Communications
Capacity-Building Program
A complimentary communications resource for Walton Family Foundation grantees in Northwest Arkansas. Developed to provide relevant, capacity-building support for grantees’ communications opportunities and challenges.
Help us understand your needs by taking this quick survey.
Join Our Group Video Calls
What to Spend Where: Making the Most of Your Marketing Budget
November 12, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. CT
Led by Whitney Burgess Scales
This session helps grantees understand what matters most, what they can DIY, and what to prioritize at different budget levels. It removes the guesswork from communications planning and helps teams make confident, high-impact choices.
Key Points:
• Budget tiers: what you can do with $1K, $5K, or $15K
• Sample spending plans: social boosts vs. paid placements vs. contractor time
• Low-cost/high-impact tactics: repurposing content, partnering with others, leveraging grant resources
• When to invest vs. when to pause
Takeaways:
• Practical guides for making smart spending decisions
• Permission to not do everything
• Real-world examples of doing more with less
Whitney Burgess Scales is an award-winning and enthusiastic marketing strategist committed to maximizing growth with measurable results for clients. As vice president of marketing strategy and shareholder at mhp.si, Whitney leads strategy development and oversees execution for clients, monitoring performance and marketing insights that can be leveraged to make business decisions to drive overall success. For over a decade, she has counseled clients of all sizes, driving a better return on investment with strategy-first, performance marketing. She has been honored to share her passion for digital at conferences across the country.
Whitney earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in marketing from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and received the Dean’s Award for Excellence from the School of Business in 2020.
A graduate of Leadership Greater Little Rock (Class XXXIII), Whitney sits on the Community Advisory Council for Crystal Bridges Museum & The Momentary and serves as Member At Large for the Rotaract Little Rock Chapter. She is also an active member of Create Little Rock, the Google Ads Advisors Panel, and the National Society of Leadership Success.
Reaching the Right People: Audience Segmentation Without the Jargon
December 3, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. CT
Led by Whitney Burgess Scales
This session introduces a simple, clear approach to audience segmentation, helping organizations focus their efforts where they’ll have the greatest impact.
Key Points:
• How to define and prioritize audiences (e.g., donors, policymakers, media, communities served)
• Matching message and medium to the audience (e.g., don’t use Instagram just because everyone else does)
•Tools for narrowing focus without losing inclusivity
•Examples of right-sizing outreach: when a small list outperforms a big splash
Whitney Burgess Scales is an award-winning and enthusiastic marketing strategist committed to maximizing growth with measurable results for clients. As vice president of marketing strategy and shareholder at mhp.si, Whitney leads strategy development and oversees execution for clients, monitoring performance and marketing insights that can be leveraged to make business decisions to drive overall success. For over a decade, she has counseled clients of all sizes, driving a better return on investment with strategy-first, performance marketing. She has been honored to share her passion for digital at conferences across the country.
Whitney earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in marketing from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and received the Dean’s Award for Excellence from the School of Business in 2020.
A graduate of Leadership Greater Little Rock (Class XXXIII), Whitney sits on the Community Advisory Council for Crystal Bridges Museum & The Momentary and serves as Member At Large for the Rotaract Little Rock Chapter. She is also an active member of Create Little Rock, the Google Ads Advisors Panel, and the National Society of Leadership Success.
Start Strong: Practical Steps to Activate Your Marketing Strategy
January 14, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. CST
Led by Julie C. Robbins
A new year brings fresh energy and a fresh plan. But even the strongest marketing strategy can stall if it isn’t activated with clear priorities, shared focus, and early momentum.
This session explores how to move from annual planning to meaningful action at the start of the year. We’ll look at ways to clarify what matters most in Q1, align your team around achievable goals, and establish a steady cadence for tracking progress and making smart adjustments as the year unfolds.
You’ll come away with:
• A clearer sense of how to translate strategy into early, focused priorities
• Practical approaches to setting goals that support mission outcomes
• Insight into building alignment, accountability, and momentum across your team
• A simple way to think about measuring performance and course-correcting over time
Join us to reset, refocus, and start the year with confidence — with a strategy that’s not just planned, but put into motion.
Julie Robbins is vice president of client services and shareholder at mhp.si with nearly 30 years’ experience in the marketing communications sector. She is a nationally award-winning agency executive and team leader and heads up the agency’s MAPS™ strategic planning discipline, enabling clients and agency teams to collaborate and develop long-range integrated marketing and messaging plans. She manages clients’ budgets and account teams, initiates research and discovery, facilitates strategic planning, crafts actionable marketing plans and oversees the implementation of marketing tactics for client projects.
Program Resources
- PDF: Refining Your Messaging Presentation
- PDF: Strategic Public Relations Presentation
- Video: Strategic Public Relations Video
- PDF: Social Media Strategy Presentation
- Video: Social Media Strategy Video
- Video: The Importance of Executive Visibility
- PDF: The Importance of Executive Visibility
- PDF: Strategic Use of AI
- Video: Strategic Use of AI
- PDF: CRM & Email Mastery for Nonprofits
- Video: CRM & Email Mastery for Nonprofits
- PDF: CRM & Email Resources Handout
- PDF: Social Media Advertising Strategy & Best Practices
- Video: Social Media Advertising Strategy & Best Practices
- PDF: Organic Search and Generative AI: What Does It Mean For Your Website?
- Video: Organic Search and Generative AI: What Does It Mean For Your Website?
- PDF: Maximizing Impact with Limited Resources
- Video: Maximizing Impact with Limited Resources
- PDF: Crisis Communications 101: Tips and Best Practices for Navigating a Crisis
- Video: Crisis Communications 101: Tips and Best Practices for Navigating a Crisis
- PDF: How to Get Press When There’s No Breaking Story
- Video: How to Get Press When There’s No Breaking Story
- PDF: Message Framing, Focus, and Discipline for Nonprofits
- Video: Message Framing, Focus, and Discipline for Nonprofits
- Resources: Message Framing, Focus, and Discipline for Nonprofits
- PDF: Retargeting on a Budget
- Video: Retargeting on a Budget
- PDF: Smarter Grant Writing: Save Time with Generative AI
- Video: Smarter Grant Writing: Save Time with Generative AI
- Video: 10 Tips for Better Social Media Videos
- PDF: 10 Tips for Better Social Media Videos
- 1 Sheet: 10 Tips for Better Social Media Videos
- Video: Building Your CRM For Long-Term Success
- PDF: Building Your CRM For Long-Term Success
- Resource 1: Building Your CRM For Long-Term Success
- Resource 2: Building Your CRM For Long-Term Success
- PDF: Growing Your Organic Search Visibility in the Age of AI
- Video: Growing Your Organic Search Visibility in the Age of AI
One of the mhp.si team members will reach out within 2 business days to schedule a time that works for you.
