Shout out to our friends at Literacy Pittsburgh – we appreciate you sharing with us!
The Challenge: As a nonprofit organization, the staff members at Literacy Pittsburgh are inclined to help. They want to support each other and their students. When social distancing began, our inboxes exploded with all-staff emails featuring resources and tips.
The Solution: During one of the (now daily) leadership team check-in calls, Literacy PGH decided to create a daily digest email. Staff was instructed to send information to the Marketing & Communications Director by 1 pm each day for afternoon distribution. Thus, the Daily Dispatch was born!
It’s usually about 6-8 brief stories that are bulleted at the top. Topics include:
- agency news
- community resources
- tips for staying sane in an insane world
- pet of the day
- a meme
- an anecdote from a staff member
- Plus, a daily theme feature like Take Me Back Tuesday.
The Marketing & Comm Director does light editing for space and sends it through Outlook with attachments if needed. Each story is credited to the person who submitted it. A statement at the beginning asks people to use an abundance of caution and do not reply all but rather contact the person who submitted a story with questions or comments.
The Response: Three issues were published since the #staysharp submission. The Marketing & Comm Director strives for a healthy mix of news, tips, and fun. And staff LOVE it! It’s received much positive feedback. After the second issue, a staff member even said she already looked forward to seeing it in her inbox each day!
