Question 1

How much does it cost?

Accepted Answer

Retainers run from $2,500/month (Advisory) to $8,500/month (Full Service), with a Core Retainer at $5,000/month ($54,000/year if paid annually). All retainers are structured as 12-month engagements. Fixed-scope projects, including audits, sprints, and crisis playbooks, start at $2,500. Full pricing is on the Services page. No discovery call required to see it.

Question 2

How long is a retainer commitment?

Accepted Answer

Retainers are 12-month engagements. Reputation and funder trust are built over quarters, not weeks. A shorter commitment produces motion without meaningful compounding. If you want to test the partnership first, a 90-Day Sprint or Communications Audit is the right entry point.

Question 3

Who is LeBarre Group NOT the right fit for?

Accepted Answer

We are not the right fit if you need volume production across many channels (an agency serves you better), if you are a domestic-only nonprofit under $2M (the pricing will not pencil out), or if you are looking for a tactical executor rather than a strategic partner at the leadership table. We say so on the first call rather than take an engagement that will not work.

Question 4

How do I know if LeBarre Group is the right fit?

Accepted Answer

The best way to find out is to schedule a thirty-minute conversation. We will ask about your organization's communications environment, where you feel the gaps are, and what your priorities look like over the next twelve months. From there we will tell you honestly whether we are the right fit and, if so, which engagement makes the most sense.

Question 5

What size or stage of organization does LeBarre Group work with?

Accepted Answer

The fit is less about size and more about communications need. LeBarre Group works with international nonprofits that have outgrown generalist communications support and need senior strategic leadership. If your organization is navigating complex funder relationships, sector positioning, reputational risk, or a communications environment that has grown beyond what your current capacity can manage, that is the right profile.

Question 6

How much does fractional CCO support cost for a nonprofit?

Accepted Answer

LeBarre Group's retainers are structured to give organizations access to senior strategic communications leadership at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire. Full pricing information is on the Services page.

Question 7

What services does LeBarre Group offer?

Accepted Answer

LeBarre Group offers three core services: fractional CCO retainers at the Advisory, Core, and Full Service levels; Ground Truth, our communications intelligence and monitoring system; and standalone services including crisis communications planning, executive positioning, media training, and more.

Question 8

What is the difference between the Advisory, Core, and Full Service retainers?

Accepted Answer

The Advisory Retainer is entry-level strategic support: monthly consultation and two strategic communications priorities per month. The Core Retainer adds ongoing reputation management, crisis preparedness, funder communications support, and access to Ground Truth monitoring. The Full Service Retainer is comprehensive fractional CCO engagement covering proactive communications leadership across all areas, including Ground Truth.

Question 9

Can I work with LeBarre Group on a single project rather than an ongoing retainer?

Accepted Answer

Yes. LeBarre Group offers standalone services for organizations that need targeted support. These include crisis communications planning, executive positioning, stakeholder communications strategy, media training, brand architecture, and narrative development.

Question 10

What is a Communications Audit?

Accepted Answer

A communications audit is a structured review of how your organization is currently communicating: your messaging, your channels, your positioning with funders and partners, and the gap between how you describe yourself and how you are actually understood. It gives you a clear picture of where you are before deciding where to go. It is also a useful starting point for organizations that already have a communications plan and want to know what is working and what is not.

Question 11

What is the 90-Day Communications Sprint?

Accepted Answer

The 90-Day Sprint is a defined engagement designed to move your organization's communications from where they are to where they need to be in a focused, time-bound window. It is a good fit for organizations facing a specific transition, launch, or communications challenge that needs concentrated attention rather than an ongoing retainer.

Question 12

What is Ground Truth by LeBarre Group?

Accepted Answer

Ground Truth is the monitoring and intelligence system LeBarre Group uses to track what is being said about your organization, your leadership, your funders, and your sector. It monitors coverage across languages, distinguishes between high-credibility and low-credibility sources, tracks funder priorities, and scores crisis preparedness.

Question 13

Does LeBarre Group work with organizations outside the United States?

Accepted Answer

Yes. LeBarre Group focuses specifically on international nonprofits and works with organizations operating across Sub-Saharan Africa, the MENA region, and beyond. Regional fluency and global experience are central to how we work.

Question 14

What is a fractional Chief Communications Officer?

Accepted Answer

A fractional CCO is a senior communications executive who works with your organization on a retained, part-time basis rather than as a full-time hire. You get senior strategic leadership at a fraction of the cost of a full-time executive. For international nonprofits, this means having someone who can sit at the leadership table for communications decisions, funder conversations, and crisis response without the cost of bringing someone on full-time.

Question 15

When does a nonprofit need fractional communications support?

Accepted Answer

Most organizations start thinking about this when something shifts: a major funder relationship cools without explanation, a crisis arrives before the organization is prepared, a leadership transition changes how the organization is perceived, or a funding environment moves and the messaging that worked before stops working. The signal is usually a gap between what your organization is doing and how it is being understood.

