Build the communications foundation your funding demands.
k8 Communications helps newly funded startups, research studies and nonprofit programs build the communications infrastructure needed for a successful launch.
Lay the groundwork first. Always.
I'm Kate Lino, and I help newly funded organizations and programs build the communications infrastructure they need to launch with credibility.
That means starting with strategy — clarifying your positioning, defining your voice and mapping your audiences — before a single asset gets built. The messaging, website copy, collateral and materials that follow are only as strong as the foundation beneath them.
I bring more than 20 years of communications experience to that process. I’ve built the MarComm function for UNT Health's startup nursing college from the ground up in four months. And I’ve worked with a nearly $6M NIH-funded research study developing messaging, establishing cohesive branding and building audience toolkits across a complex, multi-stakeholder initiative with high funder visibility.
Before that, I spent nearly a decade at the American Heart Association's national headquarters where I collaborated with development teams to build communications strategy and budget recommendations into funding proposals from the start, including early planning for the Hands-Only CPR ($4.6M) and Know Diabetes by Heart ($26M) campaigns.
I know how these organizations work from the inside — and I know what it takes to build communications that set your program up for success.
Who I work with
Newly launched startups with a go-to-market deadline
NIH or foundation-funded research studies with multiple audiences and funder visibility
New programs within nonprofits and social enterprises
Organizations in healthcare, mental health, academia and social impact
If you have funding, a launch deadline and no communications infrastructure yet, you're in the right place.
Your communications foundation starts here
Together we collaborate on building the framework for your campaign or program. Every engagement ends with your team ready to run — including documentation, materials and training.
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Positioning, voice, audience mapping and the messaging foundation that makes everything else work. This is where every engagement starts.
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Website copy, key collateral and the materials your organization needs to show up credibly. Executed against your strategy, not in place of it.
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Already working with a PR firm, designer or ad agency? I guide the strategy and can project manage the work to ensure alignment across external vendors.
Case studies
A startup nursing college needed to launch as a credible institution. Built the entire MarComm function from scratch in four months — messaging, website, collateral and vendor oversight — in time for their fall semester application launch.
UNT Health College of Nursing
A nearly $6 million multi-year, multi-stakeholder research initiative with high funder visibility needed cohesive communications across multiple audiences. Developed messaging, established branding and built audience toolkits.
NIH-funded research study
Developed messaging and a communications framework for a new strategic plan launch, translating organizational priorities for three distinct audiences — staff, members and sponsors — in time for the annual meeting rollout.
National Recreation & Park Association
In their words
Kate is the person I call when a project needs to get off the ground fast or get back on track — and she always delivers. She's overhauled our website, repositioned my leadership platform and even helped us land a presentation at SXSW EDU. When it matters most, she's the one I can count on to get it done. From the moment I hand a project over to her, my stress level goes down.
— Audrey Rowland, CEO Green Space LearningKate has a rare ability to take complex, data-heavy content and shape it to communications that actually resonate with audiences. We brought her in as a consultant to develop the framework for a series of impact materials for program funders across our global regions and issues. She managed input from internal SMEs while collaborating seamlessly with our external designer. She understood the problem, knew who she was writing for and delivered work that was immediately ready to use.
— Kelly G., Former client with national nonprofit organizationReady to get started?
If your organization has funding and needs to build its communications foundation, let's talk!
