Justyna Krygowska
Here’s the latest installment in our series on the “Day in the Life” of nonprofit communicators, where we ask you to describe your day in your own words.
We need to hear from you! Don’t be shy – tell us what you do in a typical day as a nonprofit communications pro.
Justyna Krygowska is the Communications Director of The Andrew Goodman Foundation. In her role, she manages a variety of projects to ensure the foundation’s brand and programs are reinforced with quality communications. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Integrated Design with a concentration in Communication Design and Design & Management from Parsons the New School for Design. Prior to joining AGF, Justyna worked at Rising Tide Capital where she helped revitalize underserved communities in New Jersey through microenterprise development. In her spare time, Justyna runs her own business, Ladybug Design Studios, and works towards ending animal cruelty by volunteering with the Passaic County SPCA.
And this is her typical day:
Before 8:00 a.m. – I typically prepare my breakfast and lunch the night before so I don’t have to rush the next morning.
My day starts around 7 a.m. with getting dressed and walking my dog.
Then I do a quick email and social media check.
8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m – After saying hi/bye to my husband who’s just getting home from work and patting my Chocolate Lab Mack on the head I’m out the door at about 8:30 a.m.
During my commute, I listen to the latest news on NPR and drink my breakfast smoothie.
I arrive at the office at 9:15 a.m. While waiting for my computer to boot up I make a cup of tea and say hello to the rest of the team.
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. – When I finally sit down at my desk it’s about 10 a.m. and the first thing I do is comb through my email. I answer a couple of urgent requests and jump right into it.
First on the agenda–a meeting with one of our Program Managers to discuss an idea for a blog.
After I wrap up the meeting I start on my next to-do item–measuring the success of our end-of-year campaign. I run a few reports and cross-reference them with a list of online and offline gifts. I use Google docs to type up a report that I will share with our President and Executive Director later this week.
12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. – Once I finish my report, I make final edits to a thank you email I am preparing to send out later this week. I forward the final draft to our Executive Director for approval before scheduling it.
Next, I call a local college student I interviewed last week to offer her our open Communications internship position.
Our Office Manager needs a hand with replacing a modem battery. I head over to help her.
2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. – Today’s lunch is a salad with tofu which I eat while doing my midday email check. Then I do a quick run through for today’s social media posts.
Finally, it’s time for a stretch. I check in with the programs team about an upcoming event in February.
Our Executive Director gives me a call to chat about the outgoing thank you email.
After 4:00 p.m. – Typically the afternoons are for easier but equally important tasks.
I update our website by adding our newest team member to the staff page and fill out a new health insurance form.
Then I check off my to-do list and reorganize the remaining items for the rest of the week.
I wrap up my day between 5:00 and 5:30 p.m.
Thanks for sharing your day, Justyna!
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