these communities and has been since time immemorial. And what's Audible? Well, they do audiobooks. So when we landed on that and we really saw the opportunity to create space and uplift these emerging storytellers, audible seemed like the perfect fit. It felt intuitive and that was really important to listen to for us, because we knew we were heading in the right direction.
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely so the idea was becoming clearer. How did you figure out exactly what like it's a mentor program? Can you explain what is the actual program consists of and how did you get to that conclusion? How did you establish that Great?
Speaker 1:question. So we brought on board, we wanted to take as decolonial approach as possible, because the stories that these Indigenous storytellers, these writers, have some of them are sacred, some of them come from experiences of trauma and systemic racism, both historic and ongoing, and so our team really wanted to honor that and create as safe and brave as a space as possible. And not everyone on our team is Indigenous, so we needed to bring in folks who were, because it's their lived experience that we're going to be able to draw on to ensure that the program is the safe and brave space. So we brought on Tanya Telaga. She is an esteemed journalist, indigenous journalist here, based in Canada, and she helped us develop the program and was also one of our first mentors for the program. And so what we designed is this workshop and mentorship program where established, award winning, esteemed Indigenous writers will work one on one with up to three emerging Indigenous writers, and so the mentors get to choose the writers that they're paired up with and they'll work one on one for six months.
Speaker 1:Alongside that, we run various types of workshops for the program participants to attend. It'll be anything from developing fiction narrative to how to promote yourself, how to market yourself as a writer, to how to protect your spirit in a space where you might be the only Indigenous writer in the room. We make the program intentionally agile to adapt to the needs of the cohort. So at the beginning we create a survey, ask folks, you know, what are you most interested in learning about? What does success at the end of this program look like for you? And then we design the program elements to match those as best as we can.
Speaker 3:So cool, that is awesome. So I'm curious for listeners who might be also in the nonprofit space and like this is amazing. You just got a corporation to create this entirely new impact program. Who are you working with on the Audible side to help progress this forward?
Speaker 1:Yeah, a huge shout out to the Audible team. Georgia Knox is our key contact with Audible and she's been with the program from the jump and she's done an amazing job alongside us, rallying support for the program internally within the organization and of course that goes all the way up to the top. And you know, for Audible they have a program or initiative called Activate Caring and that's really where they've created space for their impact programs and they've leaned into that program and with the success of the Audible Indigenous Writer Circle they've kind of created more and more space and dedicated resources to the program, so much so that some of the emerging writers in the program are now creating content with Audible. They're getting their stories recorded with Audible and they'll be available on the platform. So it was really really cool and, I think, very unique the approach and the commitment that Audible made, because the decolonial way means that it's the writer's choice what they want to do with their stories.
Speaker 1:Audible's not saying, well, you have to finish two short stories by the end of the program. For some of the writers it's just getting story that lives within them on a page. For some of them they do want book deals, they do want to be recording with Audible. So it's very, very neat to see the end result where Audible's like yeah, do what you want and we're here to support wherever we can. That's incredible.
Speaker 1:Yeah, totally resulted in new content for Audible, which is a win-win for everyone.
Speaker 3:Absolutely so. When the program was, when it's like, yes, green light, let's go, how did you get the word out and build that trust with Indigenous peoples to apply or to become part of the program?
Speaker 1:We really wanted to focus on meeting the community where they're already at, and so we know that for Indigenous folks, facebook can be a really important way to stay in touch. A lot of Indigenous folks live in remote communities. A few of our mentors, richard Van Kamp and Renalta Arluk, they're both from the North right, they've lived in very, very remote places. So we listen to them, ask them where they best connect with people, and Facebook definitely emerged. So we have a strategy where we do some paid engagement on Facebook but also a lot of organic outreach too.
