Kassie Pelan
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.
Want to be featured in this series? Tell us what you do in a typical day as a nonprofit communications pro.
Here is her typical day:
Before 8:00 am: Alarm goes off at 4:30 a.m. – dogs are walked, breakfast is made, lunch is packed, and I’m showered and dressed by 6 a.m. when I head out the door.
My husband and I live in the mountains and commute 35 minutes into south Denver for work, always listening to NPR for the latest headlines and weather on the way.
8:00 am – 10:00 am: Work begins a bit earlier (7 a.m.) and I always start with e-mail (well, after brewing coffee). I spend time responding to all messages that I didn’t get a chance to read from the previous day, reading articles and blog posts (Kivi’s!) and writing a task list for the day.
There’s almost always a meeting at 9 a.m. when everyone else arrives to the office, whether it’s a full staff team meeting or a marketing brief.
10:00 am – 12:00 pm: Post meeting brainstorms begin, and the task list is sometimes reorganized. If I have any mass e-mails to send, this is the time. They range from event invitations to newsletters to survey requests. Then, everything is transferred to social media – have to cover all bases.
12:00 pm – 2:00 pm: This is the time I really begin to tackle the to-do list for the day. Each day is different – while I have specific tasks like sending the CSA email on Wednesdays or creating recipe inserts on Thursdays, the other items could be: writing a press release, drafting a grant narrative, gathering information for the monthly newsletter, visiting the Ubuntu Urban Farm to take photos on a corporate volunteer day, planning a marketing campaign, or editing copy on the website. The possibilities are endless!
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm: I work part-time, so am usually packing up and heading home about now. After my husband and I zip home (conveniently missing the commuter traffic), we take the dogs out for a long walk, or maybe even a hike. When we get back, we relax for a bit before making dinner.
After 4:00 pm: While I’m no longer in the office, it’s hard to keep me from social media and e-mail, so I’m still continuing any necessary conversations and keeping up on the day’s events. I really enjoy my job and whole-heartedly believe in the cause of the nonprofit I work for, so I don’t mind it too much 🙂
After enough time at the computer, I finish the day with a Pure Barre workout or a yoga session. Then, it’s time to head to bed so I can do it all over again!
Want to be featured in this series? Tell us what you do in a typical day as a nonprofit communications pro.
