Battlestar Communications was established in 2007 by Tina Battle, a 19-year veteran of the nonprofit, philanthropic sector with a background in communications. Aside from the word play on her last name, the entrepreneur uses the term 'battlestar' to express her philosophy on business and life in general: "Battle stands for hard work, and star represents the reward when hard work and sacrifice pay off."
Ms. Battle is a seasoned nonprofit philanthropic leader with a history of leading successful communications efforts targeting donors, volunteers, program participants and media. Creative and persuasive writing, program development, publication and video production, branding, strategic messaging, media outreach and event planning are at the root of her success in convincing supporters to join a cause. A good portion of her career has been on the philanthropic side of the nonprofit sector, and her funder perspective has provided valuable insight to organizations dependent on donor support.
She served as Director of Communications for Chicago Foundation for Women and was a key player in bringing the organization from infancy to maturity – particularly through her work to increase its profile through brand identity, media coverage, publication development and special events. She produced all of its publications, tripled its media coverage, and was the communications person behind the growth and impressive execution of the organizations Annual Luncheon & Symposium fundraiser through her speechwriting, video production, program book development, advertising and media coverage. She also conceptualized and implemented its Ripple Effect Awards Program as a clever means to honor women and girls in the community, effectively communicate organization mission, and increase media and funder interest in its work. The program was adopted by colleagues in the field as a model marketing and fundraising tool (Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts and Vermont Women’s Fund).
As a volunteer and consultant, she is responsible for developing the brand identity of Chicago African Americans in Philanthropy (logo, tagline and first website), and was the chief organizer of its annual fundraiser, The Lindsey Award & Lecture on Inclusiveness in Philanthropy, for the first five years. She created a clear and functional blueprint for this annual fundraiser which has been key to the volunteer-driven organization successfully presenting this program and maintaining donor support each year. The program has afforded several students of color the opportunity to pursue careers in philanthropy.
Ms. Battle’s educational background is in journalism, and the creativity and passion she brings to her nonprofit career are comparable to her artistic accomplishments. She has a notable career as a creative writer
(www.tinabattle.com) and has inherently transferred her talent to her business writing efforts. Using her journalistic hat, she has published several op-ed articles in Chicago’s major newspapers as ghostwriter on behalf of nonprofit spokespersons.
Her journalism and philanthropy backgrounds can be credited for her grant writing abilities which has assisted organizations in obtaining support from previous and new funders. Her public relations skills and attention to detail has made her a stellar event planner, and her knowledge of brand identity and marketing has been instrumental to website organizing/content development and publication production. Several media outlets have featured the work of organizations as a result of her pitches (Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, N’Digo Magazine, V103 Radio Chicago Public Radio, NBC-TV/Channel 5, ABC-TV/Channel 7, WGN-TV/Channel 9, Fox 32 and several other community publications and programs).
She holds a Bachelors of Arts in Journalism & Professional Writing from Columbia College/Chicago where she graduated with honors. She volunteers for several nonprofit arts programs, is a Public Allies Tomorrow’s Leader’s Today Honoree, a member of Publicity Club of Chicago, Chicago African Americans in Philanthropy, Chicago Association of Black Journalists, and the Metropolitan Board of the Chicago Urban League.
In April 2011, Tina Battle will be among an elite group of 50 honorees as part of the 50th Anniversary celebration for Urban Gateways (UG). She is a proud product of UG, an arts education program providing in and out-of-school arts programming to more than 100,000 children in metropolitan Chicago every year.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