Speaker 1:For Indigenous folks, with the harm that they've experienced, building relationships is incredibly important if you're coming in as someone new to the community. So as personal as we can make our outreach, the better introductions Very, very important to many Indigenous folks. Where do you come from? Who's your family? Sharing that type of information is key. We also reach out to different writers. Groups really focus on Indigenous-owned and Indigenous-red media, because if we can put some ad money in the pockets of these really critical news outlets that connect communities, that's a win for them and a win for us, because we get to share the program through there and, like I mentioned, leaning on our mentors they're the experts in the space, and a lot of them have really significant followings, so if they can help spread the word, that's awesome. We've also done some really neat work with some Indigenous influencers as well like Natourius.
Speaker 1:Kree and Shaina Novelinga, who's an incredible throat singer. So it's been really fun to see the creative and arts community as a whole come together to help spread the word about the Audible Indigenous Writers Circle.
Speaker 3:Amazing. Oh my gosh, so beautiful. I would have loved to work on this PR digital strategy, I think the whole thing. I mean there's projects that you do because you have to do, but what a feel-good movement that was being created together and there was over a hundred media stories. And I know the world of PR has changed a lot since I've been in it since 2017. So that is a lot of stories. Was that through all those angles that you just discussed, or was there a specific PR approach to getting press?
Speaker 1:For us it was really about making the program so impactful that the story tells itself. It certainly didn't happen without a lot of partners. We work with ProofPR as well as WaveMaker and they help us round out some of the earned media and paid media initiatives that are part of the Audible Indigenous Writers Circle. But we really take our time with the stories that we tell about the Writers Circle. For example, in our very first year we have a super talented participant in the program named Jules DeLorm. He's in his 60s and was starting to write for the very first time. By the end of the program he'd achieved a two-book deal and the next year was when his first novel came out and he wrote I can't even read the quote without crying that he shared, but he spoke so much about how his mentor, dr Norma Dunning, helped him write that first book and how she's a true warrior in his life to help make that happen. So being patient and giving time for those stories to develop. I mean there's not one journalist that we've come across who's covering the program who doesn't pay attention to Jules' story. So for us that was really important.
Speaker 1:I think it's also critical to communicate each time we do share the Audible Indigenous Writers Circle. Why is this important? And everyone has a touch point with Indigenous stories because they are environmental justice stories. Indigenous folks are the original stewards of the land and no matter where you are on Turtle Island, north America, the US or Canada it's important to think of whose land takes care of you and if we go into our life and our way of being with that in mind, it's always going to lead back to Indigenous folks and Indigenous stories. So Everyone has a touch point and it's about finding those touch points and telling these stories and connecting as many people as we can with the Audible Indigenous Writer Circle.
Speaker 3:So beautiful, what an amazing project, and it now being in its fourth year and more and more to come, I'm sure. So, since the program has launched, is ULU still involved in the continued marketing effort to attract applicants year over year, or is that something that Audible has taken on themselves, and what does that look like?
Speaker 1:We're really lucky we're still in it and it's something our team is really passionate about and we really love. So, yeah, we're helping drive the program forward. We help run the program as well during those six months that it's offered. Right now. It's an exciting period of time because we've just opened our application period for the 2024 program. The deadline to apply is April 1st and this year we've had a lot of fun in continuing to think outside of the box. For the first time we're going to be hosting a panel at the Festival of Literary Diversity that's going to feature mentors and participants of the program, so that'll be a really neat way to connect with the community. But we're also going to be doing some printed flyers. We've got some really neat merch for the program. I know that I wear mine all the time, and one of my colleagues was walking down the street the other day and someone stopped her and was like hey, the Audible Indigenous Writer Circle. That's so cool and my friend applied to that. So no way that's awesome.
Speaker 3:That's awesome. Okay, so it's not the best thing ever when you get stopped and somebody recognizes what you're wearing. Totally.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was so cool. We're going to be doing some neat ads as well with community radio. And when I'm in community radio I mean, like my family on my mom's side, very much from farming communities, very small communities kind of in the middle of nowhere. And when I think about my grandpa it's always got talk radio on in his van or in the living room. So we're going to be hopping on some of those community radio stations and, like I said, meeting folks where they're at so we can get as many ears as possible to tune in.
