Communications for nonprofits
Media training. Communication strategy. Crisis communications. Reputation management. Client and patient storytelling. Key messages. Media relations and distribution. Crisis communications training.
Services
Communication strategy
Don't settle for simply "raising awareness" without results. Change happens when the right people take action. Together, we will develop a communication strategy that ensures your nonprofit achieves meaningful, measurable results.
Training
You’ve got this! Let us show you and your team how. Village PR builds your team’s capacity in media relations, strategic communications, reputation management, and crisis response. Every session is customized for your needs.
Targeted media distribution and ready-to-go press materials
Village PR distributes your news to Canadian media across all major cities, including journalists focused on health, environment, politics and more. Without word limits. We can also help draft your media advisory or press release to ensure it’s clear, compelling, and gets results.
Media relations
The voice of your not-for-profit deserves to be heard! Village PR provides a connection to Canadian media outlets in all major cities, writes messaging that resonates and helps you prepare for impactful interviews.
Crisis communication and reputation management
When a Bad Thing happens and puts your nonprofit's reputation on the line, responding quickly and thoughtfully makes all the difference in how the crisis unfolds. And, whether any impact on your organization can be contained to the short term, or follow you in the longer term. Village PR will support you through media and stakeholder relations.
Safe-to-speak storytelling and media support
Your clients' and patients' stories bring your work to life—for media interviews, presentations and fundraising. We work directly with participants to focus on what they want to share, what they don’t, and how to navigate interviews with confidence — including setting boundaries, understanding power dynamics, and knowing they can decline any question. Your participants will feel safe, empowered, and respected.
Training
Village PR delivers interactive workshops to staff, volunteers, clients, patients and board members.
- Five steps to creating a communication strategy: It feels like a huge undertaking. So let’s break it down step by step.
- Working with the media: From pitching a story the media wants to tell, to giving impactful interviews. Our media training helps your leaders, staff and clients feel confident telling your organization’s stories.
- Crisis communication and reputation management: Protect your reputation when The Bad Thing happens—Whether a crisis strikes out of the blue or you create the crisis by closing a program. Maintain your stakeholders' trust while you’re under the microscope.
To request a workshop, customized in length and content, at a location of your preference, please contact us.
What Clients Say
The Ottawa Food Bank has worked with Heather and Village PR multiple times. Her trauma-informed and sensitive approach is why we keep hiring her to work with us. Most recently, Heather supported us for a large communication project, and also supported us on an ongoing basis while we work through staff transitions. Her work was critical to help us manage the large time-sensitive project and keep our day-to-day communications moving. The Ottawa Food Bank has benefitted tremendously from Heather’s expertise.
Heather has played a pivotal role in transforming our center's media and public engagement strategies. Her dedication to collaboration involves working closely with our team to develop clear and compelling messages, while her coaching and feedback have significantly strengthened our external communications.
Her expertise in simplifying complex information has greatly enhanced our public communications, making them more accessible and inclusive. Her deep understanding of equity and issues of marginalization align with our centre’s values and has been a highly welcomed approach.
Heather is committed to the success of our organization and often goes above and beyond, working alongside us until the completion of each project. We are deeply grateful for her passion, her expertise, her responsiveness, and her relentless dedication to good clear communications.
Centretown CHC has worked with Village PR and Heather Badenoch for several years. Heather’s flexibility in being able to support our organization throughout a wide range of our communication needs has been key. She has been able to step in and provide comprehensive communications support when needed.
Now that we have a communications officer, she has excelled at supporting us and the team with coaching and mentorship in developing our internal capacity.
Heather has also been very effective in supporting us as we develop our processes for media strategies with media training, as well as supporting our teams in developing media pitches. She has truly enhanced our communications capacity in a way that is deeply aligned with our values as an organization.
Focus Areas
Community
Because when the needs of every member of our community are met, we are all better off.
Health
Because every person deserves equal access to quality healthcare.
Disability
Because each individual should be empowered to make their own decisions and supported in living a full life.
Environment
Because the earth is owed both respect and protection for its water, land and animals.
Clients
About
Heather Badenoch (she/her) believes in the power of non-profit and purpose-driven organizations and their ability to effect change for people, animals and the environment.
As the Communications Strategist at Village PR, Heather has advised clients in the health, disability, food security, community, and environmental sectors. From strategic communications planning to media training, she works creatively and candidly with her clients to accomplish their goals.
In her more than 25-year career supporting organizations across Canada, Heather has developed a deep appreciation and understanding of the players, pressures and meaningful work being done by the not-for-profit sector.
In 2018, Heather became a living liver donor, donating 22% of her liver to a child she has never met. An active volunteer with the transplant community, Heather mentors people on the path to becoming living liver donors and volunteers with the Canadian Donation and Transplant Research Program and the UHN Centre for Living Organ Donation Advisory Council. She also helps people on the transplant list find living kidney or liver donors by running their public appeals pro bono.
When not working with clients or volunteering, Heather and her spouse can often be found with their rescue dogs, Skye and Dori.
