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nDash Writer Profile for Aaron Lester

Headline

Experienced writer and editor who helps brands and their audiences fall in love.

About Me

Experienced writer, editor, and content marketer passionate about helping brands and their audiences fall in love. Demonstrated 10+ year history of dedicated work in the information technology, journalism, and nonprofit sectors. Everyone has a story to tell. It’s time to tell it.

Industries I Write About

Lifestyle

Law & Politics

Business

Technology

My Writing Samples

Grants Managers: How to Think Like a Data Scientist

In fact, not only are grants managers expected to comfortably navigate the digital world, they are increasingly embracing the role of “data expert” at their foundations. It turns out, grants managers are uniquely positioned to access and help make sense of the growing stream of data now available to grantmakers.

https://www.peakgrantmaking.org/blog/grants-managers-think-like-data-scientist/

It’s Time to Rethink the Final Report: How to Create a More Meaningful Feedback Loop

Too often the final report is simply a mirror image of the original grant proposal, making it difficult for grantees and foundations alike to benefit from observations gleaned during funding cycle itself. And when actionable data gets lost in long-form narrative or siloed into an endless assessment process, both foundations and grantees lose out on valuable opportunities to grow and learn.

https://www.peakgrantmaking.org/time-rethink-final-report-create-meaningful-feedback-loop/

Foundations: How to Build a More Impactful Board

Traditionally, the board of directors at a nonprofit or foundation served as a rudder, guiding an organization through occasional rough waters, providing insights primarily on fiduciary matters. Yet new research challenges organizations to rethink how they build and interact with their boards so that they may better leverage the skills that each member brings to the table. Call them new rules of engagement, these insights will make boards more innovative and impactful.

https://www.fluxx.io/hubfs/2018%20Whitepapers/Foundations_BuildMoreImpactfulBoard_WP.pdf

How to Get Buy-In Before You Buy: The Comprehensive Guide to Purchasing Grants Management Software

For foundations big and small, grants management software not only streamlines operations, but also gives them a new perspective on their work. Unfortunately, convincing leadership of the benefits of better tools isn’t always easy. They ask, “What’s wrong with the way we do it now? We’re doing well; we don’t need to buy new software.” This whitepaper will help you get buy in from leadership and get you the technology you need to be a more effective grantmaker.

https://www.fluxx.io/hubfs/2018%20Whitepapers/Fluxx.Whitepaper.How%20to%20Get%20Buy-In%20Before%20You%20Buy.FINAL.11.9.17.pdf

The Year in Philanthropy: How 6 Influential Foundations Led the Way in 2017

Yet again, both individual and institutional philanthropy trended upward in 2016. According to Giving USA, American individuals, foundations, and corporations provided a whopping $390.05 billion in charitable giving last year, amounting to a 3.5 percent increase in giving from charitable organizations. While these trends are positive, many major funders hinted at political anxiety throughout 2017.

https://www.fluxx.io/hubfs/2017YearInPhilanthropy_6InfluentialFoundations_WP.pdf

Boston Globe: Data from apps help athletes raise the bar

Once the province of elite athletes, such specialized or sophisticated training help is now available to weekend warriors who want to get more serious about improving their sports performance. Recent advancements in mobile technology have helped spawn a cultural phenomenon known as “the quantified self.” And as it has in so many other lines of technology, the Boston area is developing a large family of companies that have created apps, Web programs, or clever devices.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/10RWl563NYecc9oKxGmot50WmqRcSRCnW/view?usp=sharing

Boston Globe: Police clicking into crimes using new software

Nucleik is the brainchild of three Harvard University engineering students who hatched it as a class project for a professor with friends in law enforcement. The students were struck by how little technology was used by police to organize all the information they gather in their surveillance of gangs.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BzkJdaP9jBmNrsRNwoEDQ-TcrkF2VC-m/view?usp=sharing

Boston Globe: More companies include retreat time to innovate

Time was, companies held the corporate retreat, where the bosses and managers would huddle in some off-site location to noodle over ways to improve the business. But today, especially in the technology sector, companies hold innovation days, or hacking sessions, where employees are given time away from the daily grind to work on projects that excite them. Some sessions are highly structured, tackling an already identified problem; others are more free-form.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tlfN66y39GBS4oX4ysHekgQRLFxsKZAi/view?usp=sharing

Website Copywriting

Developed messaging strategy and architecture. Wrote all web copy adhering to brand tone and style with an eye toward clearly presenting who the client is, what they do, and how they provide value to their audience.

https://www.t-rexbiopharma.com/

Blog creation, management, writing, and editing

I was the founding editor and contributor to the GoTo (FKA LogMeIn) blog from February 2022 to November 2022. I managed both in-house writers as well as freelancers. The blog intends to not only engage prospects and move them through the funnel but also to serve as a place for the audience to learn and contemplate new ideas related to the brand and its audience's interests.

https://www.goto.com/blog

Experience

Content Marketing Manager

As Content Marketing Manager at Fluxx my goal is to educate and engage the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors, highlighting a more transparent and accessible future - a future that allows more vital resources to flow to the people and organizations working to make the world a better place.

Company: Fluxx

I worked there from 10/2013 until 2/2018

Writer

Published in the Boston Globe, CIO Magazine, TechTarget, McSweeney’s, Harvard Gazette, Good Men Project,Nonprofit Quarterly, PEAK Grantmaking, Foundation Center, and other publications. Prepared communicationsolutions and written content for clients including Mass.gov, Microsoft, OPTS Ideas, Sprout, & other techcompanies.

Company: Freelance

I worked there from 1/2002 until now

Staff Editor

Edited for the weekly magazine and for daily web production on the national news desk. Under shortdeadlines, and with an eye on search engine optimization (SEO), edited at least five stories a day for style,grammar, and content for the web.

Company: Christian Science Monitor

I worked there from 8/2011 until 7/2012

Correspondent

From the Metro desk, reported and wrote breaking news stories for publication on boston.com and in theBoston Globe. In a fast-pace atmosphere produced approximately three to five briefs or news stories per day.

Company: Boston Globe

I worked there from 7/2011 until 12/2011

Online Editor

Managed and edited online content including columns, articles and the Nonprofit Newswire, a daily news blogfor nonprofits. Maximized the effectiveness of NPQ digital assets – electronic newsletters, social networkingsites, SEO, and content archives. Site traffic increased 600 percent over that time. Twitter followers increased300 percent during that time.

Company: Nonprofit Quarterly

I worked there from 9/2009 until 12/2011

Content Strategist, Editor, Copywriter

In the first-of-its-kind role, hired and managed the team responsible for implementing GoTo’s content strategy to support the organization’s greater business objectives.

Company: GoTo (FKA LogMeIn)

I worked there from 11/2019 until 11/2022

Copywriter, Brand & Messaging

Worked closely with creative and product marketing teams on long-form content creation and strategy, video concept and scripting, and short-form copy, ensuring brand voice and company values were incorporated across all materials.

Company: Akamai Technology

I worked there from 10/2018 until 11/2019

Content I Write