Speaker 3:So good, that's so exciting, okay. So, first of all, where can if people want to apply if they're listening to like this is me, I am feeling called for this. Okay, wait, let me answer that question first, because I'm going to have a billion when can people go to apply?
Speaker 1:So if you are an emerging First Nations Inuit or Métis writer, you can head to audibleca, slash EP, slash IWC, or you can just Google the audible indigenous writer circle, and we've got all the information on our website. We've tried to make the application as accessible as possible and, yeah, you just got to send us a writing sample, tell us a little bit about yourself, and it's all our mentors who review and select the review the applications and select the participants. So, no matter what you submit, there will be eyes on your work, which I think is is really cool. So make sure, if you are interested, to apply by April 1st. We look forward to hearing from any emerging indigenous storyteller who's interested in the program.
Speaker 3:Quick question on that I wanted to. You said we make the application as accessible as possible, and I think this is really important. Can you explain what you mean by making it accessible, versus maybe what other applications have been in the past? Or when you're going through the process, what did you take out or remove that might have made it more difficult?
Speaker 1:Yeah, great question.
Speaker 1:So from our perspective, if someone wishes to communicate in their indigenous language, we'll meet them there and we'll find language speakers who can help us process the application and make sure that it's included in the bundle that goes towards the mentors.
Speaker 1:That's part of our kind of indigenization of the program is, you know, English is a colonial language and so if someone's speaking the language that's part of their community, we're all for it. We also recognize for many indigenous folks they've got a lot on their plates and it can be difficult to find time to put together an application, so we've tried to make it concise as possible. You can submit your sample of writing that's already put together. You don't need to craft something new and it's a really simple form that you can fill out quickly. So you know we want to honor your time and not take too much of it, as folks are interested in applying for the program and our team is available to answer questions, anything that anyone has. If you express interest in the program, it's up to us to make sure that you can get there if that's what you want. So if there's a barrier, we're here to look at it together and see how we can overcome it.
Speaker 3:Awesome, thank you. I just wanted to like further explore what that meant with you. What about if somebody wants to volunteer as a mentor? Is that same website to go to for that information?
Speaker 1:Yeah, if anyone's interested in being a mentor, you can reach out to us at audible at yuluprcom. We're always interested in having conversations with folks who feel like they might have something that they can give to the program. We love our mentors so much. They're really the heart of the program and always willing to hear from folks who might have something to give.
Speaker 3:Amazing Tessa, you're incredible. Again, just before we wrap up, two questions. What is one thing that you would like to ask for help or support on?
Speaker 1:I think, no matter where you live, I'd love to encourage everyone to think about how they're connected to Indigenous folks, to Indigenous stories and to the land that they're on. If you want to help me out, go to whoselandcom, whoselandta, and you can learn a little bit more about the land that you're on, because we all have the responsibility to make sure that we're acknowledging this beautiful space that we live in and the folks that came before us and made it possible for us to live our lives as we do today.
Speaker 3:Now I'm so curious I'm going to go Google that I'll put the link in the show notes for everyone to access it easily. Then, lastly, again just repeat for us where can listeners connect with you?
Speaker 1:Check out the Impact Communications Institute at impactcommunicationsinstituteorg. You can also reach out to UluPR anytime. You can find my email at tessa at uluprcom, that's y-u-l-u-p-rcom. I'm always interested in community building because that's how we make change and that's how we get things happening, like the Audible Indigenous Writers Circle. I look forward to hearing from all of you.
Speaker 3:That's right. Awesome, I love it. Tessa, thank you so much for all that you're doing. Please say hello to everybody at Ulu and just give them big hugs for the incredible work that you guys do. I appreciate you.
Speaker 1:Thank you, dana. It's really really nice to talk about the program and thank you for all your thoughtful questions.
Speaker 2:You're very welcome. Can you tell I love talking all things digital To make this show better. I'd be so grateful for your feedback. Leave a review, take a screenshot of this episode, share it on Instagram stories and tag Positive Equation with 1e so I can reshare and connect with you.