A tribute to the storytellers, bridge-builders, and spark-makers behind every mission.
Nonprofit communications is one of the most emotionally demanding, misunderstood, and absolutely essential roles in our sector. Communicators are the ones who translate complex issues into stories people care about. They navigate urgency, limited budgets, impossible timelines, comms burnout, and the pressure to be endlessly creative. They hold the emotional weight of the mission day after day, while still finding new ways to inspire action. Yet too often, their work is invisible. They’re the unsung heroes of change.
Create Good was built to honor that work. More importantly, to honor you. For 11 years, this community has been a place where nonprofit communicators gather, learn, laugh, push boundaries, and refill their creative tanks. It’s a reminder that storytelling matters, and the people behind it matter even more.
The Emotional Labor Behind Every “Simple” Story
Nonprofit storytelling isn’t just writing. It’s empathy. It’s listening. It’s about absorbing others’ lived experiences and shaping them into something that sparks connection. Every fundraiser email, campaign video, social post, or crisis response takes emotional energy most people never see.
Our past Create Good speakers know that weight well.
- Shanelle Matthews showed us how messaging can shape movements, and why honest, intentional communication is an act of care.
- Maggie Kane reminded us that storytelling is about dignity, joy, and community.
- Nat Kendall-Taylor and Joe Smyser broke down how framing and public health narratives can literally change behavior.
These are the kinds of lessons that stick because communication is human work. And human work is always emotional work.
Creativity Doesn’t Happen by Accident – It Needs Care
Creative burnout is real. Yet nonprofit communicators are expected to deliver big ideas at the speed of a breaking news cycle. It’s unsustainable unless you have the right fuel.
That’s why Create Good exists: to give you a place to recharge, laugh, learn, and tap back into the creative spark that makes this work worthwhile.
Previous speakers inspired us by:
- Noah Scalin, urging bold experimentation to break creative ruts
- Kari Hartkorn, helping us step into our voice with confidence
- Laurie Ruettimann, advocating for boundaries and humanity in the workplace
- Darren Margolias is showing how innovation thrives when you ditch perfection
…have all given us the tools to rebuild the creative energy that nonprofit communications demands.
Your creativity fuels action. It deserves protection, renewal, and celebration.
Communication Makes Change Possible
Every mission — hunger, housing, health, education, civil rights, the arts, or the environment — depends on communication. It’s the lever that connects people to purpose. It’s what turns ideas into impact. It’s the craft that transforms “this matters” into “I’m ready to help.”
Our alumni Create Good speakers have proven this again and again:
- Taylor Maxwell, Melanie Roussell Newman, J. Sailor Jones, and Michele Moore each modeled what brave, strategic communications looks like when the stakes are high.
- Barbara Peña, David Flores, and Erez Yoeli showed us how understanding human behavior makes messaging more powerful and more compassionate.
- Ben Graumann, naming the realities of comms burnout
Nonprofit communicators don’t just “get the word out.”
They change hearts.
They mobilize supporters.
They keep missions alive.
They create good.
A Community That Sees You
If you’ve ever felt invisible in your organization…
If you’ve ever had to create magic with no time or budget…
If you’ve ever poured everything you had into a story because you knew it might change someone’s life…
You’re not alone. You’re part of a brilliant, generous, creative community that sees you.
And if you want to reconnect with that feeling – the joy, the real talk, the spark – join us at this year’s Create Good Conference. Tickets are officially on sale, and our 11th year is shaping up to be something special.
Here’s to you — the storytellers, the translators, the emotional first responders.
The unsung heroes of change.