Accelerate Communications has been revamped with a new set of instructors and content to meet the moment in 2026. You’ll hear from Scott Smith of Smith & Connors on branding and brand strategy in workshop one. You’ll hear from strategic communications consultant, Miranda Rabuck, on leveraging a thought leadership strategy for systems change in workshop two. And finally, workshop three will wrap up with Ashlan Glazier-Anderson of AshbeanPDX focused on putting together your digital marketing strategy that supports the learnings from the first two workshop sessions. 

 Workshop 1: Clarify Your Brand to Stand Out in a Crowded Sector

In a landscape where many organizations are working toward similar goals, it’s not enough to do good work–you need to clearly communicate why your work matters and why your organization is uniquely positioned to do it.

In this session, you’ll learn how to:

• Define what sets your organization apart, even among similar missions
• Articulate your role within a broader ecosystem of partners and peers
• Build a brand that fosters trust, recognition, and long-term support
• Move beyond generic messaging to a clear, compelling identity that resonates

Because when your brand is clear, your audience doesn’t just understand you, they choose you.

Goals

• Understand the importance of differentiating your brand
• Improve your brand to stand out to donors

Key Takeaways

Participants will leave with:

• Stronger brand messaging
• Clear brand positioning
• Framework for redefining and refreshing your brand to stand out

Facilitator

• Scott Smith

Workshop 2: Systems Change Through Thought Leadership

Many nonprofits treat thought leadership as a visibility play – a way to raise the profile of the organization. Miranda’s session makes the case for something bigger and more impactful. 

In Systems Change Through Thought Leadership, Miranda will reframe thought leadership as a core strategy for advancing your mission, your policy solutions, and your vision for systemic change. She’ll introduce a framework for building a thought leadership ecosystem: one that spans your organization, your executives, key staff, partners, and the media to drive transformative impact. Attendees will leave with a strategy worksheet covering purpose, audience, channels, spokespeople, and positioning, plus real examples of what it looks like to leverage your voice for systems change.  

Goals

• Make a case for thought leadership that goes beyond visibility
• Provide an integrated strategy for thought leadership

 Key Takeaways

Participants will leave with:

• Understanding of what thought leadership is and why it matters for systems change
• Mindset shift around ecosystem approach
• Framework for building an integrated strategy

 Facilitator

• Miranda Rabuck

Workshop 3: Build a Digital Marketing Strategy That Moves People to Action

Nonprofits are often told to “be everywhere” online, but without a clear strategy, digital marketing can quickly become overwhelming, inconsistent, and ineffective.

In this session, we’ll move beyond tactics and into a cohesive digital strategy that connects your brand, your thought leadership, and your mission-driven goals. You’ll learn how to intentionally use your website, email, social media, and emerging channels, such as podcasts, to reach the right audiences, tell meaningful stories, and guide supporters from awareness to action.

Together, we’ll explore how to build a digital ecosystem that works for your organization and not one that burns out your team.

In this session, you’ll learn how to:

• Align your digital channels (website, email, social, and beyond) into one cohesive strategy
• Create content that supports every stage of the audience journey, from awareness to advocacy
• Leverage storytelling across platforms to deepen engagement and trust
• Use tools like SEO, email marketing, and analytics to increase visibility and measure impact
• Explore emerging channels like podcasts as a way to expand reach and build authority

Because when your digital strategy is intentional, your marketing doesn’t just make noise, it actually moves people to action.

Goals

• Shift from reactive posting to strategic digital marketing
• Provide a framework for building an integrated, multi-channel approach

Key Takeaways

Participants will leave with:

• A clear understanding of how digital channels work together
• A framework for building a sustainable digital marketing strategy
• Practical tools and ideas for content, distribution, and measurement
• New ways to think about audience engagement across platforms

Facilitator

• Ashlan Glazier Anderson

Tuition

We offer an accessible sliding-scale tuition fee structure. For those who are able, the Community Builder fee helps cover the costs The People’s Nonprofit incurs to host and develop the training. If you are able to contribute more, please consider the Equity Builder fee, which will increase attendance accessibility to our programming. If you have questions about the sliding-scale, please contact courses@thepeoplesnonprofit.org.

Tuition levels are based on organizational budget size. Members also receive a $100 discount on any workshop. 

• Equity Builder: For organizations with annual budgets greater than $1,000,001. 
• Capacity Builder: For organizations with annual budget sizes between $500,001 and $1,000,000, and for individuals sponsoring themselves or unaffiliated with an organization.
• Solidarity Builder: For organizations with annual budgets under $500,000 and for individuals who are self-financing and identify as BIPOC, queer, low-income, with disabilities, and other marginalized identities.

Registration

Registration for the spring session of this workshop has closed. If you are interested in joining a workshop in the future, please share your information in our waitlist form linked below. 

About Your Facilitator: Scott Smith

Scott is a writer, strategist, and facilitator who mobilizes teams to examine the “why” behind their work and move toward important change. He is a master at translating complex information into simple, insightful systems, themes, and creative concepts. Scott has been crafting compelling content, strategies, experience design, and user experiences for well-known brands, universities, and cultural institutions for 15 years. He aligns and synthesizes content and messaging with visual and technical concepts to communicate with multiple audiences across media channels. His early career was focused on creative writing and copy editing for various magazines in New York City and working as an adjunct writing instructor at the City University of New York (CUNY). Scott always encourages people to move beyond the expected into big, bold, and different spaces. His strategy guides every project at Smith & Connors.

About Your Facilitator: Miranda Rabuck

Miranda Rabuck is a strategic communications partner for nonprofits at inflection points. She works with organizations that are scaling, transforming, or ready to claim a bigger national profile. Her focus is helping busy leaders and their teams build the strategy, systems, and skills so their communications can serve the mission.

Miranda’s consulting work is grounded in 10+ years of leading communications and marketing inside nonprofits. She has ghostwritten thought leadership that shaped conversations in urban planning, foster care reform, and philanthropy. Her fundraising narratives have unlocked hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations and her media campaigns have moved public opinion and policy.

Miranda holds a Master’s degree in Writing and spends her free time reading, writing, and hiking with her rescue dog, Stokely.

About Your Facilitator: Ashlan Glazier-Anderson

Ashlan Glazier-Anderson is the founder + CEO of AshbeanPDX Marketing. She is a Professional Certified Marketer (PCM) and Certified Digital Marketing Professional (CDMP)  with over 20 years of experience in marketing, communications, and eCommerce, working across multiple fields from advertising agencies to corporations to nonprofits. Her work is focused on helping nonprofits to do more with less. 

Ashlan holds a Master’s degree in Strategic Communications from the University of Oregon and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Marketing from Portland State University. She has also completed the People’s Nonprofit Accelerator’s Certificate in Grant Writing and Certificate in Nonprofit Fundraising programs, as well as the Portland State University Nonprofit Institute’s Certificate in Nonprofit Program Evaluation program.

Outside of her work, Ashlan spends her time reading books, watching too much TV, attending live music & music festivals, testing out new recipes, and enjoying the sunshine in Las Vegas with her husband, Jon and their senior dog, Ahri.