Jeanine Marlow
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.
Jeanine Marlow is the director of communications & marketing for Cornerstone Preparatory Academy, a University-Model® school. The school is 11 years old, and she’s been blessed to be with them for 5 years. They are a unique University-Model® school to over 400 students in the northwest metro Atlanta area that educates children differently, builds strong community, and partners with parents. She’s the proud wife to Dan and mom to Frances, Daniell, Catherine-Ann, and Charles.
Here is her typical day:
6:30 a.m. devotion at home, then I quickly check email while downing a spinach protein shake to check for any fires.
Because we have a monthly Information Meeting today, I do a Instagram/Facebook/Twitter post (all in one) with a social media icon I produced last week to remind everyone.
Arrive at work a little before 8 a.m. Students are already coming into my office dropping off last minute supplies for a Guatemalan mission trip I’m co-leading. We are leaving in three days. I go to work on last minute changes on the two email newsletters that go out today. Once I have both of those ready, I finish the weekly blog post and make it live.
I take pictures of the biology class dissecting squids and post those to social media. I also share the Day 2 Rock Eagle photos of our 5th grade grade trip. I have a parent photographer taking those and uploading to our photo sharing site, Zenfolio.
Because of a special meeting this morning with a foundation at 11 a.m., I schedule both email newsletters to send out at 3 p.m. That way I can focus on the donor, knowing the newsletters are ready.
It also meant when people walked into my office at 10 a.m. asking for last minute additions, I had to say “I’m sorry, but no.” The good thing about a weekly newsletter is–there is always next week!
We meet with the foundation donors at from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. and have an excellent and productive meeting. We are building our first campus, so these meetings are important!
I eat lunch at my desk somewhere around 1 p.m.. Honestly, I barely remember eating. The director of development and I talk more about our meeting and our next steps.
I answer all the email that has come in while away from my desk.
I update the front page of our website with new events. Also, I update all the announcements and schedule social media posts for the next week.
The girls bible class comes to help me finish up some last minute craft projects and packing for the Guatemalan mission trip. They were a huge help! I post a photo on social media of the girls with the suitcases they pack.
I work with our director of special events–next week we have two huge events for the school. We discuss all that is upcoming to make sure everything is covered. We decide to meet again on Friday.
I actually leave work early today due to a friend’s passing, so I leave at 3:30 p.m.
I start work again 7 p.m.– answering email, posting on social media, and scheduling for social media. At 9 p.m. I finally decide to call it night.
Want to be featured in this series? Tell us what you do in a typical day as a nonprofit communications pro.