Question 16

Do I need senior communications leadership if I already have a communications staff member?

Accepted Answer

A communications coordinator or manager handles day-to-day tasks. A senior strategist makes decisions: how your organization is positioned with funders, what your reputation looks like in the sector, and how you respond when something goes wrong. These are two different functions, and one does not replace the other.

Question 17

What is the difference between a fractional CCO and a communications agency?

Accepted Answer

An agency executes. A fractional CCO leads. If your organization needs someone who understands your funders, knows your sector, and can make strategic decisions about your reputation and messaging at the leadership level, a fractional CCO is the right fit. If you need production volume across many channels, an agency may serve you better. Some organizations benefit from both.

Question 18

What if my organization is already in a crisis right now?

Accepted Answer

The response shifts when a crisis is already in motion. The priorities become understanding what is known and what is not, establishing a single clear voice for the organization, and getting ahead of the story before it gets ahead of you. LeBarre Group works with organizations in active situations as well as in preparation. Schedule a conversation and tell us where you are.

Question 19

How should a nonprofit respond when a communications crisis hits?

Accepted Answer

The way an organization responds in the early stages of a crisis shapes the story that follows. The most important things are communicating proactively with your closest stakeholders before they hear from someone else, establishing who is speaking for the organization, and not filling information vacuums with speculation. Organizations that have a plan in place before something happens respond faster and protect more.

Question 20

How do I prepare my nonprofit for a communications crisis?

Accepted Answer

Preparation is what separates organizations that manage a crisis from organizations that are defined by one. It means knowing who speaks for your organization, having messaging frameworks ready before they are needed, and understanding how your stakeholders will receive difficult information. LeBarre Group helps organizations build this before they need it.

Question 21

What is crisis communications for nonprofits?

Accepted Answer

Crisis communications is the strategy and execution that protects your organization's reputation when something goes wrong. For nonprofits, this might be an allegation against a staff member, a funding cut that becomes public, an operational failure, or a media story that misrepresents your work. The goal is to respond quickly, protect your credibility, and maintain the trust of the people who depend on your organization.

Question 22

How do nonprofits protect their reputation?

Accepted Answer

Reputation is built over time through consistent messaging, a credible presence in your sector, and trust with funders and partners. It is also protected through monitoring: knowing what is being said about your organization, its leadership, and the sector before a problem surfaces is the most effective form of reputation management.

Question 23

Why do nonprofits lose funder relationships?

Accepted Answer

Funding is often lost not because of a dramatic failure but because of a quiet cooling. A funder's priorities shift. Coverage of your sector changes. Your messaging drifts away from what the funder is focused on. These signals can be visible months before a renewal call if someone is watching the right indicators.

Question 24

How do I align my nonprofit's messaging with funder priorities?

Accepted Answer

Start by knowing what your funders are actually prioritizing right now: not just what their website says, but what their recent grants, public statements, and sector positions reflect. Ground Truth by LeBarre Group monitors funder priorities and surfaces the language funders are using so your communications can align with what they are actually funding.

Question 25

How should nonprofits communicate with major funders?

Accepted Answer

Funder communication is not just reporting. It is an ongoing relationship shaped by how you show up before, during, and after a grant cycle. Organizations that maintain funder relationships over time understand what a funder is prioritizing, align their messaging to those priorities, and maintain a credible presence in the sector year-round.

Question 26

How do I know if my nonprofit's communications are working?

Accepted Answer

If your funders understand your mission the way you understand it, your reputation in the sector reflects the work you are doing, and you are not caught off guard by shifts in your coverage or funder sentiment, your communications are working. If any of those things feel uncertain, that uncertainty is the signal. Ground Truth by LeBarre Group is built specifically to make the answer to this question visible rather than guessable.

Question 27

What is reputation management for nonprofits?

Accepted Answer

Your reputation is what funders, partners, and peers say about your organization when you are not in the room. Reputation management is the ongoing work of making sure that conversation reflects what your organization actually does and who it is. For nonprofits, strong reputation management is proactive, not reactive: it means building credibility before you need to defend it.

Question 28

What is strategic communications for nonprofits?

Accepted Answer

Most organizations are communicating. The question is whether that communication is building something. Strategic communications is the planned, deliberate approach to how your organization tells its story, manages how it is understood, and builds credibility with the people who matter most to your mission: funders, partners, media, and the communities you serve.

Question 29

What is executive positioning for nonprofit leaders?

Accepted Answer

An Executive Director's visibility in the sector shapes how the organization itself is perceived. Executive positioning is the strategy behind where you speak, what you publish, how you are quoted in media, and how you are introduced to funders and partners. When done well, it builds authority that extends the organization's credibility beyond any single grant cycle.

Frequently Asked Questions

Working with LeBarre Group

Understanding Fractional Communications Leadership

Crisis Communications for Nonprofits

Funder Communications and Reputation

Strategic Communications for Nonprofits

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