Hello, I’m Jean.
Welcome to my website! I’m Jean, a Nonprofit Copywriter and Strategist based in Toronto, Canada who loves asking good questions, facilitating workshops and learning experiences and creative problem-solving. They’re kind of are my jam and have been for 10+ years. Through the non-profit sector, I’ve been able to help incredible organizations tell better stories with strategy, clear messaging and brand consistency.
Here’s what I do: I help nonprofit organizations, charities and social impact businesses develop core strategies, clarify key messaging and achieve brand consistency to improve storytelling and meet goals without worry, stress or fear. If you’re here because you need help with any of that, you’ve come to the right place.
Meet your Nonprofit Copywriter & Strategist
How I got here:
I decided to make storytelling my mission because of a reoccurring experience that I’m not exactly proud of. During the early years on the frontlines in the nonprofit sector, I sucked at community engagement. I wasn’t speaking with communities. Instead, I was speaking to them. Similarly, I wasn’t meeting them where they were at. Rather, I was meeting them where I wanted them to be. And that’s when it hit me: I was building a habit of leaving community members out of the story I was telling them about their own community. That was a wake-up call to start telling different stories.
Unfortunately, I saw these same common storytelling mistakes everywhere I went throughout the sector. I even saw the negative impact of not-so-great storytelling on communities: Distrust of nonprofit organizations, decreased community engagement and more instances of conflict. So, it’s been my mission to help nonprofits do authentic storytelling right with strategy, clarity and brand consistency.
How I connected the storytelling dots in my professional career
I saw one dot in my education studying professional writing and communications: Storytelling requires structure, clarity and conciseness. Then, another dot appeared. As a trained facilitator who has facilitated workshops and learning experiences for marginalized youth and adults, I realized that great processes facilitate (see what I did there?) storytelling that makes social impact, builds community and encourages honesty.
After that, an unexpected place showed me a dot. As a Growclass alumnus, who studied growth marketing (e.g., email marketing, SEO, Google ads, copywriting etc.), I was happy to confirm that my insistence about knowing your audience was always warranted. Finally, as an educator of college students, I really saw the significance of making storytelling accessible through language and format.
When I connected all these dots, I understood something that I now anchor in my practice: Storytelling should be clear, strategic and expansive from start to finish so that people can realize the dots in their lives, connect them to the stories they tell themselves and welcome new ones that help them be courageous wherever and whenever they need to be.
Skills
Strategic thinking
You get good answers because I ask good, thought-provoking questions that clarify your position.
Communication
You gain clarity because I use plain language and active listening to understand you.
Editing
You get error-free copy because I have an eye for pesky mistakes and sneaky inconsistencies.
Facilitation
You experience effective group work because I have years of experience with group facilitation.
Professional writing
You get high quality writing because I am a studied professional.
Digital marketing
You get great results because I know the right strategies, tactics and tools to achieve them.
Values
- Integrity: It allows all nonprofit professionals, including me, to do our work with honesty and a high level of accountability. As well, integrity helps us make smart decisions, practice intellectual humility and remember our “why”.
- Collaboration: It shows us the power of working together towards a shared vision. Collaboration encourages all of us to take strength-based approaches to working with participants, partners, funders, sponsors and communities.
- Equity: It shows us that we must deeply understand ourselves in relation to the people we are serving, supporting and in community with. That is the way we can learn about what we need and make it happen.
How I can do my best work for you
- Storytelling with a purpose. I appreciate working with organizations, charities and social impact businesses that know their “why” and encourage their teams to use storytelling to reinforce it.
- Strategic processes with creative flair
- A commitment to creative problem-solving. I know how topsy-turvy the sector can be and I’m sure you do to. It’s why I love working with organizations that are committed to finding their first step and continuing to move forward with courage.
- Collaborating with others. The best part of my work is getting to work with others towards a common goal.